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Holiday gifts for every Angeleno in your life

’Tis the season to support LA makers

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O come, all ye faithful Angelenos. In the season of gift-giving, remember to buy local. In Los Angeles, there’s no shortage of talented makers and home-sprung business to support, from illustrators to a pool float company to glass artists. These trinkets, decor, and experiences, priced from $15 to $80, celebrate the best of the city’s artisanship, architecture, climate, and topography—and would make special presents for every LA lover in your life.


Hollyhock house print

$50 | Chris Turnham

Commemorate LA’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site designation with an illustration of the Hollyhock House by Los Angeles artist Chris Turnham. The concrete residence was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1921. At the time, Wright was trying to establish a new type of architecture to define Southern California, which was still looking to Europe for inspiration. Now all eyes are on LA—and they can be on your wall, too.

An illustration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House by Chris Turnham.


Clear rainbow chaise lounger pool float

$79 | Funboy

Venice Beach-based Funboy had been in business for three weeks when Taylor Swift put its giant fowl float on the Instagram map. Thanks to celebrity endorsements, Funboy’s swans quickly became ubiquitous at pool parties the world over. But the local company also sells more classy inflatables, including this S-shaped chaise longue in sunset shades of pink, apricot, and yellow.

A Funboy inflatable chaise lounger for a swimming pool. The lounger is pink, yellow, and orange.

Cast bronze candlesticks

$86-$96 | All Roads

Yucca Valley-based craftsman Robert Dougherty and textile artist Janelle Pietrzak, together known as All Roads, have collaborated with brands big and small, from Ace Hotel to local chain Coffee Commissary. Their rough-hewn bronze candlesticks, which are cast in sand, would make a handsome adornment atop a dining table or bookshelf, especially when grouped together.

Two cast bronze candlesticks on a wooden table against a concrete wall. There are dark blue candles in the candlesticks.

Turkish Terry Towels

$55 | Otherwild

There are traditional two-toned Turkish towels, then there are these Skittle-esque versions. The multicolored pattern from the Los Feliz shop Otherwild adds personality to an already classic, high-quality gift.

A Turkish towel is rolled up on a blue background. The towel has a colorful pattern and fringed tassels.

LA original paperweight

$38 | Concrete Geometric

For a gift that’s more on the nose, there’s this decorative concrete sculpture of the city’s best-known nickname. Created in a home studio in Sylmar, the minimalist object could double as a paperweight and a bookend. A portion of proceeds benefit a program at the Downtown Women’s Center that teaches job training and maker skills to women transitioning out of homelessness.

A concrete paperweight that spells out the nickname of Los Angeles: L.A.

Norden Idyllwild Candle

$55 | Idyllwild Candle

Idyllwild “holds a really special place” in the hearts of the candlemakers at Nordon, as it does for many Angelenos, who retreat to the quaint mountain town to cool off in the summer, watch trees change color in the autumn, and play in the snow in the winter. Held in creamy hand-thrown stoneware, this cedar, sage, and citrus candle pays homage to its namesake.

A cream colored sculpted stoneware Idyllwild candle holder. The candle within the candle holder is lit.

Citrine hexy cups

$80 pair | Neptune Glass Works

Pour a drink in glassware more intoxicating than the liquid it holds. Available in black, olive, citrine, and pink, these semi-transparent cups are imprinted with designs resembling tree rings. Hexagonal in shape and available in sets of two or six, they are designed by artisans based in Downtown Los Angeles.

Three handmade glasses designed by artisans in Los Angeles. There is a pink glass, an orange glass, and a clear glass. The pink and orange glass have a hexagonal shape. Each glass has a drink in it with fruit and plant garnishes.

Art Deco walking tour

$15 | Los Angeles Conservancy

Los Angeles is most associated with modernism, but arguably, its most beautiful buildings are Art Deco. On this 2.5-hour walking tour of Downtown led by the experts from the Los Angeles Conversancy, become acquainted with 10 edifices erected in the 1920s and ’30s and learn what makes Jazz Age architecture.

The exterior of the Eastern Columbia Lofts in Los Angeles. The facade is green with a white sign that reads: Eastern. There is a clock on the building. There are orange decorative flourishes.

Stained glass

$70 | David Scheid

It was a writer for the New Yorker (of all people) who aptly described the late-afternoon light of Los Angeles as the city’s soul. Capture and animate that light with a piece of geometric, multicolored stained glass made by a Los Angeles artist.

A multicolor stained glass object on a necklace. The object is shaped like a triangle with red, blue, and purple panes of glass set within black framework.