Top Christmas Gifts for London Lovers
Christmas is coming! Open City has pulled together this list of Christmas gifts that will scratch the itch for those of us who live in and love London but have been locked out of it for most of this year.
We hope this list sparks some last minute inspiration for 11th hour gifts celebrating London and its architecture, helping you explore adventurously in the new year and support the capital’s small businesses that have been hit hard.
*Proceeds from all items with a star help raise crucial funds for Open City’s year-round educational programmes and events transforming lives and making London more open, accessible and equitable.
The best local authority logo of all time was created by the London Borough of Haringey depicting the electromagnetic waves of the world's first VHF television service emanating from Alexandra Palace. LB Haringey top brass ditched the emblem for a unbelievably crummy red scribble in 2015, but these bamboo socks from celebrate the heyday of Haringey's graphic design highpoint.
London Brick Candles and Chocolate from Brick Sixty
Scented candles inspired by the history of bricks embedded in the fabric of our city. Established in 2018 by Billy, an engineer living in London with a passion for the character and materiality of the humble brick, Brick Sixty set out to uncover and tell the stories behind the bricks, the buildings and the streets of London in creative ways.
Dawson's Heights Model Kit. £7.99 *
Give the gift of municipal socialism in miniature. A landmark on the South London skyline, Dawson's Heights was designed by the legendary Scottish architect Kate Macintosh. This model version comes with handy dinosaurs for scale.
Model London. From £2.99
A series of high quality card model buildings to order through the post and make at home. Build your own model London skyline! The Model London series includes St Paul's Cathedral, Ernö Goldfinger's Trellick Tower, The Hoover Building and The Treasury among many others.
Vittles Subscription. £5 a month or £45 a year
Copies of Open City’s new book London Feeds Itself edited by the excellent Jonathan Nunn sold out almost instantly but fear not, Nunn is still comissioning outstanding writing exploring the intersection of culinary and urban stories on Vittles, London’s most adventurous food blog. Getting yourself a subscription as well as your loved ones is strongly encouraged.
Architecture Christmas Cards by Stefi Orazi. £3.00
There are many architecture Christmas cards in the world but some of the finest are these from architecture writer and graphic designer Stefi Orazi.
Christmas St Pauls Model - Giant Christmas Card *
Back by popular demand, this festive limited edition card model of St Paul's Cathedral is presented as a large folding Christmas card and comes with an A4 envelope for postage. When constructed, it includes a space for a greetings message on its base. The model is an accurate scale model of Christopher Wren's masterpiece featuring a snowy roof, twinkling fairy lights, a Christmas tree, and a bright star atop its famous dome.
Along with Open City, the Design District is home to a number of creative practices and organisations. This includes ceramicist Made By Manos. Made by Manos, based in the David Khon-designed A4 studio, creates beautiful and original ceramics, all available online or from their Design District studio.
F.A.T. Studio is a creative studio and Community Interest Company based in a ex-retail space on Old Kent Road, South East London. A regular Open House Festival Contributor, they champion community life and DIY culture. This year they have created a book that is packed with the stories, poems and works from their programmes. An amazing space and organisation; buy this book to support them and definitely visit them as part of your Open House Festival itinerary.
