We have many long, painful, Mad Men–less months stretching ahead of us, as we wait for the show to return to AMC and shower us with more broken marriages, snappy quips, jaw-dropping revelations, and (hopefully) amputated limbs. While we hold out for season 4, help your favorite fans fill the Mad Men–shaped holes in their hearts with the finest vintage and vintage-inspired wares Cambridge and Somerville have to offer.
Eames soft-pad management chair from Design Within Reach |
OFFICE
If some worthy giftee on your list cries out to have his or her office sleekified, Sterling-Cooper style — and you're willing to drop beaucoup bucks on that person — DESIGN WITHIN REACH (1030 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.576.3690, dwr.com) is your hookup. Nothing screams "success" like having your executive ass cheeks swaddled by their Eames soft-pad management chair ($1899/fabric seats; $2349/leather). And hey, big spender, while you're at it, ring up SEARS (100 Cambridgeside Place, Cambridge, 617.252.3500, sears.com) to order your very own riding mower (approximately $1000–$3000) in time for your impending drunken company holiday party. If you simply must make it a John Deere, the nearest dealership's at the Powder Mill Sports Center (94 Powder Mill Road, Maynard, 978.897.7882, deere.com). After all, nothing builds office esprit de corps like tourniquetting a co-worker's blade-mangled foot. Plus, come audit time, the tractor can dual as a document shredder.
For Bert Cooper types who prefer Eastern-flavored interior design, TOKAI JAPANESE GIFTS (1815 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.864.5922, tokaigifts.com) in the Porter Exchange proves a bento box of Asian delights, from desktop Zen gardens ($55), to rice-paper lanterns ($40-$75), to noren ($55–$136) (traditional Japanese fabric dividers).
And though Google Calendar is great and all, it just can't match the dignified, old-school finesse of penciling in client meetings, liquid lunches, and perhaps the occasional "nooner" booty call in a leather-bound appointment book. At BOB SLATE (63 Church Street, Cambridge, 617.547.7181; 1288 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.547.1230; 1975 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.547.8624, bobslate.com), you'll find executive ledgers ($65–$150) befitting your favorite high-rolling office bigwig.
But if you're playing Secret Santa to someone more mysterious and alternate-identity-prone, head to BLACK INK (5 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.497.1221, blackinkboston.com) for gifts meant to be locked inside the desk: say, some classy letterpressed stationery ($3.50–$8) for the aspiring philanderer (after all, those clandestine, marriage-wrecking mash notes aren't going to write themselves) or a couple pairs of dog tags ($4/set of three) for the man with multiple identities.
Letterpressed stationery from Black Ink |
HOME
If you'd like to inflict a hideous old chip-'n-dip set on some WASPy young urbanite newlyweds (just resign yourself to the idea that the recipient will try to trade it in for an executive hunting rifle), Somerville is your hookup. Though we found nothing quite so grimly festive as Pete and Trudy Campbell's tomato-and-lettuce tray, the viscera-pink, kidney-shaped ceramic serving dish ($24) we stumbled on at POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (255 Elm Street, Somerville, 617.684.0157, shoppoorlittlerichgirl.com) in Davis Square (there are locations in Cambridge and the Back Bay, too) makes for a pretty effing unforgettable gift. But if you require a platter with style, get thee to ABODEON (1731 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.497.0137, abodeon.com), that bastion of handsome and functional design. Here, carefully curated vintage gems rub elbows with über-modern, minimalist salad tongs and wine aerators. And just a cursory sift reveals some clutch '60s pieces. On a recent visit, a few iridescent Murano dishes caught our eye ($35–$85), as did a swanky little swarm of jewel-toned enamel bowls ($20–$45).
