gump’s

The Philes

~ Margaret DTH ~ 8 Comments

#4 Very Gifted: Gift Ideas

Gifts for:
*The Sinaphile
*The Cinephile
*The Cynophile

Do you know one of those phile-istines? You know, that person who is all ’bout it, ’bout it? This is the gift list for them. The person who’s into all things Chinese culture (the Sinaphile) (ahem, Susan’s mom), all things cinema (the Cinephile), and/or all things dog (the Cynophile aka yours truly).

For the Sinaphile, my first stop was Gump’s. In case you aren’t familiar with Gump’s, it’s a San Francisco department store. But it’s more than a regular department store; it’s magestic, fancy, dating back to the Gold Rush, and not a chain. Not a chain department store! And you thought you’d heard of everything. Gump’s draws a lot of it’s inspirations from Asia.
buddha
The Gump’s Ch’ing Dynasty gilded wood Buddha is the largest of its kind outside of a museum, according to the Gump’s website. What I’m trying to say is, Gump’s knows their shit. So for the die hard Sinaphile, I recommend a Gump’s jade bracelet.
jade bracelet
This puppy is pretty pricy, however. So back-up jade bangle recommendation?
Ruby Lane
HOLY SHIT!! VINTAGE GIVENCHY FOR $65. This one blows my mind. For realz.

Moving on! The Cinephile, what is a good gift (besides movie tickets) for the Cinephile? I originally scouted out the Sundance gift boutique, but though they offer lovely jewelries, there wasn’t a thing that said “film aficionado”. So I asked myself, what does it mean to be a Cinephile? Who would you love best? Wong Kar Wai? Truffaut? For so many reasons, I am going with Hitchcock. Thanks to the Learn about Gemstones blog for reminding me of the lovely ruby necklace in Vertigo.

kim novak vertigo ruby gold pendant necklace


It’s hard to find something comparable but I like this Max & Chloe ruby drop necklace.

Finally, the Cynophiles. Now we are SUPER easy. Just pick out our brand of dog! Unfortunately for the mutts of the world you’ll have to approximate. This little guy by Dogeared is good for Chihuahua and the Chiweenies toooooo.
chiweenie

What do you think? Everybody happy with the ideas so far? Need help finding something special? I’m on it! “Woof woof,” says Leroy. “I’m ready for dinner,” says Bandit.

The daily disclaimer: I would be remiss if I didn’t offer the link to my online store… I write these posts for my love of jewelry and gift giving, there’s no sponsors here but ME for MYSELF 😀

Charmed, I’m Sure

~ Margaret DTH ~ 6 Comments

#2 VERY GIFTED: GREAT GIFT IDEAS

Gifts for:
*The Cutie Pie Nieces 2yrs to 13yrs
*The Avengers Fan Girl
*The World Traveler

Remember how I recommended starting a gift tradition? Well nothing is easier for a gift tradition than a charm bracelet. They come in all sorts, but the best ones you add a charm and grow them over the years. You can stick with a theme: all cats! Or places you’ve visited! Favorite foods! Winning sports teams! Etc. The options are ENORMOUS.

For my super cutie little nieces I started a tradition of Charmits. It’s very affordable jewelry: mostly rainbows and robots. You buy the $9 chain and select a bunch of fun charm options. The best part is Charmits are not something so precious that a lost or damaged charm would result in a broken heart.
milk and cookies
Are you kidding me?!? So freaking cute.
hamster
WOT! Tiny hamster! *head explodes*

Hold up a second, I need to collect myself.

Clearly, big girls like cutie charms too. A special shout out goes to all the comic book fangirls. Because guess what? Santa’s got the perfect geek girl charms for you, too.
avengers
Yep, those are some Avengers Bow Charms hand made by Ganda Kris. Heads up, these are BYOCB (BYO charm bracelet), however.

Charm bracelets are not just for girls and fan girls. What about that favorite Aunt of yours, the glamorous world traveler? Gump’s has you covered. How fancy you wanna be? Silver or Gold? Because there’re options in both.
passport
charm bracelet
Above is an example of the completed bracelet, which, if you’re as impatient as I am, that’s also a contender.

Still looking for charm bracelet ideas? Don’t worry, it’s coming.

The daily disclaimer: I would be remiss if I didn’t offer the link to my online store… I write these posts for my love of jewelry and gift giving, there’s no sponsors here but ME for MYSELF 😀

8.28.14 So late to work

~ Margaret DTH ~ Leave a comment

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Pearls and silver!! There’s a fascinating book that I read awhile ago. In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki where he talks about the look and feel of silver. Japanese society prizes the tarnish of silver, apparently. I think of this everytime that I wear silver, especially when the jewelry is not recently polished. Tanizaki talks of the patina, the shadows of the metal, which reflects the age and wear of an item. Maybe even reflects the owner’s love for it. But I don’t know, there’s something so satisfying about polishing silver. Taking a bracelet from gray to sparkling silver. I did not do that today, however. These bracelets are definitely sporting some patina.

Bottom to top: silver cuff from Mexico that my father gave me years ago, the Elsa Peretti pearl bracelet my honey gave me for my 30th and swears that I never wear (It’s so fragile! It’d break my heart to damage it), another Elsa Peretti but a cuff of XOs my dad gave me in the late 90’s, and two delicate cuffs I think Native American in origin but again a gift from my dad.

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Second picture! Stupid selfie, I look so tense probably because I hate taking them but I wanted to show off the pearls. Miles and miles of Gump’s pearls from my dad. I miss him, can you tell? It’s nice to wear the things he gave me, I just wish they were he.