Wallpaper* gift guide: shopping with managing director Malcolm Young

I love to give and receive all year round, so to me the best gift guides are ones that allow for a ton of fun peppered with dream items that you know you're unlikely to get your hands on but that you can enjoy wishing for nonetheless.

Wallpaper* gift guide: shopping with managing director Malcolm Young

A gift from Kate 

The occasional collaboration between Kate Bush and Timorous Beasties has thrown up a new logo for her official Fish People site and a Hounds Of Love special: the 'Baskerville' edition, a black vinyl LP with fantastical sleeve illustrations by the Glasgow design studio. If I don’t get it, I am beginning to think that my holiday will be well and truly spoiled. 

Kate Bush Hounds of Love 12" Vinyl Album (Baskerville Edition), £138 katebush.com

A soothing ritual

Wherever you’re planning to spend the holiday, I highly recommend you keep a bottle of this soothing potion to hand because it’s designed to whisk you into the leafy confines of an enchanting forest, wherever you are. And it works. Inspired by Japanese forest-bathing rituals, a traditional anti-stress antidote, this intoxicating conflation of wood oil, cypress and pink pepper is a gift for any overworked soul, comforting and uplifting at the same time.

Aromatherapy Associates Forest Therapy Bath & Shower Oil, £55, aromatherapyassociates

A monkey puzzle solved

Lemurs may look cute but they have been found to be more than a little tetchy around humans. I’m not letting that eclipse the attraction, though, and have found a stylish solution to their prickly character. One, I think that will bring joy to all: Loewe’s Suna Fujita Lemur Puzzle Fold tote in shiny calfskin. I mean, you can take that anywhere.

Loewe Lemur Puzzle tote, £1,550, loewe.com

A refreshing palette

Green or yellow? Pink, maybe? How about the blue? Oh, go on then, I’ll take the whole damned lot. Lobmeyr’s mouth-blown Alpha Water Tumbler is sure to make even New York water taste nice.

Lobmeyr Aplha Water tumbler, £54 each, abask.com

A soft touch

I’d like to say that the fact the Celine Triomphe shearling toy is at the top of my all-too-pampered pet’s gift list has nothing to do with me. But that would be a lie. I love Hedi Slimane’s fun, new dog accessories and I’d happily see any of them light up my little companion’s furry face around the Christmas tree.

Celine Triomphe shearling toy, £300, celine.com

A purple patch

One of the joys of writing with a Montblanc pen is the array of the Swiss luxury house’s coloured inks to choose from. I prefer violet ink and this Purple Haze variety, celebrating one of the legendary Jimi Hendrix’s best-known tracks, is high on my list. And it comes in that perennially good-looking ink bottle, too.

Great Characters Jimi Hendrix purple ink, £35, montblanc.com

A chic seat at the table 

As this time of year is all about fantasy, I am dreaming of a rare thing with a rare price tag. Namely, Rick Owens’ 2012 Tomb Stag Bench – his chairs come up on good design auction sites every now and then. It’s a perfect fit for me, as cosying up with a good book in a comfy chair has never been high on my ‘me time’ list.

Rick Owens Tomb Stag Bench, £39,500, 1stdibs.com

A sound with vision

As the family at Michell engineering would tell you: ‘the task of a turntable is simple, the design of a turntable is not’. The late designer John Michell, audio engineer and audiophile, created the GyroDec in the early 1980s. Today, it is lauded not only for its superior vinyl playback but as one of the most coveted turntable designs of all time. But then Michell was also a model maker, and built the the ‘Discovery’ ship for Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Michell GyroDec turntable, £4,500, audiogold.co.uk

A symphonic soundscape

As a regular ballet-goer and fan of the composer and performer Thomas Bangalter, I’d like this symphonic delight as my official holiday season soundscape. It’s the first orchestral album by Bangalter, working independently of Daft Punk, with choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, who commissioned the score for his titular ballet at the Opéra National de Bordeaux. A 23-scene album, Mythologies muses on how humans create and interact with learned traditions old and new.

Thomas Bangalter Mythologies, £75.00, roughtrade.com

A Frank exchange 

I love Folkform collaborations and I love Josef Frank’s cartoony prints, so I have to ask: have you seen ‘Pleated for Frank’, this year’s Folkform collaboration with Svenskt Tenn interiors? I love that, too. Folkform has used Svenskt Tenn linen featuring Frank’s 1940s Brazil print to fashion this hand-pleated lamp, creating a new take on a classic. 

‘Pleated for Frank’ table lamp, €1,104, svenskttenn.com