2016 Holiday Gift Guide for Web & Design Geeks

Looking for that perfect gift for your Design or Web Geek friend? Well, for the sixth year in a row, here are our picks!

Note: As a lot of these are too whimsical or expensive for normal human beings, we recommend shopping local. Better yet, consider a donation to one of the many worthy nonprofits in the region, such as Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Waterfront Park, Louisville Public Media, Jewish Federation of Louisville, Trees Louisville.

Jason’s Picks

Gramovox Bluetooth Gramophone

The Bluetooth Gramophone 2.0 is the perfect marriage of vintage aesthetics and modern technology. Our new dual-driver design allows you to experience any genre of music wirelessly through a gramophone horn.

XM42 Flamethrower Gen 3

If you’ve ever looked at something and said, “I really want to set that on fire over there, but I’m just too far away!” then this is the product for you. Fill the tank with your fuel of choice, ignite the pilot torch, and press the fire button to send a stream of flaming fuel up to and beyond 25 feet away. It’s every pyromaniac’s dream, and it has numerous practical purposes!

Abyss Dining Table by Duffy London

Looking into the Abyss, like all of Duffys designs, the Abyss Table is a conversation piece as much as a functional one.
But while previous works play with gravity, this new design is concerned with depth, and creates a geological cross-section as mesmerising as the sea.
The design team spent a year developing the table in their London studio, experimenting with sculpted glass, plexiglas and wood, arranged like a 3-D representation of a geological map, until they re-created something of the mesmeric abyss that had first captured Duffys imagination.

bel&bel Scooter Chair

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a geek for scooters, and since I can’t seem to own one without it getting stolen, an office chair made from a vintage Vespa is the next best thing!

Magnetic Hourglass

What better way to illustrate the passage of time than with an hourglass? And if you’re going to illustrate it, you might as well make sure it looks amazing. The Magnetic Hourglass uses a magnetic base and ferrous sand to create fascinating stalagmite-like shapes as it counts down exactly one minute.

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth Board Game

I’m not a big fan of board games, but anything containing the words “Jim Henson”, “Labyrinth”, “Dark Crystal” are collectibles for me. If you want me at your game night, you have a 20% higher chance of getting me there with this one.

Tesla Schwag

Until I can afford a Tesla for myself, I’ll settle for some fanboy schwag, and I’m sure Ben would too.

Faucetto Skull Bathroom Hardware

We remodeled our bathroom last year, and it was really hard not to splurge. Skulls are cool, OK?

Qwerkywriter Retro Bluetooth Keyboard

Completely useless, but steampunk as hell.

Demogorgon Figure 8″ Statue

This or pretty much anything Stranger Things related. It’s all that is good about television.

Bob Kramer Meteorite/Damascus Steel Knife

I love to cook, and more so, I love to cut things with nice knives. Bob Kramer’s knives are the best of the best, and ridiculously beautiful.

Autechre Vinyl Represses

Autechre remain the strangest music, and their first three albums are pure electronic bliss. Warp Records just repressed them on vinyl. Yes please.

Emilee’s Picks

Type Hike Posters

I have a bucket list goal to make it to all of these one day. These beauties should suffice as eye candy until I can make it to all of them! (Denali, Grand Canyon, and Dunes are my favorite designs)

CHiP Smart Cookie Oven

Completely superfluous, and still amazing. No preheating!

Nanoleaf Aurora Lighting Kit

What better take on winter than the Northern Lights in your house?

Adult mood rings YAASSSSSS

Adult Mood Ring

Natalie’s Picks

Ring Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell

So I can see who is at the door and decide if I want to pretend I’m not home

Leslie’s Picks

Fractal Bookcase

Reposted from last year. Apparently Leslie’s significant other doesn’t read our blog. An interlocking raw steel frame with zigzag-shaped accents support the six reclaimed yellow pine shelves on this fractal-inspired bookcase.

Pat’s Picks

Apple Pencil

This is probably the most innovative device Apple has released lately. The work that we’ve seen from creatives using the Pencil is simply astounding.

Mark’s Picks

Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit

Mark is working on putting together a RetroPie gaming machine. This and the Sudroid controller should get him most of the way there.

Sudroid 8BITDO

To finish off the RetroPie project. Must have a controller!

Jeckert’s Picks

Stemless Fountain Aerating Wine Glass Set

Decant your favorite wine with this stemless glass, designed to aerate to perfection.

Natural Cork Tie

(already have the bow tie and love it)

Napkin Forever Prima Writing Tool

With a precise mark like a pencil and an exclusive and elegant design, the Prima Writing Tool writes with no ink and no refill.

Arturia MatrixBrute

This is what i really want, since that’s what wish lists are for….

Corinne’s Pick

Matthew Weiner. Mad Men. Art Edition A (Script Edition)

If I’m going to re-watch it for the third time it may as well be with an $850 set from Taschen.