Last-minute gifts for art and design lovers
When it comes to the holiday shopping season, it is officially the 11th hour. Not to worry, though, we’ve scouted area boutiques for the finest lastminute gift ideas for the art- and design-loving people on your list.
These gift ideas are handmade and crafted right here in Wisconsin, too, so you can feel proud of supporting your local art economy.
1. Tactile Craftworks’ laser-etched journals and flasks. These were definitely among the most handsome objects I saw on my travels, refined but rustic, hand crafted and yet high tech, too. Found at: Sparrow Collective, Permanent Baggage, Hometown Established and The Waxwing.
2. Michael Kautzer’s bright barns. Modern, crisp and colorful yet hearkening back to our Midwestern history and landscape, these barn-shaped sculptures are a simple delight. Found at: Pfister Holiday Marketplace.
3. Misty Nagan’s jewelry made from vintage silverware. I especially loved the silver-and-leather cuffs and dramatic necklaces made by this De Pere-based artist. Prices vary. Found at: Orange Gallery and Permanent Baggage.
4. Janelle Gramling’s fiber-andceramic necklaces and wall hangings. Hard geometries and soft and malleable materials make for incredibly beautiful objects in Gramling’s hands. Found at: Orange Gallery and Olson House.
5. Della Wells’ art dolls. These pillowlike dolls can stir the imagination and an intimacy with the past. These are wonderfully approachable objects, handmade and painted. Each one is accompanied by a handwritten rhyme or story. Prices from $15 to $175. Found at: Pfister Holiday Marketplace.
6. Ceramics at the Portrait Society Gallery. Some of Milwaukee’s best artists, including some who don’t normally work in clay, have works for sale in this inaugural show of pots at one of my favorite galleries. Prices vary.
7. Tretow and Neevel’s Fine Woodworking tables. Tretow’s rugged, workhorse tables and lamps have a surprising lightness. Neevel’s hexagon-shaped tables have a classic, modern touch in warm materials. Both found at: Olson House.
8. Green Gallery Press little art books. A little section of Form, a wonderful boutique at the Milwaukee Public Market, has been carved out as an annex for the Green Gallery’s limited-edition press, which includes a collection of art books.
9. Sarah Luther’s drawings. The Milwaukee artist’s unconventional note cards, field maps and drawings are magical and singular. I love them. Found at: Pfister Holiday Marketplace.
10. Heather Hambrecht’s leather bags. Expressive, sculptural bags, from small purses to hefty over-theshoulder numbers. Prices vary. Found at: Milwaukee Art Museum Store.
11. Kamryn Kay Boelk’s fashion accessories. While I loved the thin stacks of leather bracelets and the colorful leather and linen wristlet bags, my favorite was the leather cuff bracelet. Boelk is hosting the Permanent Baggage pop-up through Dec. 23. Also found at Sparrow Collective and The Waxwing.
12. Bay View Printing Co. prints and cards. The place smells of ink and paper. My favorite print reads thus: “maybe we’ll spread to the stars and last for billions of trillions of years.” All quite reasonably priced.
SHOPPING LOCALLY
Be sure to check for special holiday hours. Bay View Printing Co. 2702 S Howell Ave. www.bayviewprintingco.com Form 400 N. Water St. (inside Milwaukee Public Market) cargocollective.com/formfinegoods Hometown Established 321 W. National Ave. hometown-established-a-general-store. myshopify.com Hot Pop 201 N. Water St. www.hotpopshop.com Hummingbirch 3205 S. Howell Ave. www.facebook.com/Hummingbirch Milwaukee Art Museum 700 Art Museum Dr. www.mam.org Olson House 4326 Oakland Ave. olson-house.com Orange Gallery 1438 E. Russell Ave. www.orangegallerymke.com Permanent Baggage 914 Hamilton St. www.permanentbaggage.com Pfister Holiday Marketplace 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. (inside Pfister Hotel) www.thepfisterhotel.com/marketplace Portrait Society Gallery 207 E. Buffalo St. portraitsocietygallery.com Rock Paper Scissors 757 N. Milwaukee St. www.rockpaperscissorshop.com Sparrow Collective 2224 S Kinnickinnic Ave. sparrowcollective.com The Waxwing 4417 N Oakland Ave., Shorewood www.thewaxwing.com Art Bar 722 E. Burleigh St. www.facebook.com/artbarmke