Alison Loehnis – president of Net-a-Porter 

A Heywood Hill subscription is a great gift from the wonderful bookshop. It consults with the giftee and sends them a surprise book a month, based on their tastes, for a year. From £175


Jessica Bell Brown – curator

Curator Jessica Bell Brown at home in Baltimore. To her left is a ceramic sculpture by Jaye Kim © Justin T Gellerson
The fort-building kit (at back) that she gave her son
The fort-building kit (at back) that she gave her son © Justin T Gellerson

I gave my five-year-old son a fort-building kit. I love the child’s mind in terms of engineering – they see spaces and shapes very differently. £22, selfridges.com


Frida Escobedo – architect 

An olive tree is a victory sign; I gave one to a loved one who was ill. Similar from £15, humanappeal.org.uk


Courtney Love – musician 

I gave Winston Churchill’s walking stick to my ex-boyfriend, who’s a massive Churchill fan. I bought it from a collector and had my driver go to York to get it.


Kim Sion – creative consultant and ceramicist 

Kim Sion in her black Jaguar
Kim Sion in her black Jaguar © Cathy Kasterine
Her diamond ring from Bottazzi Blondeel in Paris
Her diamond ring from Bottazzi Blondeel in Paris © Cathy Kasterine

A 1930s diamond ring from Bottazzi Blondeel, my favourite antique jewellery shop in Paris, and a bright pink ceramic Ron Nagle cup – both from Jarvis. I also love the white leather rollerskates with light-up wheels that my daughter [artist Lorena Lohr] gave me. bottazziblondeel.com


Léo Walk – dancer and choreographer 

Léo Walk at home in Paris
Léo Walk at home in Paris © Alex Cretey Systermans

I gave a photograph of my six aunts to my Portuguese grandmother Mamie Berta. I rounded up all the sisters from all over France, and asked my friend to do a shoot with them. They hadn’t seen each other for ages, and we got a photograph of the whole family together.


Isabel Allende – author 

Isabel Allende’s Thistle Farms placemats, made from discarded refugee life vests
Isabel Allende’s Thistle Farms placemats, made from discarded refugee life vests © Cayce Clifford

Thistle Farms is a social enterprise that provides refuge and support for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction. In order to support themselves, the women make soaps and candles, which I think make perfect gifts. Founder Becca Stevens also came up with the idea to repurpose life vests left on the beach by refugees in Greece. With the help of women from the camp, the shredded vests are transformed into what are called Welcome Mats – an ironic name given they’re not made to feel welcome anywhere. I have several at home and have given many as gifts. thistlefarms.org


Hélène Nguyen-Ban – art collector and app creator 

Gossamer Dusk and Dawn CBD tinctures, $70 each
Gossamer Dusk and Dawn CBD tinctures, $70 each

Friends who know my passion for all things CBD gave me Dusk and Dawn, two tinctures by Gossamer. These aren’t your usual cannabis oils: they contain high levels of very rare cannabinoids, so they have amazing anti-inflammatory properties, help you focus or wind down, and can even regulate your hunger cravings. I also love Rose’s cannabis Turkish delights, which are infused with single-strain flower rosin. $40, roselosangeles.com; $70, gossamer.co


June Ambrose – creative director of Puma 

June Ambrose in her New York apartment
June Ambrose in her New York apartment © Alex Lockett

I feel like everyone I know is operating at such a high frequency, so a self-care voucher – a wellness gift certificate – is the best way to force people to get a vitamin IV drip or a massage. The Equinox club in New York has really skilled therapists who understand sports massages and fitness. equinox.com


John Derian – artist 

Ceramic fruits by Penkridge Ceramics – a beautiful joke present, says John Derian
Ceramic fruits by Penkridge Ceramics – a beautiful joke present, says John Derian © Stephen Kent Johnson

I gave ceramic watermelons to a friend who I knew would sort of “get” this beautiful joke present. They’re by Penkridge Ceramics in England, a studio that makes wonderful glazed fruits and vegetables – tomatoes, chestnuts, pears – and each is one-of-a-kind. £170, penkridgeceramics.com


Gaetano Pesce – designer

Bottega Veneta ribbed wool-blend coat, £2,600, selfridges.com
Bottega Veneta ribbed wool-blend coat, £2,600, selfridges.com

I worked on a show with Bottega Veneta, and afterwards gave two of the label’s beautiful coats to friends of mine. The idea we realised together was a representation of diversity, and was very successful. bottegaveneta.com


Princess Ira von Fürstenberg – objet designer and former actress 

Ira von Fürstenberg at home in Madrid
Ira von Fürstenberg at home in Madrid © Javier Castán

The most amusing gift I ever received was a wedding present when I married Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe in 1955. It was from Fiat, which was owned by my mother’s family [the Agnellis]; they gave me a Cinquecento that had been specially made for us. It was red and came gift-wrapped with a big bow.


Lucia Pica – make-up artist 

I once received a star, which my friend named “Lucia” for me. Similar from £35, world-star-register.co.uk; from £16.99, starlistings.co.uk


Rodolphe Parente – interior designer 

The Las Pozas surrealist garden in Mexico, created by the English poet Edward James
The Las Pozas surrealist garden in Mexico, created by the English poet Edward James © Suriel Ramzal/Shutterstock

The best gift I’ve received was a road trip to Las Pozas, Edward James’s surrealist garden in Mexico, planned by a friend. James was an English poet and patron of the surrealist movement – he was friends with Dalí, Picasso and Magritte. In the late 1940s he decided to create this garden of dreams, which is full of huge concrete sculptures and extravagant foliage, in the middle of the jungle. It took us 12 hours by car from Mexico City, but we spent about a day there. laspozasxilitla.org.mx


Anthea Hamilton – artist 

Choosing Keeping handmade Marbled Archival Box No 7, £45
Choosing Keeping handmade Marbled Archival Box No 7, £45

The best gift I’ve received is possibly also the funniest, and the most romantic. There was this stationery shop in Elephant and Castle, and it had these very nice pink A4 binders. I remember saying, “Oh! They’re nice,” and my partner went and bought them all and filled the room with them – about 40 binders. I thought it was so beautiful that I couldn’t put anything in them. I still have them. It was quite nice, his understanding that I wanted to be organised in my life, that I was particular. It was a big gesture. Similar from £35, choosingkeeping.com

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