12 “designer”, sustainable and clever gifts for less than 200 euros

With the holidays approaching, we also want to give some suggestions for “designer” gifts – with a price of less than 200 euros. Some products have already been presented on WeVux. Others will be described in the coming weeks. Therefore, we have selected different types of products to give the broadest possible point of view: furnishings, accessories, kits – attentive to sustainability – and books.

6 “designer” furnishings and accessories to give as gifts

Forget lists of expensive and unattainable products; you can find six possible gifts (but there are many others): furnishings and home accessories for different uses.

• We selected the OTO Chair by Alessandro Stabile and Martinelli Venezia for One to One Objects as the first piece of furniture. A mountable single-material chair, produced in a single mold and created with post-industrial recycled plastic, will help remove more of it from the seas. The final cost €99, you can buy it here.

• For lamps, we couldn’t fail to mention MayDay by Konstantin Grcic for Flos. This is a piece from 23 years ago, still very current, which involves assembly without glue and, therefore, easier recycling of its components. It can be purchased on the Flos website for €140.

• The second lamp we wanted to select is a compostable and vegan piece, Ohmie, the circular orange lamp designed by Krill Design and created with Rekrill® material – developed from orange peels. You can purchase the lamp on the official website for €145.

• Moving on to accessories and furnishings, we have KeepLife with the 2023 Bestiario collection: a series of small games and accessories for the home and office created with the composite material of the same name with a wooden nature, mouldable and self-hardening. The pieces range from €55 to €175 euros and can be purchased on the website.

• Another eccentric and original accessory to give as a gift is the designer bong or the containers for candles, incense, and palo santo by Weed’d. The brand tries to overturn the narrative linked to this type of product: Weed’d sees in the act of smoking not only a chance to get high but an opportunity to slow down, relax, and take a break from the hectic pace of modern life. In the shop, you can find all the products at a cost ranging from €40 to €170 euros.

• Other sustainable gifts are Maddalena Selvini‘s accessory collections: containers, vases, and cushions in natural materials, felt, sand, wood veneers… Everyday objects in which you can always appreciate the materiality and design. The cost of almost all collections is less than €200. For further information, you can contact the designer directly.

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2 kits for experimenting

Moving on to other types of gifts, we have selected two kits to experiment with:

• The Pollinator™, previously featured on WeVux. The Checkerspot Kit allows designers to create products and prototypes sustainably by replacing plastic with an algae-based resin. The Essential kit costs €56.95, while the complete kit costs €65.95. Buy it here.

• We also suggest Patella Crescenda by House of Thol, the kit for growing microgreens comfortably from home without any commitment: just add water, and the product will release it as the sprouts grow. Patella Crescenda costs €69.95. If you are interested in this product type, visit the shop to discover them all!

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4 “design” books not to be missed

Among the gifts to give at Christmas, books cannot be missing:

• What Design Can’t Do by Silvio Lorusso, Set Margins’, (2023). A critical point of view that Design needed is to simplify the concept in one sentence. We have always been told that we can change the world, but how can we do it if we only care about “enlarging the logo ”? What Design Can’t Do investigates the disillusionment that permeates design, a detachment between idea and real contribution, given by various factors – from teaching to new technologies – which creates discouragement among younger people and compromises the designer’s work. “If you feel deceived, disappointed, or betrayed by design, this book is for you.” It can be purchased on the Set Margins’ website for €22.

• Il Design e l’Invenzione del Made in Italy (Italian Design and the invention of Made in Italy) by Elena Dellapiana, Einaudi Editore (2022) is a volume that tells how since the universal exhibitions of the 19th century, through laws, investments and propaganda activities, the concept of “made in Italy”. From Gio Ponti to gastronomy, from craftsmanship to industrial products, the text tells how this definition has become a pass on the global market. You can find the volume in bookstores at a cost of €25.

• Designing Designers | From the Product to Teaching by Kuno Prey, Corraini Edizioni (2022) recounts the journey that the founder of the Faculty of Design and Arts at the Free University of Bolzano has taken, from designer to professor. Ideas and teaching are explained through student projects, exhibitions, competitions, but also contributions from international project figures such as Alberto Alessi, Beppe Finessi, Aldo Cibic, Arnout Visser, to name a few. You can find the volume in bookstores at a cost of €32.

• Also not to be missed is Color Is Alive by Greta Facchinato, a publication with the designer’s research on the production of natural inks for the screen printing technique. Halfway between a magazine and a botanical manuscript, Color is Alive presents reflections, educational texts but also real recipes for producing natural ink from plants, kitchen waste and urban remains. Color is Alive can be purchased on Greta Facchinato’s website at a cost of €30.

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