The Most Unique Gifts in the World?

Editor’s note: It’s the season of giving, and while the thought surely counts, a truly great gift makes it mean so much more. With that in mind, PaperCity’s counting down to the holidays with ultra-curated and distinctive gift guides. Here, executive editor Catherine Anspon shares her artsy, unexpected list.

From an artist turned mad scientist who’s growing his own crystals at the back of his dealer’s gallery, to a furry top hat fit to lead a posse through the upcoming Dallas Art Fair, here are some notable picks to fill some lucky stockings. Don’t forget the Pop art: In an ode to the Dallas Museum of Art‘s current blockbuster, where would we be without a sculpture of Swiss cheese on the coffee table?

And make sure to keep track of your coming days in the unofficial calendar that documents it all — a Houston artist’s oddball cosplay in which he creates costumes then photographs himself in all manner of whimsical dress (you’ll have to wait until December 2016 to encounter the Gingerbread Man). In close, we wish you an outstanding and smokin’ 2016!, courtesy of PaperCity and The Bruce High Quality Foundation.

1. Dominic Walsh’s Dance Theater Book 2. Cast of Characters calendar 3. Bret Shirley’s crystal canvas 4. Carlos Donjuan pyramid sculpture 5. Blue Hair Hat by Dan and Joseph 6. Mathew Zefeldts Some Sum, 2015 7. Reagan on TV, 1971 photograph 8. David Lackey’s Miriam, 2015