The Bayer Center Store’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Guide is here! Check back daily for gift ideas from our staff and local artists—perfect for those special people on your list!

Day 12 – Wallace Sewell Scarves & Blankets

Founded by two women in the UK, Wallace Sewell is known for their use of color, structure, and yarn in surprising geometric formats. Often inspired by paintings, they create individual contemporary fabrics with strikingly bold, asymmetric blocks and stripes of varying scales, which bring together a plethora of elements within one piece. Their Bauhaus blanket and scarf are staff favorites.

Day 11 – Liz Heller Ceramics

I began making functional ceramics once I arrived at the Artist in Residence program at Anderson Ranch in 2014.  I have always been inspired by Mid-Century Modern Design elements and especially the idea behind the Bauhaus movement of combining functional design and fine art.  My goal is to elevate the idea of pottery through elements of modern design and contemporary methods of fabrication. – Liz Heller, mod crmx

Day 10 – Affordable Gifts for Life’s Stages

The Bayer Center’s Penner Manager of Educational Programs Andrew Travers has browsed the store in search of gifts for loved ones from newborns to newlyweds. Two relatively affordable favorites for young people are the Bauhaus Teething Ring, because it’s never to early to start engaging a future art-lover, and the Architek Book, which invites creative play and introduces architectural concepts for kids as young as preschoolers.

Day 9 – SLaB Ceramics, Savanna LaBauve

Inspired to create something unique for the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, I looked to Herbert Bayer’s topographical sgraffito mural. Almost every piece created for the Shop has elements of these topographical lines. Any of the works that are vertical are coiled and pinched, whereas the horizontal works (primarily the tray) are slab built. All of the works employ the use of terra sigilatta, an ancient surface treatment utilized by the Greeks and Romans. It’s a fine particle, liquid clay applied at the bond dry stage before firing and is how I apply the creamy white and charcoal black matte area. It provides an underpainting, if you will, for strategic glaze design work on top. All the design work is done with tape resist and hand drawing with glaze. This series is only available at your shop! –Savanna LaBauve

Day 8 – To Aspen and Back: An American Journey by Peggy Clifford

Landscape architect, former Aspen city council member, and campus design expert Ann Mullins is particularly fond of To Aspen and Back: An American Journey. Written by journalist Peggy Clifford in 1980, it offers a revealing and insightful history of the town as observed by Clifford, who Hunter Thompson called “the chronicler of reality in town.” In 2022, the book was reprinted and expanded by writer DJ Watkins to include Clifford’s original text and Thompson’s original introduction as well as 206 black-and-white historic photographs all encapsulated in a beautifully designed format.  “The text describes a deep connection to the idea of Aspen which is surprisingly relevant and vital to today”, says Mullins.

Day 7 – Weightless Blue, Herbert Bayer

Weightless Blue (14/50) exemplifies Herbert Bayer’s genius in combining perfect geometry with the infinite possibilities of color progression, says Bayer Center Executive Director Lissa Ballinger. Completed in 1975, this bold silkscreen was executed by Kelpra-Studio Ltd. in London and hand-selected for our store due to its pristine condition. Framed in a sleek white frame, the piece measures 37” x 37”. 

Day 6  – Julia Turner Jewelry

Julia Turner creates graphic and sculptural pieces that are strong and subtle, beautifully crafted and a pleasure to live with.  Visitor Services Associate Mary Fox is drawn to her subtle work with glass beads. “They’re simple, smooth and arranged in a natural pattern that makes them appear organic.”  Turner freely combines everything that interests her; mixing hot and cold connections, carving and fabricating, wood and gold, traditional enamel and industrial paint. Her work reflects a fascination with the boundary between the human-built and natural worlds, and the beauty of accidental collaborations between them. Julia’s studio is currently part of the Heath Collective, located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Day 5 – Chase Carter Bayer Bowl & Platter

My father, Richard Carter, was Herbert Bayer’s assistant in the ’70s. As a result, I’ve always had a deep connection to Bayer’s art and the Bauhaus legacy. When the Bayer Center opened, I was particularly drawn to Bayer’s Geometry of an Illusionist, a vibrant painting, currently hanging in the Bayer Center lobby, that introduces the viewer to Bayer’s love of the beauty of the universe. I loved it so much that I made a platter incorporating the design. It’s a simple way to pay homage to a man who influenced many subtle and not-so-subtle things in my life. I’m honored and grateful to be part of such a fantastic facility honoring an incredible man.–Chase Carter 

Day 4 – Typography Kits

The current exhibition at the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies is Bauhaus Typography at 100. The exhibition explores the many Bauhaus print artifacts (books, magazines, course materials, product catalogs, stationery) and draws a through line to the shape of typography today. This kit, available in two sizes, Explorer and Adventurer, invites you to map out your own typographic adventure. Outfitted with wood alphabet and numeric stamps, stencils, ink, notebooks and wax pencils you’ll be on your way to designing your own poster, holiday card or perhaps note for Santa. These kits were created by our store buyer, Jennifer Roberts, and come housed in handsome metal toolboxes from Italy.

Day 3 – Hangai Mountain Textile – LOCAL MAKER

Hangai Mountain Textile’s Bauhaus collection was inspired by the bold, innovative spirit of the Bauhaus movement, whose contributions shaped modern design, including the design of several iconic Aspen landmarks. Launched to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Bauhaus Movement in 2019, Hangai’s Bauhaus collection celebrates the women of the Bauhaus and their visionary approach to form and function, by blending timeless geometric aesthetics with our luxury textiles. Each piece reflects the movement’s enduring influence on contemporary design. 

Day 2 – Journals

Communications Manager Sarah Shaw has sampled all the notebooks and journals in the store. She recommends Isa Catto’s colorful List-It notebook (great for groceries, movies, and books) and Grids & Guides, from Princeton Architectural Press, including oodles of graph paper interspersed with scientific charts, tables, and infographics featuring everything from the periodic table to alternative alphabets! Perfect for those visual thinkers and left-brained doodlers in your life.

Day 1 – NAEF Chess Set

The original Bauhaus-designed chess set made in Germany by Naef, a renowned maker of high-quality wooden toys, is a statement in any home, inviting quality family time to relax and connect over this classic game of strategy and logic. Josef Hartwig’s chessmen, designed in 1923, have characteristically reduced forms which, in contrast to commonly used figures, are symbols based purely on the function and form of the maneuver of each piece. Cubes, cylinders and balls lead you move by move to checkmate. Visitor Services Associate Rebecca Weiss recommends this timeless Bauhaus piece. “Not only is it appealing as a practical home accouterment, it’s also an understated elegant design piece.”