2020 gift guide (for yourself)

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about hospitality, clothes and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week, gifts to treat yourself.

treat yourself, it’s been a year

There’s no feeling quite like giving someone a great gift. It’s a lovely exchange that shows how much you know and love that person, and it’s extremely gratifying to watch someone open a gift that is perfect for them. If you need some prompts for gifts like that, go to the clipboard locals only gift guide. This week, though, clipboard is acknowledging that we’ve all had a shitty year, and we all deserve a little something nice. Here are some great options for things you can buy yourself.

Candles or incense: Having a house that smells good always improves my mood, and the best way to achieve that is some good candles or incense. My favourite candles are sold at Crushes on Karangahape Road (we buy this burnt sage one about five times a year), and if you’re feeling bougie, get a fancy and very refined option from Aesop. For incense, you can get great options (including nice incense holders) at Everyday Needs on Ponsonby Road, or Shakes on Vulcan Lane.

Cool sneakers: Something excellent I found out this week is that you can buy some of the coolest new Adidas sneakers pretty easily in New Zealand, because most sneaker heads here have bad taste. See, for example, these crocheted Sambas from Wales Bonner or these patterned Gazelles from Noah.

A new bag: A good bag is the perfect accompaniment to all outfits and you probably need a new one. Gab Stoddard just put out a new drop of her brilliant T Totes (I already own three, and can confirm that they’re really good bags), which are an awesome everyday option for every carrying requirement, apart from one which includes a laptop. For something a little more luxe, I think that the Ch’lita bag from Yu Mei, maybe New Zealand’s best truly luxury brand, is the best handbag money can buy.

Fancy dinner: There’s truly nothing like going to a really nice restaurant and getting taken care of for a couple of hours, eating and drinking delicious food and drink. There are tons of places that you can go to get this kind of treatment in Auckland, but Cassia has been at the top of every Metro Top 50 for years for a reason (let the waiters order for you). For something newer, I haven’t made it to Michael Meredith’s latest, Mr Morris, but it looks excellent, and they have a strong emphasis on hospitality ethics, which hopefully means paying their staff, which I am very into (read more of my thoughts on hospitality ethics in the newest issue of Metro).

clips

• A fascinating read about Johnny Depp’s epic, litigious fall from grace.

• Friends of the newsletter Platform Store are throwing a party next Sunday at East St. Hall, call the number on the post to get the deets.

• If you care, you already know, but there’s another new Taylor Swift album!

• Karangahape Road institution Bestie Cafe linked up with Checks Downtown on a Good Cafe Merch Tee.

• These jackets from Thom Morrison got a lot of interest in the newsletter last week, and they’re finally online! Will be my first stop when I need to build a real job wardrobe.

That’s all for this week’s clipboard! Sorry it was a bit late this morning, just one of those weeks. See you next week, and in the meantime follow clipboard on Instagram, and email me with any questions, suggestions, or offers of work!