Holiday Gift Guide: A Few of Our Favorite Things

With the holidays on the way, some of our staff and regulars are using the knowledge they've amassed from perusing and recharging in the Wexner Center Store to steer you toward some great gift ideas. Their list covers giftees of virtually all ages, a wide price range, and sources from the New York Times to Columbus-based design companies. If we left out something you love (or you want to drop someone a well-placed hint), feel free to expand on our Store gift list with your own pic on Instagram or Facebook. Tag us so we can share, too.

Brandon Ballog, Senior Graphic Designer

Leap Before You Look t-shirt, $20

Black Mountain College lapel pin, $7.50

Enamel pins by People I’ve Loved, $12 each

"Enamel pins really are the new rock buttons: better in quality, they don’t fall off your clothing, and small in price. The pins by People I’ve Loved are both illustrative and funny, great for anyone on your shopping list. The Black Mountain College pin being a reproduction of the school’s original logo, is perfect for art and design lovers. Keeping with the Black Mountain spirit, the exhibition t-shirt features the typographic identity of the show printed locally by Alison Rose with one pass of ink for a soft and vintage feel."

Marisa Espe, Curatorial Assistant

The Gentlewoman magazine, $15.99

"This is an incredible publication and an inspiring read for anyone. Learn about innovative, creative women from all over the world, and find empowerment and hope for the future through their stories."

Amber DuPree, Administrative Associate

Eames Molded Plastic Armchair Rocker by Herman Miller for the Home, $666

“My siblings and I actually went in on getting this rocker for my Mom for Christmas a few years ago. My Mom cried tears of joy and my sister has already called bequeath dibs.”

New York Times: 36 Hours USA & Canada, $39.99

“I cannot explain the countless times I’ve flipped through this book dreaming about weekend getaways. It’s a winter cabin fever cure.”  

Richard Fletcher, Associate Professor, Ohio State's Department of Classics, and Wex regular

Part Object Part Sculpture, $39.95

Twice Untitled and Other Pictures (looking back), $35

Solitaire, $24.95

Chris Marker: Staring Back, $39.95

"I visit the store too much and I buy too many books, so my gifts will be books. I’ve also been thinking a lot about past exhibitions at the Wexner Center—I’m a classics professor so I think about the past a lot—and about how we need to reactivate the past to bring something new. The first exhibition I saw here was Part Object Part Sculpture. It was on my first campus visit when I came from Cambridge in 2006. I was flying in and I had all these interviews, but I knew about those Cy Twombly sculptures in the exhibition, so when I had a 15-minute break I ran to see those sculptures. I was just amazed by the Wexner Center. You can look through all these exhibition catalogues and go back in time."

Sylke Krell, Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications, and husband Chris Allen

Boobs & Butt mugs by And Here We Are, $20 each

“Everyone needs mugs, you can’t have too many. These mugs by And Here We Are are locally made and appropriately cheeky. Perfect gift exchange, friend or hostess/host gift for the holidays. Who wouldn’t smile drinking coffee from either one in the morning?”

Jim Petsche, Administrative Associate, Director's Office

This Is... books by M. Sasek, $17.95 each

"M. Sasek’s large picture books were my first window on the world in elementary school. The author and illustrator in the late 1950s and early 1960s crafted travel books highlighting sights and cultures in places that, for a child, were only names (Israel, Edinburgh, Munich) heard on the network news, seen on colorful wall maps and globes, or mentioned in adult conversations. Sasek created a series of these books that spark a child’s curiosity but still charm an adult’s, including this one. My copy of This is Greece (where my maternal grandfather was born), purchased at the Wex store a couple years ago, remains a cherished item. The Sasek books are part of a larger children’s book collection at the store, beautiful books that spark creativity and culture among tomorrow’s artists and storytellers."