STYLISH GIFTING: GLOBAL GIRL LISA FINE'S TOP 10 GIFT LIST

Photo courtesy of Lisa Fine

Lisa Fine walking the streets of Paris. She calls New York and Paris home, but roams the globe the rest of the time. Her eponymous line of block - printed fabrics in wonderful colors and patterns was years in the making, as she gathered inspiration from her various travels.

She has been to India over 30 times. In the past 10 years, she has worked her way through two passports, sending both back for additional pages. Because of this, I knew Lisa Fine would be just the on-the-go gal to share her unique, beautiful and internationally-inspired gift selections with us.

The native Texan is someone who knows wanderlust very well.  The nonchalant chic textile and clothing designer Lisa Fine finds inspiration all around her. The world is becoming a smaller place, but with her focused eye, she shows us there are still a few far-flung goods worth seeking out that are not on everyone's radar.

Photo courtesy of Irving and Fine

In addition to her fabrics, her easy, chic clothing collection created with Carolina Irving has become a hit among those in the know. The Lucknow dress from Irving and Fine is has the signature flouncy sleeve of the first early styles.

 

 Photo courtesy of Barneys

For those on the go, a chic Passport case makes getting it stamped that much more special. This Smythson Chameleon version is a favorite, from Barneys New York. Give it in the favorite color of the recipient.

Photo courtesy of I Pezzi Dipinti

Airplanes get cold and temperatures drop in the evenings, so I like to bring along a wrap. Luckily, I Pezzi Dipinti just launched an e-commerce shop in time for the holidays. Their cashmere and wool designs have a certain understated chicness to them.  I like to give a matching cashmere sweater and scarf to ward off a chill. The Indian-made Wanka Khana Wool Scarf is hand loomed and tie dyed in varying indigo shades.

 

 Photo courtesy of Hiefer International

Give a farm animal to an impoverished family through Heifer International.

The recipient will receive a card of the type of animal and what country. Donations start at as little as $10 and go up. You can buy $1000 camel and split it among as many friends as you choose.

Photo courtesy of Greyledge Farm

For those that like a good steak, send over some packages of organic and grass - fed steaks from Terry and Libby Fitzgerald's Roxbury, CT-based Greyledge Farms.

Photo courtesy of Creel and Gow

Light up dinner parties with Fluorite votive candle holders from the recently opened curiosity cabinet emporium, Creel and Gow, www.creelandgow.com

Photo courtesy of Shompale

For the friend or special one, give an 18K gold ring made by Masai artisan women from Kenya's Shompale Conservancy. The profits help save the Elephants. This version is embedded with emeralds.

Photo courtesy of Leontine Linens

Personalization shows you went the extra step getting something made. Show your thanks with a custom made set of linen place mats and napkins from Leontine Linens

Photo courtesy of Random House
You can't go wrong with a new book, especially if it involves comfort food and entertaining at home. One such book is a new staple, My Beverly Hills Kitchen, Alex Hitz's Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist.

Photo courtesy of Rizzoli
For the decorating set, Charlotte Moss has her newest visual delight, A Visual Life, from Rizzoli, featuring her highly detailed collages interspersed with gardening, travel and entertaining inspirations. The red cover adds a festive touch this time of year.

PARIS ARRIVE A NEW YORK: MARCHE AUX PUCES HITS BARNEYS

If you didn't make it to Paris for Maison Objet, with a side trip to the famed La Marche Aux Puces flea market in Clignancourt, you are in luck, because it has come to you.  Barneys New York is saving you the price of a plane ticket, and the cost of shipping a container home. After mining through hundreds of decorative objects and antiques, Dennis Freedman, creative director of Barneys New York, cherry-picked his favorites to bring back to New York. Three stalls have been set up in Chelsea Passage on the 9th floor of the store, filled with unusual original pieces, ranging from a mod orange 60's chair to architectural salvage to funky metal sculptures from the 1930's. The range of styles, priced from $200 to $5000, makes the assortment worth seeing, since once its gone it's gone baby gone.  It will be there till mid-November, vite!

Photos courtesy of Tom Sibley

One of the three dramatically lit stalls

It's all in the mix

Need an arched window from a cathedral?

There is a bit of everything

The metal bird is fabulous

It's fun to see the diversity of materials

Displayed gallery style, you don't have to fight the pushy crowds here

MURIEL'S WORLD: AN EXOTIC JOURNEY

It has been Muriel's month this October in New York. From a Barneys pop-up shop dedicated to her exclusive limited edition collection of hand-beaded home-furnishings and custom Taffin Candle to a highly successful special auction of 120 pieces at Phillips on October 21st, to her book launch, Muriel Brandolini's special brand of glamorous exotic creations has made a splash here. Exquisitely sophisticated and dreamy, her interiors are luscious eye candy.

Photos courtesy of Rizzoli
Muriel Brandolini lives in a technicolor world. Her interiors pulsate with vibrant color, and transport her clients to a fantasy world where rich textiles, vibrant prints, patchwork woven fabrics, modern accents, striking antiques and unexpected colors collide. These surreal interiors, collected in Rizzoli's The World of Muriel Brandolini Interiors, are truly amazing. Her French Vietnamese multicultural upbringing, with time spent in Vietnam to Venice, give her customized environments a highly unique point of view. It is a treat to have this visionary designer's interiors under one cover, as well as learn her personal journey. The pages will draw you into her fantastically bold world, one you will not want to leave.

Brandolini used the Chinese opium bed and the eclectic combo of hot pink and red years before it became a thing. Shown here with her children, she created a transporting haven in her New York apartment.

Painted candy colored steps relate the color palette back to the rest of her home. A large Vietnamese lantern is a great foil for the poppy colors.

Two black patent leather banquettes with patchwork pillows ground the painted celadon with grey and red floral walls. As unexpected as this combination is, it works.

The canvas of her New York living room is ever evolving. This is her second incarnation of the space, with two long sofas, an art deco table, horsehair covered stools and a round kelly green velvet settee creating a focal point in the long room.

To think that this interior was done in the 1990's, before coral was everywhere, really shows Brandolini's independent design spirit. In a New York foyer, a chocolate brown felt wall with giant coral applique is a statement if there ever was one. An oxblood console ties the colors together creating a wonderful moment.

BARNEYS POP UP:

A special Taffin candle is available in store and online at Barneys. The signature Fleur D'Oranger scent wafts through Brandolini's interiors, providing an exotic, transporting experience in her client's homes.

The shop, in Chelsea Passage, offers custom beaded pillows, beaded and embroidered tables, sling chairs, pendant lights and ornate rugs, set against her signature patchwork fabric backdrop. Step into her world for a sensory escape. Also available online at Barneys.

The pillows are incredibly detailed with wild patterns in unexpected color combinations.

A round puce rug with an abstracted pattern and surrealist tables is Jetson's- meets- Venice.