A gift guide of deliberate objects

It’s Black Friday week. Soon it’ll be Christmas. Yep… it’s that time of year again, when your feeds are flooded with gift guides of dubious quality.

I’m going to throw my hat into the ring, with a short list of products that I personally have bought, used and loved. If you’re buying for a lucky family member who enjoys the finer things, or just want to treat yourself… I hope you find something inspiring here.

Toyooka Craft pen chest

If your dearest friend or family has a collection of fountain pens, they need somewhere to store them. While I have dabbled in pen storage from Galen, Seypen and others, Toyooka to me has the best value proposition in terms of finishing, choice and construction.

My current one holds 12 pens, six on top, six in a drawer. It’s made from unstained hinoki cypress wood, and is as simple as it could possibly be.

You can get one at a pen show, direct from Toyooka, or from the Turners Workshop in the UK.

Marked by Time watch stand

I saw this product in my Instagram feed and bought it instantly. It’s a great example of a simple design that works really well and solves a problem you almost didn’t know you had.

End of the day: you take off your watch to go to bed. Where do you put it? I bet you lay it on your bedside table. At the risk of sounding like a snowflake, don’t you worry about it getting scratched, knocked on to the floor, lost?

This little stand gives your watch a home. It is non-scratch silicone. The wood and subtle colour scheme make it look good anywhere. There’s a little cutout for a bracelet or necklace or charging cable, and a dimple in the top for a ring. You can pop off the cone and there’s storage space inside for spare parts.

It’s under £20 and ships from the UK. For me this is a great product.

Hobonichi

I’m back on the Hobo habit for late 2025 and 2026, and I realise I really missed this little chunky journal. To me it’s still the gold standard for planners, with great binding, tons of pages, and all the features a planner addict could ask for — plus an unsurpassed community of bloggers, accessory makers, covers and creative inspiration out there.

The golden age of Tomoe River paper planners may be over, but I find the 2025/2026 paper is still the best option out there for fountain pens.

I got mine from Hunter Paper Co for £58, which is a lot for a notebook, but not for a whole year of journalling.

Ghost of Yotei

I spent my formative years playing games: from the Amiga and SNES to PS2, Gamecube and Wii. Only a couple of years back I invested in a PS5 and rediscovered just how much joy I get from spending time playing. I had to teach myself that this wasn’t wasted time, and now I am proud to call myself a gamer again.

I was late to the party on Ghost of Tsushima, but preordered Ghost of Yotei, and I’ve been playing it since launch day. It is even better than the first game. In case you’re hearing about it for the first time, this is a third-person, open world game set in feudal Japan. Every element of this game is done beautifully, from the sumi-e artwork, to using the wind as a subtle navigational aid. The voice acting, character models, and plot are superb. I am about 30 hours in and less than a quarter through the map. In other words, if you have even a passing interest in Japan, and own a PS5, this is the best value investment you can make in entertainment.

Apollo torch / flashlight

Everyone needs a torch every now and again. There is no excuse for one of the pieces of crap you find in the DIY store. Buy something amazing that will perform for a lifetime.

For a gift, an AA battery powered light is still best. Everyone has AA batteries. The Tactile Turn Apollo is wonderfully machined, fairly compact, has a good beam, and a simple L-M-H clicky interface.

I got mine from Tactile Turn direct, for $299. The Ti version is currently out of stock, but you might find it at retailers.

Zojirushi thermos

I’ve had three or four of these wonderful things. They are compact, slim, very robust, easy to drink out of, easy to disassemble for cleaning, and have the most positive closing/locking cap design you’ll find. Most importantly, they keep hot drinks hot for absolutely ages.

My favourite is this little 360ml version in rose gold. It is battered but going strong. I think I imported mine from Japan via Amazon, for around £50.

Spyderco PITS 2

Everyone used to carry a knife, and they’re still the most versatile of tools — as well as an excellent case study for what a Deliberate Object involves. Balancing size, robustness and other factors is always a compromise.

This is the second PITS design by Spyderco, and the designer known as Pie In The Sky, who I remember from way back on the British Blades forum (RIP). It uses an ingenious non-locking mechanism based around effectively an internal frame slipjoint. Unlike the first model, it doesn’t ‘clamp’ when you squeeze the backspring, but it’s plenty secure.

I love the aesthetic, the non-threatening blade shape, and how soft and rounded it feels. Oh, and titanium, obviously. It came plenty sharp with a full flat grind, and outstanding build quality.

There is no better place to buy knives in the UK than Heinnie, which is where I got mine for £270.

Fuji X100VI

OK, this is a bit more pricey at £1600, but this camera made me fall in love with taking photos again. It’s not as small as a Ricoh GR, but it has full manual controls: lens-mounted aperture, plus a full ISO and shutter speed dial, exposure compensation, and plenty of buttons for things like white balance. It has a full OVF. It looks gorgeous. And while it won’t win any speed contests for AF or shutter response, it’s way better than the GR I used to have. The 35mm f2 lens is versatile and fast enough. Oh, and the shutter is super quiet: you can take photos in museums, of your pets and kids, whatever you like without bothering anyone.

I carry mine on a Gordy’s sling strap, mounted to the tripod hole, which means the lugs aren’t cluttered up with strap mounts. It’s the most liberating way to shoot.

So there you have it. Eight gift ideas from £20 to £1600, EDC to creative to household. What would you add?

I might follow up with my personal wishlist in another post!