The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gifts for everyone — including your mother
Find something unique by shopping boutique artists and retailers.
Modern edge
Engineer-turned-artist Wiwat Kamolpornwijit uses polymer clay in his contemporary jewelry designs.
The artist: Kamolpornwijit grew up in Thailand, where he attended an engineering college. He moved to the United States to attend graduate school at New Jersey Institute of Technology and worked as an environmental researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for six years. At a fundraising event for his temple in 2004, he started playing with polymer clay. Three years later he opted to pursue his art full time. Kamolpornwijit lives in Alexandria, Va. The goods & materials:
Extremely lightweight jewelry
made from polymer clay, silver and beads.
The process: The artist forms each piece of polymer clay by hand and uses several techniques in his designs, including caning, engraving, weaving and layering. All colors are the original colors of clay (no paint is applied). Beads and wires are added to complement the clay work.
What’s popular: Designs in black and white (under $100). Also earrings ($35 to $195) and necklaces ($45 to $700).
Claim to fame: Exhibited for the first time at the 2018 Smithsonian Craft Show last month in Washington.
Fun (or unusual) request: “When someone asked me to say my name really fast.”
Where to buy: Kamolpornwijit.com. Also at popular Artisphere festival in Greenville, S.C., May 11-13 (artisphere.org).
Uncommon scents
Atlanta’s Teri Xerogeanes creates eco-chic candle collections — from 30A to Blue Ridge — that bring to mind a favorite getaway.
The company: Wax Candle Bar, based in Atlanta, started in 2017. The company invites customers to customize a candle by choosing the container, the wax (soy, bee or coconut), and the scent (from more than 16 fragrances).
The founder: Teri Xerogeanes grew up in Michigan and graduated from Ferris State University. After college, she worked for Pfizer and moved to Atlanta in 1993. She first began making candles for herself, then as gifts for friends. A holiday trunk show helped kick-start her business.
What’s popular: Summer Fig is the top fragrance. For containers: the St. Simons ($55) and Cloister ($60) with mercury glass finishes. Also the Lanier ($45) and Reynolds ($55) in birch-wrapped bowls.
Other favorites: The Atlantan ($90), a large, black metal bowl with a gold interior finish. The container holds almost 4 pounds of wax and has four wicks.
What’s new: Wax Candle Bar’s Refill Bag ($25). The DIY kit includes 2 pounds of soy wax, fragrance, two wicks, a wax wand for stirring and instructions.
Where to buy: WaxCandleBar.com. In Atlanta, at EcoHome Atlanta, 2385
Peachtree Road, (ecohomeatlanta.com) and Sugarcoat, 4365 Roswell Road.
Skin deep
Southern meets modern science in Savannah-based Sapelo Skin Care.
The founders: Stephanie Duttenhaver and Cindy Edwards. Duttenhaver grew up in Savannah and earned a marketing and management degree from Armstrong State University. Edwards, a University of Georgia grad, is from Claxton. The women, who met working on a community event, decided to team up on a new, healthy skin care line.
The company: Sapelo Skin Care started in Savannah in 2012 and launched its first product three years later.
The goods: A luxurious collection of natural skin products created using proven and effective ingredients inspired by the barrier islands off the Georgia coast.
What’s popular: Rejuvenating Cream ($240), Spring Tide Serum ($195), and Restoring Eye Serum ($95).
Other favorites: AntiAging Enzyme Mask ($75) and Softening Emollient ($95).
Fun (or unusual) request: A collaboration with The Spa at Sea Island’s aesthetics team, who asked the company to create a gentle and effective skin nourishing system that was 100 percent safe for pregnant and nursing mothers who were visiting the spa on their “babymoons.” The Milk & Honey Collection was born.
Where to buy: SapeloSkinCare.com. In Atlanta, at the Spa at the Mandarin Oriental, 3376 Peachtree Road.