The hook up

The Trend Master

Chuck Sanchez, owner of Stun Design and Advertising

There is a great website called theawesomer.com. It’s full of new and innovative things; it’s definitely geared toward men, but it’s great also for women shopping for gifts for guys.

As well as all kind of fun and entertaining videos, you can find all kinds of gifts, from the finest exotic sports cars money can buy, to the coolest little gadget you can put on your desk. I bought a handmade desktop dumpster. The detail work is insane. It’s welded, it was wheels, spray-painted graffiti—it’s just awesome. People use them to hold all kinds of stuff. We keep ours in the conference room and use it to hold the remotes and stuff. It costs $250 because it’s an original work of art.

The Personalizer

Molly Israel, JP Morgan investor associate

The most important thing is to think about things in advance and to be organized.

If I hear something on the radio or see something in a store that I think would be a good gift for a certain person, I’ll go into the notes section on my iPhone and jot a note about it. Even if it’s in February.

If the gift is for someone I know, I think of experiences as opposed to just a gift. For example, my brother and sister-in-law have a 2-year-old. I got them tickets to a show at Tipitina’s in New Orleans and a gift certificate to a restaurant they love, and I offered to babysit. It was an actual experience, something they could do to make a memory.

If it’s a tough person to buy for, make up an excuse to go shopping with them and spend an afternoon together. They will inevitably say, “I really like this.”

The Gadget Guru

Nathan Calhoun, Wright Feigley Communications art director

It won’t be out until about April, but the coolest thing I’ve seen lately is a camera called a Lytro (lytro.com, where you can pre-order it for $400 or $500). It’s a light-field camera about the size of a large tube of lipstick that lets you focus photos after you’ve taken the picture. It’s a real simple device with an on-off button and a shutter release button.

Say you’re at a child’s birthday party and someone says, “Quick, take a picture.” Maybe you have time to focus, maybe you don’t. You can take the shot, then once you’ve loaded it onto your computer, you can go back in and reset the focus and make a better picture.

The DIY Authority

Alexis Castillo, artist (acrylic paintings)

I love to see what’s going on already, and there are so many blogs and crafts sites that have simple how-to-make things, with step-by-step instructions and pictures.

Also, marthastewart.com is an excellent place to go to. There’s a whole “Crafts” section, so if you want to make wreaths for your mother, or ornaments for cousins or friends, you can have a whole little assembly line in your living room.

Another thing is to try and do the same thing for everyone so you’re not reinventing the wheel. It’s still handmade.

If you’re afraid of messing it up (I come across that a lot), there’s a good web site called etsy.com where you can buy crafts from other people. They have Hula hoops, bracelets that turn into coffee holders, knitted things for your baby, pacifiers with moustaches, and so clever. You can either find fresh ideas or buy them directly.