Megan Herbert has produced a range of five gift-wrapping papers created to enhance your gifts for any occasion. An Australian-born illustrator and writer, she is now based in Iceland. In the Summer of 2009 she and designer Sruli Recht (and our friend) opened their own concept store, Vopnabúrið, in downtown Reykjavik. Iceland’s beautiful desolation is a big influence on her work.

Love these, especially the bloody one, bottom left!

Felissimo – the design house on 56th street in New York – is opening a JAPAN BRAND holiday pop up shop from Nov 23rd to Dec 24th.  Awesome stuff!

One of the items is a limited edition series of extraordinary, exceptionally expensive chess sets (up to $55K) made of lacquer, silver plating and gold leaf. The sets were designed by world renowned media artist Alexander Gelman and crafted by traditional Japanese artisans.

The other is the bicycle above which looks absolutely amazing: As part of his foray into lacquerware, Gelman also created a custom, one-of-a-kind lacquer bicycle. To build it, he hand-picked the highest grade components from Shimano, the worlds’ leading bicycle manufacturer.

The shop is here in New York city at The Felissimo Design House, 10 West 56th Street.  Swing by for a visit if you’re in the area.

We’re big fans of I Heart Guts. The adorable LA-based family hit the perfect formula for didactic design with their plush organs. For jaded adults (and precocious kids), a soft heart (”I Got The Beat”) or a plus kidney (”When Urine Love”) is just what the doctor ordered. One of the best offbeat bits of toy news from early 2008 was when the plush uterus was recalled due to detachable ovaries that could pose a choking hazard risk. While all other organs in the I Heart Guts body of work are certified safe under US and European codes, they are bringing back the infamous adults-only uterus for Mother’s Day. It’s on sale for just $14 here. Or as the site says: “When it’s that time of the month, you may not like your uterus much, but hey, you wouldn’t be here without one, so give props to this special reproductive organ.”

Every year the MoMA store unveils a lineup of holiday cards that makes us reconsider making our own. That and Fluffy always refuses to pose in her Santa suit. When the Modern Art Museum first launched their holiday lineup over 50 years ago, the cards featured original work by artists such as Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol who had pieces in the museum. This pracitice is no longer in season, but the cards are memorable nonetheless. This year the MoMA offers 56 different paper masterpieces printed on high-quality stock that range from the spiritual to the whimsical. So whether doves and driedels are your thing or you’re more moved by an ornery reindeer yanking off a snowman’s holiday scarf you’ll be able to find something that will put a smile on whoever receives one from you. Stay classy, holiday senders.

Ah, yes, the holiday gift giving season has arrived. You know what that means? Annoying jingles, lots of cards, the smell of Christmas trees (and our Chanukah candles) and our chance to scour this site (and many more) to bring you the best of 2008 in the form of our distinctly awesome holiday gift guides. This year in addition to buying guides (of all prices), we’re going to be giving away a couple big gifts to you, our dear readers.

Stay tuned over the next 25 days, you’ll surely enjoy what’s to come.

As always, thanks for the support!

-Josh

Our good pals over at Threadless are at it again for the holiday season, but this time they’ve gone recession conscious and dropped the price on hundreds of t-shirts to $5.00. Seriously awesome and unnecessary ($15 is cheap as it is), but what a great gift. Go check it out and be nude no more, like, now.