cincinnatimodern's favorite things, 2012 edition

as many of you know, our house was designed by fred pressler for his own family. in this vintage scan, fred, eileen, betsy and skip are displaying the christmas loot of 1961 in ‘our’ living room. and in case you are wondering, the album skip is holding is 'shout' by cincinnati's own isley brothers. photo courtesy of the pressler familyBack by popular demand is our second annual installment of our 'favorite things' gift guide.   In case you are stumped as to what to get the modern lover in your life, check out a few things that we love (or would love to have).  Some things are available locally and others, just in time for cyber Monday:

~Susan

 i fell in love with these bowls when i saw them in one of our listings. very versatile, and they look great sitting on the counter so no cabinet space needed! there are two very similar versions - with slightly different shades of white if that kind of thing matters to you. the ones on the left are from crate and barrel in kenwood. the ones on the right, from sur la table in rookwoodswoop bowls from crate and barrel and sur la table

my daughter, kirsten, gave me one of these several years ago and i love it. just like the stovetop popcorn we used to make when i was a kid, but no burning! it's low fat, too. not modern, but very good (and fun)Whirley pop another really fun old fashioned kitchen tool. we use ours all fall to prep apples for arlen's homemade apple sauce and my sour cream apple pie. hmm - i'm sensing a crank theme here....apple peeler and corer

 we are true coffee achievers at our house and we take home brewing very seriously. i also refuse to cave and buy black or stainless countertop appliances. we bought this purely because it was a burr grinder (the ONLY way to grind coffee) and white. turns out, it's a damn fine grinder and becuase the cup you grind into is glass, there is no static (which can be a huge annoyance with other grinders). my only beefs are that it is actually slightly off white and the cord is black (?!). but all in all, a great find worth sharing!bodum coffee grinder

i have a major weakness for jonathan adler pottery. the shapes remind me of the pottery i grew up with in the '60's, and the matte white is so classic modern. would love to add a large one of these to my small but growing collectionjonathan adler hitch vase

 this is cb2's version of a much more expensive original. i actually prefer this one because the base is smaller and does not take up so much room on a desk or nightstand. i like this so much we have 3 of these saarinen-esque beauties!cb2 ada lamp

 i hate to repeat a suggestion from last year, but in my defense, this book was not actually published until last march. midcentury eye-candy and good suggestions for renovation and restoration. it also happens to include our house in chapter two. i like looking at it just to see how clean our house actually can be!atomic ranch midcentury interiors

another quasi repeat, but everyone needs a new calendar, right? 3 photos of our house that did not make the book are included (january, march and june). and best of all, our cat, harper, is now known as 'mr. january.'  atomic ranch calendar

 Arlen and me at the cf3 coffee chat earlier this month at the gwathmey/siegel house in indian hill. if you can't plop down the cool 2 million to buy the place, the next best thing is to join cf3 so you can see the coolest homes in town in a unique social setting. best bargain around! and if the house itself is on your wishlist, we can help you out there, too!cf3 membership

 the only book ever written dedicated to the diversity of modern architecture in cincinnati. all proceeds go to modern preservation.50 from the 50’s 

 we LOVE this tray with the stylized charley harper fish images. there are many other items in this line and they are all very affordable.cool harper items

i am a sucker for anything kelly green, and these appliances certainly made my wish list this year! dear santa, i have been a very good girl. please send me a green espresso maker or a toaster or a kettle :) delonghi small appliances

similar to the classic aalto (savoy) vases, this umbrella stand would look awesome in any modern entry!nuvola umbrella stand

SHOP LOCAL!  In case nothing above fits the bill, Cincy has many great opportunities to shop locally for truly unique and one of a kind gifts as well.  A great way to combat the homogenization of retail in America:

•  City Flea Wrapped Up Holiday Market  - Saturday, December 8 from 5:00 – 10:00 at Washington Park
• MiCA 12/v – corner of 12^th and Vine in OTR 
• Park + Vine – 1202 Main Street in OTR
• Leftcoast Modern – 323 4^th Street, Downtown
• Mainly Art – 3711 Madison Road, Oakley
• Modern Art Jewelry – 8316 Plainfield Road, Deer Park
• Fabulous Frames and Art – the definitive source for all things Charley and Edie Harper.  Several locations around town including Montgomery, Kenwood and Downtown.  And don't miss the annual Harper Art Show - Saturday, December 1 11-5 at the Montgomery Gallery.

FOR MORE IDEAS, CHECK OUT OUR 2011 FAVORITE THINGS LIST!