Art for gift's sake

Gifts from local artisans

by Mike Hofman

Maybe you don't have what it takes to whip up snazzy little crafts for your friends and relations. Or maybe you do have the skills, but you don't have the time. That doesn't mean you can't give handsome, handmade gifts this year. All over the Boston area, there are plenty of artists and artisans who are willing (and eager) to sell you their wares.

Start with Gary Knell and Michele Mercaldo, who don't work together but happen to be married. Knell runs the South End-based Studio f.kia along with partner Marcello Albanese. "What Studio f.kia does is design and manufacture simple, functional products for the home," Knell says. Actually, he's underselling. Among the studio's designs: soap dishes ($10), toothbrush holders ($10 to $30), CD and wine racks ($58), bottle stoppers ($30), and bath vanities ($150). The rest of Studio f.kia's merchandise is equally charming, and most of it can be found at Fresh Eggs, a fun tchotchke store in the South End (58 Clarendon Street, Boston, 617-247-8150).

While her husband is busy making practical home stuff, Mercaldo makes elegant, contemporary jewelry. Her newer pieces are glamorous and expensive, but other designs in her collection are more affordable. Earrings start at $42, necklaces at $76, cuff links at $88, and bracelets at $150. If you're willing to spend some serious cash, look at the reversible pendulum earrings, made of 18-karat gold and silver, which sell for $310. Mercaldo's jewelry is sold through her showroom (522 Harrison Avenue, Boston; open December 12 and 13 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment, 617-350-7909) and at the Museum of Fine Arts stores (465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617-267-9300, and Copley Place, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617-536-8818).

If you don't like sleek, contemporary jewelry like Mercaldo's, perhaps you'll prefer the work of Sarah Nehama of Jamaica Plain. "I use a lot of semiprecious stones, different-colored moonstones, and carved stones from India and China," Nehama says. Her jewelry starts at $50 and is sold at Fire Opal stores (7 Pond Street, Jamaica Plain, 617-524-0262, and 320 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-739-9066).

Maybe that special someone on your gift list deserves jewelry -- but nothing semiprecious in nature. Fair enough. A lively alternative comes in the form of earrings made out of Scrabble pieces. The woman who makes them, C.E. Kaplan, lives in Somerville. They're $7.50 a pair at Joie de Vivre (1792 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617-864-8188). You can pick whichever letters you want.

Also at Joie de Vivre, check out the whimsical hand-painted coffee mugs made by Sarah Spademan, a Cambridge potter. Each $18 mug features a 3-D figurine creature anchored inside. Kids like to play with them, and adults collect them. The cow mugs and the various dog mugs are especially appealing, but don't limit yourself. Spademan's mugs house a more diverse menagerie than Noah's ark. "It's fun making such a variety," Spademan says. "I'd guess we make about 40 different kinds of little creatures."

To give the gift of pottery without dooming a little animal to immersion in Earl Grey, try James Guggina Designs. His work exhibits a troika of pleasing qualities: it's simple, stylish, and cheap (starting as low as $5, with many items from $20 to $30). Most pieces are painted in warm pastels, accented by striking black-and-white bands. The juxtaposition of the two color schemes (Santa Fe meets art deco, as another admiring artist describes his work) may sound unusual; the results are completely eye-catching. Guggina's work is available at the Cambridge Artists Cooperative in Harvard Square (59-A Church Street, Cambridge, 617-868-4434).

If you don't want to buy anything clay-based -- perhaps that sex scene in Ghost disturbed you -- then there's always clothing. The South End's Peggy Russell makes hand-painted scarves under the label Iro Design. They range in price between $25 and $175, depending on the size and fabric. Many cost about $40. Iro means color in Japanese, and color is exactly what you should expect from Russell's vivid designs. She also sells backpacks, duffel bags, and garment bags ($55 to $150) cut from the paint-splattered drop cloths she's left with after making the scarves. The scarves are sold at her South End studio, which will be open on weekends in December and by appointment (450 Harrison Avenue, Studio 306, Showroom 212, Boston, 617-426-3850) and at Pluto, in Jamaica Plain (603 Centre Street, 617-522-0054).

More-subdued but still funky scarves ($79) can be found at Underground Velvet, in Allston, where sisters Amy and Wendy Hedler use steel templates to burn stylized, cartoonish patterns into richly hued synthetic velvet. "We're the only company doing embossing on a small scale," says Amy. "We do everything in-house here." For the holiday season, the company is also producing stockings ($48) and wine-bottle bags ($22). All items are available at the Society of Arts and Crafts (175 Newbury Street, Boston, 617-266-1810).

And if you want to do a theme-ish fine-dining gift, couple an Underground wine-bottle bag with a bottle of wine (smart, eh?) and throw in a pair of hand-dipped beeswax candles from Aunt Sadie's, a South End company. The candles are unscented, and they're sold at Fresh Eggs for $10 a pair.

Besides candles, there are other ways to give the gift of light. Birch & Willow creates delightfully kitschy lamps out of natural materials like wood, stones, vines, and handmade paper. "We make light that is natural and calming," owner Katherine< Ahern says. "There's a feeling of bringing something of the outdoors inside." Prices range from $140 to $260; night-lights run $28. Ahern's Fort Point studio will be open December 11, 12, and 13 (Friday from noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.). Her work is also sold at the Rugg Road Paper Company (105 Charles Street, Boston, 617-742-0002).

Outside the 617 area code, Stoughton artist Jean Fox works with muted natural colors -- except for the holidays. This year, she's selling sets of wild, colorful kitchen magnets. They're available at the Lambert Gallery, in Hanover (237 Broadway, 781-826-5738), for $12 each. The pieces can be arranged and rearranged to create various Abstract Expressionistic freezer designs -- a much more current idea than that tired refrigerator poetry.

Finally, if the gift-getter is a dog lover -- or, for that matter, a dog -- get thee to Luli Ltd., in Allston (119 Braintree Street, gift certificates available, fittings by appointment, 617-783-LULI). Designer Lesley Lutyens creates custom doggie coats for $85 to $155. "My coats are for over-the-top people who love their dogs," Lutyens says. "They often comment that their dogs are better dressed than they are when they walk down the street. I also do matching hats that you can wear -- you can relate to the dog when you walk him." The hats cost $28.