Wednesday, December 23, 2009

All I want for Christmas....

We asked our staffers what they'd most love to get for Christmas and the results ranged from Wikipedia entries to Slip n' Slides to art installations! While some of us are more likely to have our wishes granted than others, we're all in agreement that we're incredibly thankful for the gift of YOU, our readers. We hope you have a beautiful holiday season, and that all your wildest wishes are granted!

Rob Callahan

Staff Writer

In the early part of the decade, Livejournal gave out a handful of Permanent Memberships to select individuals. Most of them where either employees or influential online personalities (the likes of Warren Ellis and JWZ). Permanent Members were entitled to slightly better access than Paid Members, not to mention a certain hard-to-attain cache of cyber status, all without the need to pay a monthly fee. If I could have anything for Christmas this year, it would be a Permanent Membership not just to Livejournal, but to the whole internet. If I can’t get that, I will settle for a Wikipedia entry.

Juleana Enright
Culture Editor


I'm seriously tempted to pick the customized, studded metallic keytar Lady Gaga's been toting around on tour with her, but I ultimately decided on something very 'form meets function' – a haircut by the lovely Laura Boland. Besides being the vocalist in MPLS' dark noir band, Bella Koshka, Boland is one amazing, scissor-flailing stylist who specializes in “wearable artistic techniques,” “modern styles,” and “dry cutting.” Anyone who's seen the hair of Hilary Davis (Boland's bandmate and client), knows just how edgy yet perfectly polished her precision cuts can be. For some reason as my hair grows out it takes on a look I like to call “70's Leif Garret hair” - believe me, it's really not a cute as it sounds. I need a Boland hair-intervention, and pronto! Boland works at the Southdale Juut Salon in Edina Tues-Sat. and her gorgeous cuts go for $65 – a small price to pay for aesthetic excellence. But that keytar would certainly highlight the haircut!


Brian Gioielli
Advertising Manager

I really love water. If someone is looking to make my wishes come true this holiday season, they would consider the following anticipatory summer gift for me - a totally wicked slip 'n' slide. There are two I've been keeping my eye on. The Banzai Slip 'n' Six Pins is awesome because you actually slide into a set of pins to knock down! Bowling AND slip n slides all in one! I also think the Wham-o Triple Racer looks fun for when you really want to see which of your friends is the fastest slip 'n' slider of all. Plus, the Triple Racer comes with these mats you ride on simply called “boogies.” Grab your boogies gang and let's race! If I don't get a sweet slip n slide then I'm still open to Adult Space Camp (featured in the 2008 l'etoile holiday gift guide). I went to Space Camp as a kid after saving up my money for years and I'm ready for round two. Maybe I can convince them to make Pluto a planet again!


Beth Hammarlund
Founder & Creative Director

Ga Ga Oh La La! All I want for Christmas is this lacey woven raffia hat with four inches of fringe artfully hanging from the brim. Available from Not Just A Label, this avant-garde piece has been officially recommended by Lady Gaga herself and is a steal at just $149.00. The hat has been designed so that you can see your surroundings, but no one can see you. Perfect for nights when I'm too lazy to wear eyeliner. Oh Santa, I just need this ever so much.


Lacey Prpić Hedtke
Staff Writer

In my past life, I was a traveling 19th-century photographer, going from town to town and leaving a trail of tintypes in my path. John Coffer lives like it's the 1800s and teaches weekend workshops of antiquated photo processes in upstate New York. Students learn rare techniques like wet plate collodion – and camp the whole weekend – while learning from someone who's toured the country in a horse-drawn darkroom wagon. All I want this year is a workshop at Camp Tintype, pleaaaaaase? Only one spot left!


Jahna Peloquin
Fashion Editor

I am fortunate enough to have many friends with nice cameras and decent camera-wielding skills, but there are many forgotten moments I wish could've been captured. A friend of mine just purchased the Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Digital Camera, and I'm always left in awe of the results. Everyone looks beautiful and every moment, magical. And best of all, it's perfectly petite and flat - just the right size for my party clutch. Unfortunately, it's a bit out of my price range ($249.99) at the given moment, especially after a recent laptop purchase. Secret Santa or Mr. Moneybags, anyone?


Kate Iverson

Editor in Chief

If I could have anything my heart desires it would be to have local artist collective, Hardland/Heartland turn my apartment into a big, over the top art installation. I’ve long been obsessed with the multi-dimensional talents of this trio who count drawing, painting, sculpture, fashion, digital work and performance art among their many mediums. Their work transcends definition; constantly changing and evolving into a bigger, better and weirder visual phantasm. To have them redesign my living space would most certainly result in something beyond most human imagination. But if you asked me realistically what I want for Christmas, I’d probably just say a day away from my laptop without a massive amount of guilt and/or a single piece of art from Hardland/Heartland!


Chris Larson

Staff Designer

Leave it to a design geek to hunt out vintage magazines; I want every issue of Flair Magazine, which was founded in 1950 by renaissance woman Fleur Cowles (who passed away in June). The beautifully designed magazine—which featured contributions from the likes of Lucien Freud to Gypsy Rose Lee—only lasted a year, largely due to the expense of lavish papers and innovative fold-outs and die cuts...but it was stunning. Single copies are sold on eBay these days for upwards of $20 each.


Marina Maric
Staff Writer

All I want for Christmas is you. And a Chumby. This device may have a quirky name, but a powerful gadget hides behind it. Chumby is a wi-fi enabled radio, alarm clock, digital photo frame and a social networking information machine. It has a 3.5-inch touchscreen and apps like Pandora and Twitter; all in one handy little box. Love it. Want it. My morning pre-work routine (and by that I mean dancing and singing around the house while getting ready) would be so much more enjoyable if I had one of these.

What are your holiday wishes? Post in the comments section!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

That is a really good hat. And by good I mean thought experiment. Might be tricky to actually wear. And probably not terribly warm.