From midcentury designer lighting to must-have art books to Indonesian rattan purses, the Honolulu Museum of Art is a home design shop, book store, women’s boutique and global bazaar all wrapped into one. With 14 shopping days left until the annual gift-unwrapping frenzy, here are more ideas to help you check off names on your list. Have product questions? Call the Museum Shop at 532-3679.
Light up her life
Design Within Reach may have decamped from the islands, but you can still get iconic Noguchi lamps—at the Museum Shop. Called “Akari light sculptures,” the lamps were designed by Noguchi and are still handcrafted from washi paper and bamboo ribbon by the Ozeki workshop in Gifu, Japan. These are lamps you’ll want to keep in the family forever. Also available are Noguchi prints, $50. Square table top lamp $159; oval table lamp $239. Large floor lamps not pictured $995.
Indochic
From Indonesia come these stylish bags, tightly woven from ate grass, a relative of bamboo. The weaving is a traditional style from Lombok, and the bags are smoked to bring out the beautiful caramelized sheen and color. $55-$125
Swell shells
The Museum Shop has great selections by island artisans, including Ni‘ihau shell lei by Hanapepe-based Gale Sagucio of JJ Ohana. She uses only shells from Ni‘ihau to create her jewelry, and the lei come with a certificate of authenticity listing the name of lei and the types of shells used, such as momi, kahelelani, and laiki. “Making Ni‘ihau shell jewelry that will likely be passed from mother to daughter and on down the generations is ‘stress relief,’ Sagucio says about her art. “I really like doing it…I’ve been doing it all my life.” Left to right: three-strand poe poe shells, $30,000; five-strand Kahelelani shells, $6,000; coconut poe poe and Momi shells, $2,400
Have sake, will travel
This sake set is compact enough for picnics and other on-the-road tippling. Made in Japan. $50
Desktop humor
Fred Conley is the creative mind behind the winsome sculptures by Sugarpost. He makes his mischievous creatures out of repurposed metal in Salt Lake City. The perfect gift for someone with a stressful job—one of these perched on her desk can help keep things light. In the shop are an assortment of characters. Mini gnome bearer, $40
For the smart art person
Knowledge is one of the most useful gifts ever, and the Museum Shop’s book shelves are packed with it. From Taschen come these two volumes that add to the experience of seeing the current exhibition Abstract Expressionism: Looking East from the Far West, on view through Jan. 21. Women of Abstract Expressionism ($65) is the catalog for a Denver Art Museum exhibition that, like HoMA’s Ab Ex show, is a long overdue focus on an aspect of the important art movement. Know someone who has a broader art IQ? Art of the 20th Century ($41.99) is a very readable, comprehensive survey of the people and works that redefined “art” as the world knew it. Of course it includes Abstract Expressionism—what a great Rothko they chose for the cover. (And you can see a Rothko in person at the museum until Jan. 21!) Combine a book with two tickets to the show for the perfect art-lover’s gift.
Year of the dog—and friends
The next lunar new year is a canine one and we’ve got the cutest ceramic pup to give to the dogs in your life. The Shop also has the other 11 animals in the Chinese zodiac. They are available individually, or you can get the whole set. $9.95 each
12.11.2017