Gifts from around the world plates made in turkey

All the things we would have bought if only we were more free to travel.

Some people travel to eat. Others for history, nature, art, or architecture. Then there are people who travel to shop. We’re the ones packing extra suitcases to carry home our purchases, and racing through museums to spend more time in the gift shop. We research independent boutiques months before our arrival in a new city, and love nothing more than moseying around a local flea market on a lazy Sunday morning. While we didn’t get to travel quite as much as we would have liked in 2021, we still kept tabs on our favorite international stores and makers. Scroll along to see some of the artisan-made global goods we’ve surfaced through hours of rabbit-hole sleuthing—arguably the next best thing to actually traveling somewhere—all of which make great holiday gifts for the fellow travelers in your life.

This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

• Asungtaba Pot Bike Basket from Ghana

  To market, to market you’ll go with this charming bicycle basket. As fashionable as it is functional, the piece is handwoven from veta vera, a tropical elephant grass native to Ghana. The natural dye fades over time, but the leather straps will hang tough for years to come. And asungtaba, if you’re curious, means “helping each other succeed” in Frafra, the shared tongue in this community of Ghanaian basket weavers.

• Middle Kingdom Porcelain Vases from China

  These matte-finish, Memphis-inspired vessels will add a graphic pop to any room. They come in a variety of eye-catching colors (celadon, coral red, indigo) and are handcrafted by artisans in Jingdezhen, a UNESCO-recognized imperial kiln city whose local pottery traditions date to the 11th century.

• House of Birds Hand-Embroidered Pillow from Guatemala

  This 18"-by-18” cotton pillow is a masterwork of hand embroidery, with each bird and branch stitched by Maria Mendoza, an artisan living in Santiago Atitlán. Located near Lake Atitlán, the town is a rich avian habitat—and it was growing up around those colorful birds that inspires Mendoza’s needlework.

• Lapp Ceramics from Turkey

  You’ll think you’re dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant every time you sit down to a home-cooked meal served on this two-piece stoneware set from Studio Hap. The intergalactic speckling is a signature of the Istanbul-based pottery outfit, as are the plates’ organically shaped rims.

• Pastel Vessel from Rwanda

  This foot-tall, gourd-shaped vase is hand woven with organically dyed sisal fiber and sweet grass. The muted palette of peach, pink, and terra-cotta melds seamlessly with any contemporary decor, and you can rest easier knowing Kazi's artisans are paid fair wages. (The company is Nest Seal-certified, one of the highest standards for assessing artisan homework production and supply chains in Africa.)

• Takazawa Nanao Candles from Japan

  This starter set of curvy candles comes from a storied chandler in Ishikawa. Each shape is inspired by a different plant grown on the Noto peninsula. The sumac wax is wrapped around a washi paper core, resulting in a tall flame that flickers for about two hours. Bundle it with Takazawa’s sturdy cast-iron Koma stand for extra credit.

• Zaaf Indica Afar Weekender from Ethiopia

  This good-looking weekend bag, born from the mind of Ethiopian designer Abai Schulze, is zhuzhed up with hornet-colored panels of handwoven textiles. Each satchel takes three weeks to make, but the waxed leather can really take a beating—perfect for your next safari.

• Au Sabot Paris Steak Knife from France

  If these sexy table knives look familiar, you’ve probably spent a lot of time in Parisian bistros. Each stainless steel blade is made by hand in La Monnerie le Montel and affixed to a rosy-grain bubinga wood handle. Au Sabot is no spring chicken when it comes to cutlery either. The company has been kicking around for 145 years and boasts the coveted Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant seal for exemplary French craftsmanship.

• Cielo Baskets from Colombia

  Chocolatillo and paja tetera, two natural fibers native to Colombia, are handwoven in a diamond pattern to produce these sculpturally cool baskets. Available in two sizes and sturdy enough to use for shopping at a farmers market, the baskets are sourced via a fair-trade agreement with a group of 25 artisans in Guapi, a river village just four miles from the Pacific Ocean.

• Ceramic Straws from Denmark

  For the eco traveler who has sworn off single-use plastics, order these delicate Danish pottery straws from Frida Ceramics. No two stalks are the same, thanks to a unique marbleized clay available in seven base colors. Even better—the straws are dishwasher-safe.

• Suhani Pittie Earrings from India

  White pearls and sea green anemone wed in perfect harmony on these dangly gold-plated earrings from Hyderabad-based jewelry designer Suhani Pittie. The nickel-free baubles are 100 percent hypo-allergenic and guaranteed not to tarnish, no matter how many holiday parties you trot them out for.

• Red Clay serving bowl

  These rustic earthenware bowls are made with locally harvested barro rojo, or natural red clay, and hand-shaped by a cooperative of Zapotec women in San Marcos Tlapazola, Oaxaca. Though fired in an outdoor kiln, each pot is safe for oven use.

• Yaguareté vs Curuyú Tapestry from Argentina

  Buenos Aires-based graphic designer Alan Berry Rhys is the visionaire behind this eye-catching tapestry, but the actual stitchwork is done by Rosa Ines Andrade, a talented embroiderer from Tinogasta in Catamarca, Argentina. (She learned the craft from her mother, Aldacira Flores de Andrada.) Each 23”-by-31” banner, which depicts a sacred jaguar wrestling a snake, takes around 40 days to produce.

• Cushendale Corrán Wool Throw from Ireland

  There is nothing more hygge than curling up with a good book, a cup of hot tea, and a cozy woolen blanket. The herringbone patterns on these beautiful throws are inspired by Barrow Valley in Kilkenny, where Cushendale Woollen Mills has been family-run for six generations. The fleece is sourced from Irish farmers raising indigenous Galway sheep and dyed, spun, and woven at one of only two heritage woollen mills remaining in Ireland. Available colors include silver, indigo, sage, salmon, and heather pink.

• Little Darling Lamp from Sweden

  This playful table lamp was designed by Swedish Ninja founder Maria Gustavsson. Manufactured in Sweden, its twin opaline globes balance jauntily on powder-coated metal beams wrapped in hand-pressed leather. A thin cork bottom keeps it from scratching your furniture. Available in a rainbow of colors (strawberry red, sunshine yellow, and bubblegum pink among them), there’s a style to suit any mood.

• Indigo Arrows Lumbar Pillow from Canada

  Feeling one with the cosmos? Then you need this calming copper moon pillow in your life. The design is part of the Elements series from Destiny Seymour, an Anishinaabe textile designer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Each pillow is hand-printed on natural linen using non-toxic ink and includes a removable insert and hidden brass zipper.

• Zig Zag Salad Servers from Kenya

  One look at these utensils and guests will demand to know their backstory. The elegant and ethically crafted tossers are carved from wild African olivewood and finished with sustainably sourced bone by two artisan groups, Wood Carvers of Kenya and Acacia Creations. They make a lovely hostess gift for yourself or someone else.

• Tombo Towels from Japan

  Anyone who has soaked in a Japanese sentō or onsen knows how therapeutic they are. Now, you can bring a piece of that age-old cleansing ritual home—in the form of face, hand, and bath towels from Tombo. These high-quality cotton towels are woven manually on shuttle looms in the Senshu region of southern Osaka, where a post-weave refining method called atozarashi is king. The lightweight towels—available in snow white, dove gray, or midnight blue—have two gauzy outer layers and an ultra-absorbent pile inside, making them cushy, durable, and quick-drying.