Whether you're looking for tunes, booze, wearables, edibles or even insertables, remember to support queer and LGBTQ-friendly makers and vendors in your quest for the perfect holiday gifts this year. Here are a few suggestions to help make your holidays gay.
Stocking stuff
For a San Francisco stocking stuffer that's unforgettably meta, I'm giving my friends novelty socks with a unique local angle. The Jimmy Lion brand has released a licensed limited edition range inspired by Alfred Hitchcock movies, the most stylish drawing on Saul Bass' classic poster art for San Francisco-set "Vertigo." Given the film's recent ouster from the #1 position in Sight and Sound's all-time greatest movie rankings, there's all the more reason to slip on these socks and put your foot down on behalf of a local gem.
Meanwhile, to keep your tootsies toasty north of the city, the same line of cinematic socks offers a pair of designs that pay tribute to Bodega Bay-lensed "The Birds." They give a whole new meaning to Tippi toes. www.jimmylion.com
L.A. singer-songwriter and bearfficionado Tom Goss' latest hum job is the holiday-themed EP "Big Fat Gay Ass Christmas," featuring beat-centric dance floor carols "Santa Slay" and "Ho Ho Homo." You'll find it, along with more heartfelt demonstrations of Goss' musical gifts, from T-shirts and ski caps to sexy calendars, magnets and prints (His tender 2019 "Territories" album is a real keeper), at his website. And if you want to surprise your own huggy bear with an early celebration, grab tickets for Goss' live show this Friday night December 9. He's headlining CubCake at the Lone Star Saloon www.tomgossmusic.com
There are chocolatiers and then there are hot chocolatiers. Standing tall in the latter camp is Wade Stembridge, recently named one of the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce's inaugural "40 Under 40" business leaders. When life gave him lemons, Stembridge made chocolate. After losing his financial services job over the holidays in 2018, Stembridge turned his confectionary hobby into a full-time business.
Coco Gusto, his line of shimmering hand-painted chocolates is almost too beautiful to eat. With their unexpected shapes and vibrant jewel tones, Stembridge's bars and bonbons are like edible ornaments. Our favorite is the blueberry chocolate crunch bar which, in addition to being delicious, looks like a collab between Willy Wonka and M.C. Escher. www.coco-gusto.com
Treecraft Distillery
Toasting the Season
At their Treecraft Distillery on Treasure Island, entrepreneurial gay couple Nate Byerly and Gordon Remple are crafting some of the West Coast's most innovative small batch tipples. One of only two certified LGBTQ-owned and operated distilleries in the country, Treecraft supports many local queer causes while producing nationally acclaimed elixirs. My favorite TreeCraft bottle for holiday giving is their Lavender-Hibiscus Gin, which tempers the bite of juniper with floral notes and is distilled from honey produced in Byerly and Remple's own beehives.
Also gift-worthy is their Earl Grey Gin, incorporating botanicals to please tea lovers if not teetotalers, and their Chocolate Bourbon, which is cold macerated with Ecuadoran cocoa nibs from the Mission District's Dandelion Chocolates. Order online or stop by the distillery for a weekend tasting. www.treecraftdistillery.com
Another enterprising couple, Joe Wolosz and Jeff Durham, are the minds behind Gentleman Farmer, a winery and burgeoning lifestyle brand based in Napa. Hospitality industry veterans, the pair began experimenting with wine-making back in 1999 and today remain an intimate, hands-on operation, producing under 1000 cases a year, much of which is sold through their wine club.
Keeping their operation a bit under the radar until recently, the couple built relationships with high-end wine country tour operators, who would bring lucky guests to Wolosz and Durham's Yountville home for tastings accompanied by spectacular food pairings cooked up by Wolosz (who is working on a Gentleman Farmer cookbook).
This spring, they'll open a unique bungalow headquarters in downtown Napa with tastings for the general public and invitation-only events for club members. Memberships and a limited range of individual bottles —including their distinctively dry 2021 Rosé blend of pinot noir, merlot and pinot meunier; awarded 90 points by "Wine Spectator"— are available for holiday giving. www.gentlemanfarmerwines.com
Gay apparel has made its way to oenophile gadgetry this season, with the award-winning Coravin 6+ wine preservation system now available in a handsome black and white patterned Keith Haring design. An ideal gift for single wine-loving friends, the ingenious Coravin device allows you to enjoy favorite vintages by the glass with no concern that the unfinished wine will go bad.
The gizmo pierces a cork without removing it from the bottle, then pipes in argon gas to fill the space occupied by wine as its poured. Remove the device and the cork naturally recompresses, resealing the bottle with no oxygen ever coming into contact with the remaining wine. The Coravin also allows you to enjoy tastes from two or more different bottles over the course of an evening without leaving you in a stupor or leaving any wine to waste. www.coravin.com
Toys beneath the tree
Those mischievous elves at San Francisco's own Good Vibrations are at it again. Among the most playful options on offer this season are a rainbow-striped butt plug that encourages users to feel oh-so-full of Pride. There's also a new line of locally designed goodies officially known as Cute Little Fuckers; adorable, colorful vibrating critters that bear resemblances to starfish, octopuses, eels and other familiar life forms that are ready to wriggle all over your nether regions.
Launched on Kickstarter to wild success back in 2018, they're the creation of non-binary designer Step, who's created lots of online how-to content to help you make the most of your toy box. No more silent nights! www.goodvibrations.com
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