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Trade shows are the Scouting team’s favorite one-stop shops for discovering what’s out there, and NY Now was the first we’ve attended since the pandemic began. Being able to experience the touch and feel of a vase (the show highlights gifts for the upcoming holiday season) felt revolutionary after a year and a half of staring at images on a screen. After a morning spent exploring the endless rows of booths—some from brands we know and love, others from fledgling new studios—you’re guaranteed a full camera roll and a solid grasp on what’s about to be everywhere. Here, we’ve rounded up the top five trends that will be inspiring our gifts (for others and ourselves) this year.
Shapely Glassware
Colored glassware is the trend that keeps on trending, but the latest take we’re seeing is all about out-of-the-ordinary shapes. From old-fashioned glasses with mountainlike impressions to bases that double as shot glasses (just flip ’em over!), holiday cheers-ing looks a little different this year.
Monti-SOF Old-Fashioned Glasses, Sempli ($50/pair)
Single 7:2 Multipurpose Glass
Mamo
Organization by Way of Japan
KonMari is far from the only Japanese brand with organizing chops. These two-tier bento boxes by heritage company Takenaka keep a meal and 3 p.m. snack in order for when desk lunches return. And while you’re still working from home, this painted steel toolbox, stamped and folded in Osaka, has multiple adjustable shelves to house art supplies, DIY essentials, or simply paperwork and pens.
Bento Nibble Box
Takenaka
Steel Toolbox with Cantilever Lid and Upper Storage Trays by Toyo
Ameico
Rainbow Brights
Why pick one color when you can have them all? Rainbow hues—in the form of French steak knife handles, vintage seat webbing, and more—are here to bring in a bit of added fun just when we need it most.
Claude Dozorme Berlingot Set of Twelve Steak Knives
Laguiole
Suncatcher Stool
AMLgMATD
Sustainable, But Make It Stylish
From wrapping paper to plastic dinnerware, holiday celebrations can produce more waste than you realize. But knives handcrafted from railroad tracks or yoga mats woven with biodegradable hemp provide all of the cheer and none of the guilt.
The Ritual Rug
Ma Wovens
#63 Vegetable Knife by Master Shin's Anvil
Ameico
A Classic Reimagined
Get your glow on like it’s the 18th century with this update on an ancient silhouette. If Celsius 54’s wax candles feel too pretty to burn, Greypants’s rechargeable lamp will last forever.
Tallow Candle
Celsius 54
Wick Lamp
Greypants