BY SARAH BROWN
This article was originally published in the April 2015 print edition of Ottawa Magazine
Your anniversary’s fast approaching. Yes, already. Comes around once a year — really quickly, we find. Oh exquisite agony! What to buy, what to buy? Now, Gone Girl readers will remember how horribly awry Nick and Amy’s fifth anniversary went, as Amy marked the date with a fake kidnapping and a decidedly unnerving treasure hunt. If only she had chosen to commemorate the wood anniversary with a bespoke shaving brush and a woodsy soap in a mahogany bowl! Yes, the movie would have been shorter, but, oh, how much calmer and more romantic! With that in mind, Ottawa Magazine consulted the modern bride and groom’s guide to anniversary gifting, selecting some practical ways to show your love — and, hopefully, get lucky — on the big day.
One: Clocks
Created for Danish design house Georg Jensen by legendary Swedish designer Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, the numberless Vivianna bangle watch is timeless — a perfect metaphor for young love. Launched in 1969, the iconic timepiece has never gone out of style. $2,138.
Magpie Jewellery, 430 Richmond Rd., 613-686-3989 (and two other locations).
Three: Crystal
We’re smitten with the new decorative “Renaissance” glasses by Spiegelau ($16.95). Waterford crystal gets reinvented in a striking diamond-patterned brandy glass ($159.95 for a set of two).
Half Full Glassware & Accessories, 285 Richmond Rd., 613-728-3855.
The featherlight Zalto Denk Art hand-blown burgundy ($79.95) and “grounded” burgundy ($74.95) stemware is perfection personified. German-made Riedel Vitis champagne flutes ($85 for a set of two) and martini glasses ($85 for a set of two) will make sleek additions to your cabinet.
C.A. Paradis, 1314 Bank St., 613-731-2866.
Five: Wood
Celebrating a fifth? Wood’s the theme — and perfect timing too. Old-fashioned barbers are back in vogue, and so are apothecary products. England’s D.R. Harris & Co. Ltd. has been crafting the finest-quality shaving soaps since 1790 — Prince Harry favours the Windsor soap, which is shown here in a throwback mahogany bowl ($49). In the background, a handmade horsehair shaving brush with wood handle from Spain’s Vie-Long ($49).
Knifewear, 800 Bank St., 613-695-4200.
Nine: Leather
Surprise your sweetie with the promise of a trip for two to the destination of his/her dreams. Better if your mate helps plan the trip, but you can set the tone with Ottawa-themed luggage tags with leather bands ($8.50 each), complemented by a booklet of travel quotations ($10).
Drake General Store, 73 Rideau St., 613-241-7511.
Ten: Diamond Jewellery
This handcrafted talisman from Vancouver jewellery studio Pyrrha says it all. Set with a diamond, the charm features a winged heart flying above a globe, the image representing love without limits. $298.
Magpie Jewellery, 430 Richmond Rd., 613-686-3989 (and two other locations).