Frankincense has a long history in gift giving, all the way back to the pharaohs of Egypt, Alexander the Great and at least one of those three wise men at the manger. Today, Muslims commonly exchange chunks of the resin at Ramadan meals breaking the daily fast, and its sweet and musky fragrance permeates many…
And in 2014, the comments section became the target of a harassment campaign. Jessica Coen: We were getting flooded in the comments with violent GIFs, really nasty pornographic stuff. We flagged it to management multiple times, and we were essentially greeted with a collective shrug. Madeleine Davies: To get the company to respond, we had…
Currently, about 20 percent of wedding guests arrive at Camptown from Tuesday to Thursday for a weekend ceremony, with Wednesdays experiencing the largest growth, Mr. Wendell said: “You see people at the pool with laptops, taking calls on the nature paths.” The Kimpton Armory, a boutique hotel in downtown Bozeman, Mont., also has experienced an…
Ms. Raymond also offers vintage zodiac pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Lenfant, which she says are in demand and becoming harder to find. “We get intense about the spiritualty and meaning of the jewelry, but a lot of people who buy the vintage zodiac pieces buy them for the design and beauty,”…
Anyone who has an urge to design a house but lacks architectural training should take courage from Hun-Chung Lee. Two decades ago, Mr. Lee, a South Korean ceramics artist, spent about $200,000 on a tilted piece of land in Yangpyeong County, an hour east of Seoul, with the intention of building a studio there. He…
On Christmas Eve in 2013, Elisa Stead, an American living abroad in Iceland, was ready to celebrate the holiday with her fiancé and his family. But when she tore open the wrapping on his gift for her, she was disheartened to discover what lay inside: a car-window scraper. Sure, she lived in a frosty place,…
There is a strange thing happening on gift lists this year. Among all the digital items, bound datebooks, diaries and notebooks are making a comeback. As a bit of proof: Liberty, the luxury department store in London that has a roomful of datebooks and notebooks on an upper floor as well as online sales, has…
Michael Eric Repper’s history of unflagging devotion to a narrow set of passions dates back to the early 1990s when, as a 3-year-old, he snapped to attention the moment the orchestra kicked in at a classical music concert. By the time he had reached his early 20s, another of his select few passions was consuming…
Before Travis Kenneth London fell in love with Bruce Douglas Patrick, he had blocked his number. After matching on the dating app Tinder, they had their first date in December 2021 at Via Emilia 9, an Italian restaurant in Miami Beach. “It was an instant spark for me,” said Mr. London, 35, recalling Mr. Patrick’s…
Trevor Jovan Bates knew Shahnaz Singh-Kandah would be his wife even before he asked her out. “I heard the Holy Spirit say Shahnaz is your wife, and I heard it very clearly,” he said. Mr. Bates and Ms. Singh-Kandah, who became friends after meeting at the church they both attend, were at a worship event…