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Hannah Silver

Wallpaper* gift guide: shop arts & culture editor Hannah Silver’s picks

Gift guide collage of items including plates, a radio, and more.

Gifting must strike that balance between a want and a need – we all love stuff that is gorgeous for its own sake, but increasingly I’ve sought out things that are useful too, or at least bring a spark to the everyday. If you can wear it, drink from it or listen to it, you can’t go far wrong – here’s a gift guide to what I’ll be admiring, using, and buying…

Wallpaper* gift guide: arts & culture editor’s picks


Sarah Lucas T-shirt from Tate Britain

(Image credit: Courtesy of brand)

While there’s little I love more than meandering around a gallery, exiting through the gift shop comes a close second. When it comes after a visit to one of the most playfully subversive exhibitions of the year, so much the better. ‘Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas’ at the Tate Britain was one of my favourite shows this year, so indulging in a bit of merch to carry me through into the next will do nicely. Tits in Space, a tribute to Lucas’ 2020 work of the same name featuring tempting-looking balls of cigarettes, comes in a soft grey, just the thing for slouching round another exhibition in.

£30, from tate.org.uk

Alaïa ballet flats from Matches Fashion

(Image credit: Courtesy of brand)

How to smarten up a pair of a-bit-too-tatty Adidas trousers? A pair of expensive and impractical shoes. How I love Alaïa’s black ballet flats made from fishnet mesh, with a sweet patent leather buckle my three daughters would love. After recently seeing Serpentine CEO Bettina Korek teaming hers with a sharp black trouser suit, I’m almost convinced these would make a useful and practical purchase.

£650, from matchesfashion.com

Wilma Johnson washing-up gloves from House of Voltaire

(Image credit: Courtesy of brand)

Anything that brings joy to the mundane is good with me, and artist Wilma Johnson’s effusive brand of righteous colour is somehow the perfect partner for a pair of washing-up gloves. House of Voltaire’s edit of limited-edition blankets, prints, silk scarves and homeware is worth regularly checking back on for quirky gifts for art lovers.

£85, from houseofvoltaire.org

Lexon x Keith Haring gift set from Musart

(Image credit: Courtesy of brand)

At the intersection of art, homeware and tech, the fun Keith Haring and Lexon set – comprising a speaker, an LED lamp, an alarm clock and a radio – is guaranteed to be a people pleaser. Lexon’s easy-to-use tech meets Haring’s bold and distinctive motifs (pictured here is the radio in the ‘Heart’ variation), bringing a welcome dose of pep to the early mornings.

Full set in ‘Happy’, $200, from musart.com

Radio only in ‘Heart’ as pictured, $70, from musart.com

Completedworks glass dinner set from Net-a-Porter

(Image credit: Courtesy of brand)

I’m a huge fan of Anna Jewsbury, the founder of London-based Completedworks, who brings a cool edge to jewellery design. It is an offbeat aesthetic that also stretches to the brand’s tableware – think undulating silhouettes, drunken candlesticks and delicious sorbet shades. One day, I will be the person whose dinner table is gorgeously coordinated, and when I am, it will be thanks to Completedworks.

17-piece glassware set, £2,985, exclusively from net-a-porter.com

Seven-piece set in green, £1,795

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