gift guide

Violeta Pacheco knits this men's sweater in 100% alpaca and graces it with geometric designs inspired by her native Peru's traditional textiles. The sweater, made with shades of ivory, greenish-blue and teal, is a classic and sophisticated men's garment ideal for winter that's soft to the touch thanks to the alpaca fiber.

Designed by Shashi Sehgal, this lovely set of bed linens tells a story of ancient life in India. Herders guided their flocks to graze in lush grasslands bordering the Thar Desert. For coverlets, the women created quilts of layered fabric, stitched by hand in a technique known as gudri-making or hand quilting. This set of quilt and two pillow shams is created in the same way of cotton voile.

The quilt is reversible and the motifs are created with block prints, applied by hand in blue on ivory. One side depicts foliage and flowers in a pattern named "Cool March," for chilly evenings in early spring. On the reverse side as well as the shams, neat rows of flowers represent the unbroken lineage of tradition handed down over generations. Finished with piping, the edges are scalloped and the stitching is done by hand.

A zipper at the bottom of the shams opens them to insert the cushions.