Gifts are never expected but always appreciated. I am a simple creature who enjoys simple things. Dark chocolate, unique floral arrangements, sandalwood scents, interesting earrings. Silk, cotton, and leather over synthetics when possible. Gold over silver for jewelry. For clothes: earth tones and when in doubt, lots of black. Some of my current favorites are below as a rough guide. An Amazon wishlist with tools, gadgets, and some titles can be found here.
Dark Chocolate
Dark boxed collections and dragée from Rechiutti. Bars, seasonal collections, and Japanese citrus peels from Dandelion. Bonbons, Fossa bars, and probably anything else from Sugoi.
Flowers
In San Diego, I like supporting Inecui and Native Poppy.
Books
Too many books, too little time/attention span. If you search “currently reading” and my handle on twitter you might see some of the titles I’ve read in the past. In general I like science fiction in the line of Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, and n.k. jemisin. Some of my interests are cycling, sex worker politics, native plants and ecology, urban planning from a critical perspective.
Coffee and Tea
Swiss water process decaf beans from Holsem. Velvet milk oolong, creme de la earl grey, dragon jasmine, gyokuro from Portal Tea. Jin Xuan (milk oolong) from Red Blossom Tea Company.
Clothing
I usually shop at thrift stores in person. However if you want to support me getting fancier items second hand, send me a gift card for The Real Real. Once in awhile I find custom made lingerie, accessories, and jewelry on Etsy. I enjoy lingerie from Studio Pia and Bordelle, though perhaps my most worn set is an early design from Valentina Voight. I have been eyeing the delicate embroidery of Tisja Damen. Someone with a taste for seeing me in more leather might look at Anoeses or Marie Mur.
Smells
Nothing cloyingly sweet, powerful, or synthetic. I am sensitive to strong fragrances and prefer subtlety which requires closer proximity to detect. That said, some notes I love are: fresh and zesty rose, raspberry, sandalwood, santal, cardamom, ginger, clove, tea notes, lavender, neroli, woodsy or leathery vanilla like the inside of certain books.