Looking for special gifts that won’t break your holiday budget? Read on for ideas from Taiwanese independent designers and artists, many of whom offer one-of-a-kind items.
MIIN Design’s Taiwanese snacks notebook won the graphic design studio a Red Dot Award communication design prize this year. The pocket-sized volume covers 118 markets with a large foldout map and includes picture guides to some of each place’s most popular snacks. There are plenty of blank pages for users to write their own reviews and paste or draw pictures of the things they have eaten, along with bookmark stickers to make looking up favorites a snap. The guide is available for NT$390 at most major bookstores.
Tenon’Art’s (坦諾設計, www.tenonart.com.tw) creations take paper crafting to another level, with sculptures made of layers upon layers of laser-cut cardboard. Their fun mounted animal heads (NT$349 to NT$1,700) include deer for traditionalists, and unicorns for people who want something a little more fantastical. The company’s latest release, the Adonis Ferris Wheel, is an extremely elaborate pre-assembled balsa wood sculpture with cars that can be detached and worn as pendants. Tenon’art items are available in Nordic on the second floor of Eslite Xinyi (誠品信義店), 2F, 11 Songgao Rd, Taipei City (台北市松高路11號), tel: (02) 2723-7221.
Photo courtesy of MIIN Design
Located near National Taiwan Normal University (國立台灣師範大學), tiny cafe T.Loafer (閑隅, TLoafer.pixnet.net) sells an assortment of items by local designers, including scarves, cushions and change purses dyed in rich, muted colors with plant pigments from Sindian-based workshop Watch!Touch (手樸隨想, NT$980 to NT$1,280), hand-painted ceramics by Kidult and wooden compact mirrors and name card cases decorated with images of animals that look like illustrations from 1960s children’s picture books by Tree House (NT$280 to NT$600). Address: 20, Ln 141, Jinshan S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市金山南路二段141巷20號), tel: 0937-817-612.
Located around the corner from T.Loafer, Izy’s Home (www.ienokata.com) is a tiny, all-white store filled with adorable curios handmade from plants, seashells and semi-precious minerals by owner Izy Ye (葉如娟). Miniature houses carved from twigs (NT$250 each) can be arranged into a little village and displayed together under a glass dome, while little “wood elves” made with dried flowers and other natural materials double as essential oil diffusers (NT$250 to NT$650). White candles carved by Wu into the shape of small houses seem to glow from within when lit and will add a cozy touch to a holiday centerpiece. Other delights in the store include hand-blown glass balls once used as buoys by Japanese sailors and felted brooches shaped like animal heads by Tiger Milk. Address: 20, Ln 141, Jinshan S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市金山南路二段141巷20號), tel: 0955-753-821.
Livin’ Riverside (河邊生活, www.facebook.com/livinriverside) a few blocks away from T. Loafer and Izy’s Home sells a carefully curated collection of handmade wares, including Taiwanese Aboriginal weavings sewn into name card cases and purses, terra-cotta ceramics and figurines and key chains from Mufun Design Studio (木趣設計工作室). Address: 126 Chaozhou St, Taipei City (台北市潮州街126號), tel: (02) 2356-3362.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei TImes
Twine (繭裹, www.twinestudio.net) sells an array of items from international fair trade brands and local designers in its store near Yongkang Street in Taipei. Brass or sterling silver jewelry from Su Studio (NT$980 to NT$2,000) fits in with a variety of wardrobe styles, while lanterns molded from layers of cotton thread double as catchalls for keys and other items when folded up (NT$350 to NT$580). Shoppers can also design their own necklaces or bracelets from an array of dried plants, seeds and natural fibers. Address: 3, Ln 2, Yongkang St, Taipei City (台北市永康街二巷3號), tel: (02) 2395-6991.
Arts and culture center ArtYard (小藝埕, www.artyard.tw) on Taipei’s Dihua Street (迪化街) is home to ceramics brand Hakka Blue (台客藍, www.hakka-blue.com), which sells mugs and teapots glazed in a rich indigo color inspired by traditional Hakka clothing and textile designer In Blooom (印花樂, www.inblooom.com), which carries tote bags printed with silhouettes of Taiwanese animals and architectural details. Located in a former Japanese colonial era residence, ArtYard is across the street from Yongle Market (永樂市場), where several vendors sell colorful Taiwan floral cloth. If you don’t feel like sewing gifts yourself, cushions, aprons and tote bags are available for reasonable prices. Address: 1, Ln 32, Dihua St Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市迪化街一段32巷1號), tel: (02) 2552-1338.
Find one-of-a-kind holiday cards at MBmore (mbmore1024.blogspot.com) or limited edition artists’ prints that can serve as gifts by themselves. The store is dedicated to print making and also sells silkscreened T-shirts, totes and notebook covers. Most prints are numbered and signed and there is plenty of work by young artists that won’t break your budget. Address: Zhongshan Metro Mall B39 (台北捷運中山地下街B39), near exit R9 between Zhongshan (中山) and Shuanglian (雙連) MRT stations, tel: (02) 2523-7737.
Photo courtesy of Pinkoi
Located next door to MBmore, Wu Xing Design Company (www.wxad.com.tw) sells beautiful sterling silver jewelry and ceramics created by alumni of the National Taiwan University of Arts (國立臺灣藝術大學). Address: Zhongshan Metro Mall B41 (台北捷運中山地下街B41), tel: (02) 2625-1498.
Lifestyle brand Booday’s (蘑菇, www.booday.com) store near Zhongshan MRT Station (中山捷運站) is always a good bet for thoughtfully designed items like sturdy canvas tote bags and organic cotton T-shirts, including a series dyed with indigo pigment from woad plants grown at the foot of Alishan. Their notebooks feature three formats of perforated paper, sturdy covers and lay flat for easy writing. The Bopomofo edition is a thoughtful gift for people studying Chinese. Address: 18-1, Ln 25, Nanjing W Rd, Taipei City (台北市南京西路25巷18-1號), (02) 2552-5552 X11.
Booday’s next door neighbor Lovely Taiwan (台灣好，店, www.lovelytaiwan.org.tw) sells a variety of objects made by artisans from around Taiwan using traditional techniques and motifs, such as Aboriginal weavings, wooden carvings from Miaoli County and baskets woven with rushes. The store is managed by Lovely Taiwan Foundation (台灣好基金會), which seeks to ensure that designers are paid an equitable wage for their work. Address: 18-2, Ln 25, Nanjing W Rd, Taipei City (台北市南京西路25巷18-2號), tel: (02) 2558-2616.
Photo courtesy of Emily’s Handmade
Most of Good Cho’s (好丘, tw.beta.streetvoice.com/writing/goodchos) selection of attractively-packaged specialty food items, including condiments and tea leaves, ring in at under NT$350 per item. Run by the organizers of the Simple Life Festival (簡單生活節), the combination cafe and store emphasizes products made from ingredients grown locally without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The store also carries books about Taiwanese culture, postcards and accessories by different brands. Address: Xinyi Public Assembly Hall House C (信義公民會館C館), 54 Songqin St, Taipei City (台北市松勤街54號), tel: (02) 2758-2609.
To save time and shop for holiday gifts from the comfort of your home, log onto Pinkoi (www.pinkoi.com) for more than 7,700 items from independent designers. The following is just a sampling of things you can purchase from the year-old e-commerce Web site. An English-language version of Pinkoi is tentatively scheduled to launch before Christmas. In the meantime, send an e-mail to contact@pinkoi.com if you need assistance ordering from vendors.
Tigermilk’s small felted pouches (NT$380) come in a wide array of bright colors and are just big enough to store a few coins. The brand also offers whimsical felted brooches in the shape of animal heads (NT$650). www.pinkoi.com/store/tigermilk
Photo courtesy of Mozidozen
The Coin 4 case’s striking design is engineered so you can slide a NT$10 coin into any groove and turn it into a horizontal or vertical stand for your iPhone. www.pinkoi.com/store/urbanprefer
Made with recycled timber, Mooq’s Tabletop Forest (桌上的森林, NT$3,280) series shows off the different textures and scents of wood native to Taiwan, including Taiwan incense cedar (肖楠), “fake” cypress (扁柏), Formosan cypress (紅檜), Taiwania (台灣杉) and Taiwan hemlock (鐵杉). A smaller version is available for NT$599. www.pinkoi.com/store/mooq
At first glance, Jump From Paper’s creations look like two-dimensional comic illustrations, but they are actually functioning totes (NT$1,690). www.pinkoi.com/store/duo
Chiuzen’s notebooks (NT$320) feature beautiful hand-printed covers. www.pinkoi.com/store/chiuzen
Emily’s Handmade sells cold process soap made from all-natural ingredients. Individual bars are NT$180 to NT$290 each, while soaps shaped like a four-inch birthday cake are NT$990. www.pinkoi.com/store/emily_bubble
Home accessories by Kalki’d are made out of “geopaste,” or a concrete-like substance molded from recycled materials. All items, including this clever vase inspired by plants growing between bricks, have a sleek, minimalist aesthetic. www.pinkoi.com/store/kalkidesign
Woodworking studio Mozidozen’s signature item is this playful lamp with little deer antlers (NT$4,750). Other items include wooden ballpoint pens (NT$500) and a clock with a black chalkboard surface (NT$1,200).
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