Holiday Gift Guide...
Coming from a bad consumer.
Disclaimer: During the time I was writing this, I had gotten distracted. The hour long distraction removed me from writing. When I returned to writing this, I just thought, “this is so stupid. No one cares. It’s a very lengthy blabberthon.” But, I’m in too deep to turn around!
Several people have asked me to make a gift guide this year. I think I’ve done a single gift guide and it was back in 2020. It’s not that I don’t like gift guides. It’s that I’m a horrible consumer! I never buy anything...new. Or, luxury? I buy everything second hand on Etsy, eBay or find it at the thrift store. Of course my finds are the name brands consumers relish (Le Creuset, All Clad, Dansk). I love those brands too! But, I’m not about to pay those prices and especially for the modern materials and methods they use.
I even asked Alicia Kennedy, “Can you give me an idea on how to build a guide around that? A sort of anti-consumer holiday guide.” And her reply was, “Tell people about your process.” How I find the things I find that people always ask me, “How’d you find that?”
That’s a question I get asked often, “How did you find that?” Whether it’s a 10’’ stainless steel All-Clad skillet at the thrift store for $8 (if you follow me on Instagram you were along for that find), or even my resources on Puerto Rican food and locations on the island. When I tell them, they think I’m trying to gatekeep and I promise I’m not. I just did the research.
That’s the answer. Research.
I purchased a vintage Wusthof knife because I didn’t like any of the news knives on the market. How did I find it? I douched around on eBay.
Don’t bid on that one above though. I want it. Haha.
Whether you’re looking for something specific on eBay or the thrift store you still have to know exactly what it is you’re looking for. You have a much better chance of spotting it on eBay than you do at the thrift store, obviously. And how will you have known what it is you want if you haven’t done some research? When it comes to thrifting, it’s almost like you manifest the things you’re looking for. When I get an idea in my head of something specific, I generally (fatefully) spot it within a month or two. And for thrifting, that’s a good timeline.
When people ask me, “Where did you get that 9 quart Le Creuset?” I got it at the thrift store for $5. It didn’t have a lid. Some people think that some of my dutch ovens are Le Creuset, but they’re actually Descoware. A much more affordable, just as sturdy, just as practical, just as long lasting as Le Creuset. In fact, Le Creuset bought Descoware so they would no longer have any competition. And Descoware is the brand Julia Child used.
But, I’ve had friends that have begged me to take them thrifting (which I don’t personally prefer because I’m not there to shoot the shit, I’m there standing on business so leave me the hell alone and go away) and then they get disappointed when they don’t find anything on their first (and only) time out. That’s not how it works. I go thrifting 4 days a week. Two stores minimum each day.
Know exactly what it is you’re looking for.
Know the brand, the style and the color. Know whether you want a vintage version or new. Make sure it’s not bootleg, unless you don’t care. Here is how my general eBay searches go:
Vintage Dansk Kobenstyle
That’s a good start.
Vintage Dansk Kobenstyle Green Dutch Oven
That’s better.
Vintage Dansk Kobenstyle Teal Dutch Oven 5 qt
Great!
If you really wanna go down an eBay dark web deep dive…just look for “vintage dutch ovens,” because sometimes people spell shit wrong and now you’ve got a Le Creuset dutch oven for the starting bid of $0.99 because no one else found the listing because it was spelled wrong. Pro tip. Don’t say I never gave you nothing.
Now you have to know if it’s actually vintage. Because mafuckas are out here listing shit as vintage and it’s definitely not vintage. With Dansk, now owned by Food52 (believe it or not), they now have colors (pink) that were not offered in the original line up. The original color options were super limited: turquoise, yellow, red and "lime green” (1950s). By 1965 the colors are: yellow, red and blue (1960s). They dropped the lime green. Then came black and white (1970s), kumquat/orange (1973-1975), green (briefly reintroduced to the line 1974-1976), brown (1975, kept in production until 1983). How do I know all of this? RESEARCH!
Look at the label. Does it say Denmark or France? “Dansk Designs Denmark IHQ” “Dansk Designs France IHQ.” Those are the vintage ones. I have no idea where the new Kobenstyles are from.
Finding what you want requires work. Which is probably why no one ever thought to do a deep dive in the world of Puerto Rican cuisine (even the Puerto Ricans who have been eating it all their life) because it requires work. “It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” That’s a Kardashian meme, please don’t come from me.
However, I can say that no one wants to do the research in the world of requests for “recipe?” I was even called a “gatekeeping queen,” on one of my TikTok posts because I didn’t include the recipe in the comments or captions. I told them it was FREE on my newsletter which “you don’t have to subscribe to.” But, I guess a few clickypoos was too much work for them. And in that sense, I guess “nobody wants to work.”
HERE ARE SOME OF THE CREATORS I’VE BEEN FOLLOWING
I don’t fangirl. I believe in leaving celebrities alone when I see them in public. Including frequent sightings of Robin Williams when I was a working artist. I’d see him at the galleries often. He was a lover of the lowbrow art style and would actually buy art. I may give a gentle nod or smile of acknowledge if we lock eyes. But, otherwise…I just let them be. I never understood the purpose of bothering someone (even celebrities) when they’re out trying to mind their own damn business. What do you gain from that? No, I don’t think that the celebrities “want someone to talk to.” If they do, they’ll fucking talk to you! I think gushing is weird. I don’t understand what people gain from asking for autographs or selfies. I guess I do understand, it’s for those who are requesting it. It’s so they can say they met so-and-so and boast and brag. It comes from a selfish place.
That doesn’t mean I’m not excited and literally losing my shit…on the inside. But, I’m just not the type to lose my shit on the outside.
Except for that one time I was blurry-eyed drunk and nearly ripped the collar off Lee Ranaldo’s denim jacket at the Beautiful Losers exhibit at the Yerba Buena Center.
Here are some of the creator’s that make me lose my shit…on the inside. They also have newsletters.
just showed up on my FYP one day with his no talking (my favorite) cheffy videos of him cooking. A quick bite and a push of the glasses to end every video. I was instantly obsessed.
He also has a Substack where you can get the recipes he cooks on social media.
Eventually Hailee popped up on my FYP with a more talkative (not my favorite) format, but with similar cheffy videos. But! Her soft voice was too pleasing to avoid and eventually it softly lullabyed my ass into mania.
What I did not fucking know in the beginning is that these two are married! I found them separately and months apart! Andddddddddd they just started a page where they appear together. 2PeopleCooking. Sorry diehard people who are still dedicated to Instagram. It can only be accessed on TikTok.
Meredith Hayden
I mean, obviously. We’re all obsessed with the “Day in life as a private chef in the Hamptons” girl. I feel like one day I was just watching her do her thing on tiktok and boom! She blew the fuck up. Come for the aesthetics, stay for the New York quirkiness.
Awesome gift guide, thank you! I'm a diehard thrifter too, and I also prefer to thrift for vintage barware and clothing solo/in peace. It's mercenary work and others just slow me down. Thanks, too, for giving ebay love - it's a wonderland and the source for many of my vintage Catherine Ogust caftans.
Finally a gift guide that is worth the read! Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. I agree work is the key. Bought a great wine opener, saver thing (Coravin) for way under retail that came with a lot of cartridges. How? Research and searching.