Baltimore Architecture Foundation always has an eye out for items that are fun, special, and show a little Balt-amore. We are delighted to unveil the 2024 holiday gift guide for the Baltimore design enthusiast in your life (is it you?!). Thanks to BAF board members Kevin Miller and Leah Carlson for their input!

For the designer who works hard, but can’t work ALL the time, might we suggest some fun diversions:

• Make 2025 the year of the handwritten note with an assist by a beautiful correspondence set from Paper Herald.
• Play with a pup and show some hometown pride at the same time with a plush Baltimore bench toy.
• Fact. One can never have too many houseplants. Buying them is fun but making them yourself is fun too. Local plant whisperer Hilton Carter has a line of beautiful plant propagation stations for baby stems.
• Have a message to display? Whiteboards are passé. Your own personal billboard from Co_Lab Books, however, is a win.

Looking to jazz up your dwelling (or someone else’s)? Might we suggest these artsy finds:

• Artist Suzy Kopf (formerly of Baltimore) does mid-mod art with a love that only someone who didn’t live through the 50s and 60s can have. Does your favorite mid-mod fan have a breezeblock objet? Well then.
• Haptic Lab (full disclosure, not a local company) has a whole line of geography-based quilts, including one outlining the Chesapeake Bay. Cozy!
• Baltimore’s unofficial welcome sign, the trash incinerator, deserves a place of pride in any home. Artist Magan Ruthke has created these magnets for those with the deepest Balt-amore.
• Ready to go all in? We love this Baltimore wallpaper by artist Elizabeth Graeber, featuring the National Aquarium, rowhomes, and Fifi (IYKYK). Comes in peel-and-stick for the commitment phobic.

For the person in your life who wears their art on their sleeve (ear, cuff, etc.), here are some cool duds:

• A subtle nod to the unsung hero of the tool world, the phillips head screw, this tie tack (or lapel pin) is a great unisex piece by jewelry artist Lisajoy Sachs whose pieces are stocked at AVAM and BMI.
• Available in four colors, these block printed pajamas are part of the Hotel Ulysses bespoke collection, featuring their signature flamingo, hon.
• If you’re like this gift guide creator, you have grand plans of making jewelry out of leather pieces from the sample library. If you, too, haven’t quite gotten there, there’s these earrings made out of recycled leather.
• For anyone who wants to combine street wear style with a neat historical message, local artist Brian Anthony High, Jr. has created these t-shirts (with additional coded message jewelry options available).

Nurture the creative spirit of the future designer in your life with these kid-friendly giftables:

• Local artist, Amanda Pellerin (aka Miss Mural) works with area school students to create ceramic mural installations. Make a mini version for your home or garden with a mosaic kit.
• Handmade fashion inspired by building toys? Yes to that. Noctiluna has a whole line of STEM attire, but we think this LEGO pinafore is the best!
• With a lower bar to entry than the aforementioned mosaic kit, these kits from Found Studio Shop and Co_Lab Books are very Baltimore.
• For a young urbanite, the Walters Museum shop suggests the following titles for gentle lessons on community: Last Stop on Market Street, Small in the City, and Madlenka.

Everyone eats and drinks. Not everyone does it with style. Here are some gift ideas for those that insist on elevating the everyday:

• Monkey in the Metal is a local fabrication company that makes wood and metal pieces with architectural flair. This beverage/condiment caddy puts the fun in functional.
• We have a ‘please use a coaster’ conference room table. If you do too (or just like what that says about you), these coasters by artist Marisa Canino are just the thing because there are coasters, and then there are artist-designed coasters.
• We can all do better than a World’s Best Boss mug. The artists are Baltimore Clayworks are here to help. This mug by Shea Kister is ceramic dopamine while this one is delightful in a different way.
• The yellow salt box is a Baltimore institution with a seasonality that grows shorter and shorter. Make this salt box salt cellar (or holder of what-have-you) from The Broken Plate Company a year-round addition to anyone’s table.

Somewhere along the way, unwrappable gifts got a bad rap (haha). Was it the jelly of the month club subscription in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Maybe. These are good though:

• The Baltimore Jewelry Center offers classes in metalworking, chains and clasps, and even unconventional materials (for the magpies among us).
• How about woodturning? Mark Supik crafted AIA Baltimore’s Grand Design trophy this year and he also teaches the craft.
• For classes of a more technical nature (welding, 3D printing, digital fabrication anyone?), check out Open Works schedule.
• For a real indulgence, treat someone to a staycation in Baltimore. Might we suggest Rachael’s Dowry Bed and Breakfast? It was good enough for George Washington…

Finally, if you have a need that can’t be met by one of our local purveyors above, you might turn to Etsy. Set aside a few hours. Here are a few of our favorites for the design enthusiast/preservationist/Baltimore devotee on your list:

• One of many different Baltimore buildings available, this Gift Guide creator is partial to this sketch of the old Hampden Police Station.
• Does someone need inspo for an interior reno project? There’s a Baltimore palette. Maybe a powder room in Berger Cookie? A pop of Royal Farms in the kitchen?
• And, of course, Baltimore has an array of scents as well as colors. SouthAnn Candles offers us Inner Harbor Mist and Hampden Haze.
• No one needs another tote bag. But, let’s be honest, one with a good architecture pun is worth adding into the rotation.