CL SPRING 2009
20
GIFT GIVING
WINTER 2011
celebratedliving.com
What is thebestway to approachgift giving?
I don’t believe ingift givingwhere youwalk
around themall with a list to checkoff. I think it
takes abitmore thought than that. Thegoal
shouldbe in keepingwith the affection for the
person you’regiving to.With that, I think you
should ask yourself twoquestions:What are their
interests andwhat is theone thing theywould
never buy themselves?Everyone, nomatter how
affluent, has a threshold for something— a
beautifully framedphoto, awonderful painting,
abeautiful English silver box, or apieceof
monogrammedporcelain. I think abeautiful
pieceof estate jewelryor a vintagehandbag
fromChanel orHermès is abeautiful gift.Why
not surprise someonewith something that has a
bit of historybuilt into it?
What does onegive to thepersonwho seems
tohaveeverything?
I think that anygift is alwayswelcome, but agift
I give away all year long—not just at holidays—
is abeautiful coffee-tablebookon a subject that
interests them. I suggest including apieceof
your own stationery taped insidewith anote
explainingwhy thebookmight be special to
youor to them.
Are there ruleswhenbuyinggifts for friends
and familyversus business associates?
Family and friends expect you to know them
better than colleagues, and that offers the
perfect opportunity toget them something they
reallywant or need. So it’s important to keep
your eyes andears open all year to these things.
With colleagues, it’s nice tohallmark a fond
memoryof abusiness tripor greatmeeting. If
youhad a creativebreakthrough at a retreat in
theAdirondacks, for instance, youmight give
them abeautifully framedphoto from that trip as
a reminder of that sharedexperience.
Is cashever an acceptablegift?
Well,mybrothers havenever turned it down.
Nate’s
Take
onGifts
NATEBERKUS
is an
internationally
known
interior
designer
and taste-
makerwhofirst
gainednotoriety in
2002 as a style con-
tributor toTheOprah
Winfrey Show. Three
years later he launched
his own signaturebrandof home
products andhis first book, Home
Rules: Transform thePlaceYou
Live into aPlaceYou’ll Love
(Hyperion), whichbecame aNew
YorkTimes bestseller. In2010his
eponymous television showdebuted
to critical acclaim. CL asked theNew
York-baseddesigner about how to
makegift givingmorepersonal.
—WILLIAMKISSEL
