Gift Guide: Art Books and Beautiful Objects for Design Lovers

When I give a gift, you generally get an accompanying card with all the details of my love for you and likely stories about what I’m gifting and why. Gift giving is absolutely one of my love languages, but sharing all the details is one of my favorite parts, right down to the card (I thank one of my high school besties for instilling this love in me that has carried on for decades).

Part one of my guide is linked it below and features art prints from emerging artists I love and vintage art posters from some of the great modern artists, all under $300.

Today is part two with gems from coffee table books to art-adjacent bits and bobs, filled with context, story, and craft. Things that are super giftable without needing to know wall dimensions and delving into the fun of framing techniques.

Let’s get into it.

Art & Design Books

Top Row:

The newly redesigned Studio Museum in Harlem opened last week. ‘It will stand as a lighthouse on 125th Street. A space where creativity and community meet, where young people can see themselves reflected, and orders of African descent can continue to shape our history. This new chapter was not inevitable. It was earned through decades of vision, stewardship and belief.’ - Raymond J McGuire, Chairman of the Board of the Museum

1. Meaning Matter Memory: Selections from the Studio Museum in Harlem Collection ($29): The Studio Museum in Harlem has been a fixture since 1968 when it was founded by a group of artists, community activists and philanthropists to promote the works of artists of African descent. The museum had been closed for a massive renovation and reopened to much fan fare recently. This book is a catalog of works in the museum’s permanent collection and celebrates the legacy of Black artists over the past 200 years.

2. Tokyo Style by apartamento ($105): A re-edition of a classic printed 30 years ago, photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki takes us into the homes of Tokyo city dwellers and captures the real, messy, beautiful lives that apartamento does so perfectly. As Tsuzuki reflects on making the book, “I had no choice but to buy my first large format camera, and since I did not have a car, I mounted my equipment on the foot of my scooter and rode around Tokyo for more than two years. That was my starting point as a photographer…”.

3. Middle East Archive: Living Rooms ($70): The first of a few of the books on the list that I own. Living Rooms celebrates the role and space of family life and hospitality around the Middle East and North Africa. I love how the intimate moments are so beautifully captured as they are surrounded by traditional textiles, gold accents, and seating that transports you. The Middle East Archive publishes books that reimagine and celebrate the visual narratives of the Middle East and North Africa - narratives that we rarely see.

   

   Tyler Mitchell, Motherland Skating (2019) | Photo: Courtesy the artist

4. Tyler Mitchell: Wish This Was Real ($55, on sale): Tyler Mitchell (who I featured last year here) creates dream worlds that make you stop, wonder, and feel alive. He has an incredible eye for creating magic out of the ordinary. He has such love and reverence for his subjects and spaces that emanate through his photos. Mitchell also did the photography for The Met’s Superfine exhibit book and has done some of the most iconic Vogue covers from Beyoncé to this month’s feature with Greta and Ayo (everyone’s fashion icons). He’s incredible and he’s just getting starting.

Bottom Row:

The Jean Prouvé door at The Row store in Paris | Photo: Courtesy of The Row

1. Jean Prouvé: Constructive Imagination ($55, on sale): Jean Prouvé was a French designer and self-taught architect, well known for transferring manufacturing technology from industry to architecture, without losing aesthetics. Effectively, he is the father of prefabs, which may sound boring, but his designs are anything but that. The Row’s newest store in Paris features a vintage Prouvé door for their changing room and an authentic steel Prouvé chair is up on 1stDibs for over $27k.

2. Sar: The Essence of Indian Design ($30, on sale): When I first started LOTA, this was one of the first books I bought to go deep into the stories of everyday items I knew but didn’t know the source of—from block prints to Godrej almirahs. It’s a treasure trove of designs that India is known and loved for.

   @lota_goods

   

   Lota Goods on Instagram: "India Mahdavi (@indiamahdavi) is a ma…

3. India Mahdavi ($40, on sale): Another obsession that I couldn’t wait to share when I started LOTA (see post above from 2022) was the work of India Mahdavi. Of Iranian and Egyptian descent, Mahdavi has become one of the premier interior designers and her mastery of color and patterns at scale is enviable. She is best known for her work at Sketch London where she created every Millennial Pink lover’s dreams, but I love her residential projects that usher palettes in with the ease of a cozy nook.

4. Defining Style: The Book of Interior Design ($52, on sale): It is an incredible look at 25 interior design styles from around the world, brought to life by incredible architects and designers. Longtime LOTA readers know this is a topic close to my heart and this book provides an endless source of inspiration (yes, I have this one too) for interiors and beyond.

Art-Adjacent Things

A made-up bucket for all the beautiful things that are steeped in story, craft, and design.

Clockwise from top left:

@blockshoptextiles

Block Shop Textiles on Instagram: "IT’S HERE! 🥳🥳


We are thr…

1. Block Shop x LACMA Robe ($165): Made for LACMA’s exhibition Deep Cuts: Block Printing Across Cultures, LA-based design studio, Block Shop, made this robe in a print inspired by William Morris’s “Rose” textile, substituting California poppies for the English roses. Each piece is printed and hand-dyed in small batches, celebrating the history of block printing. Love this brand and if you are getting mom a robe, make it this one!

2. Odanaka Calendar 2026 ($15): A stencil-dyed calendar created in Japan by Koichi Odanaka who studied under a master in dyeing crafts. Each month’s design features motifs of seasonal scenes and traditional Japanese craft. Available from a gem of a store in my neighborhood in LA, tortoise general store.

   

   I bought the Surmeyi Love Lariat at the Renegade Craft Fair a few weeks ago. I chose it in brass, which will develop the perfect patina with wear. Styled here with two of my favorite pieces from the men’s section—my market-find Oaxacan guayabera and my RealReal find of the year, a Chimala work jacket. Obsessed.

3. Love Lariat by Surmeyi ($168): Inspired by the @lovecrew graffiti artists in Los Angeles and traditional South Indian ornament, Thandatti, traditionally gifted from parents to daughters, Surmeyi created a modern collection that offers homage to both. All of their pieces are stunning and each collection is thoughtfully curated, designed, and created.

   @lota_goods

   

   Lota Goods on Instagram: ""This space is a tribute to diversity…

4. Coasters by Fish Design by Gaetano Pesce ($35): Another early LOTA love (post above about post his designs for Matthieu Blazy’s Bottega SS23 show where Kate Moss wore the look with trompe l’oiel jeans and plaid shirt). Gaetano Pesce’s vision has always been defined by play and pleasure, but on his own terms. He rejects traditional definitions of modernity - minimalism, clean lines, rigidity, and efficiency. His work is organic, eccentric, and bold. What a fun nod to his incredible designs on your tabletop.

5. Fine art stationery set by ($30): I love stationery and this set by an artist I found on Substack, , is stunning. Featuring six cards with deckled edges and prints of her beautiful landscapes it’s the perfect gift for a friend who loves writing notes or can even be framed as a set.

6. Irodori Kobako Travel Paint Set ($17): Perfect for a budding artist of any age (I can see my daughter loving this), a travel paint set with six traditional Japanese watercolors. The set also includes a brush pen and water brush pen, all packaged in a washi-paper box. Too cute.

7. Kaiba Coaster Set in Acacia Wood ($100): I recently met the founder of LA-based Ifsthetic, Brittney Ifemebi, and absolutely fell in love. Ifemebi started her career in fashion at Brandon Maxwell and later launched her home brand devoted to detail, craft, and timeless designs. She works with artisans in Peru and India and sources her textiles from Nigeria. I can’t say enough about how beautiful the pieces are.

   @eastforkpottery

   

   EAST FORK on Instagram: "A glimpse into the making of The Matis…

8. The Mug Femmes et singes ($68): In last week’s gift guide, I talked about my love for Asheville. East Fork is a ceramics studio founded there, and it was a joy to visit their space this summer (they also have stores in Atlanta and Brooklyn) A lesser-known fact is that East Fork was founded by Matisse’s great-grandson, Alex Matisse, who had deliberately left out his full name when he first started the brand. In a full circle moment, Matisse’s work entered the US public domain this year and they launched a collection to honor it.

9. 2025 Collage Ornament by Twiggy Boyer ($40): Another wonderful Substack find is the collage art of . These one-of-a-kind collage ornaments are a incredible tiny works of art and special keepsakes. Boyer is a French-born artist living in America and known for her work that nostalgic mixed-media collages created using vintage found photographs.

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However you celebrate, I hope this list gives you a few ideas that feel as thoughtful and layered as the people you’re shopping for. A great gift is really just a story in object form – a book that reminds you of a story they told, a mug that offers an tiny moment of joy, an ornament that makes them smile every year.

And to keep discovering new voices in emerging art, get the context behind the stories that shape them, and belong to a community redefining the art world subscribe below

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Old LOTA Gift Guides

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