Diresta Mini Ice Pick

Jimmy Diresta is one of the godfathers of the modern maker scene (see more maker stuff below) and one of the nicest internet famous people I’ve ever met.

I’ve had one of his brass ice picks for years and am consistently surprised by how useful it is.

High recommend.

Patagonia Worn Wear Repair Roll

The hardest part of having lots of cool knives, tools, and pokey things is not losing them in the bottom of your backpack. Trust me.

These Patagonia Repair Rolls are awesome and split in half for a few little things at a time.

Placed Atoms Kinetic Driver

Italian maker and inventor Giaco makes all kinds of awesome stuff.

The Kinetic Driver is an absolutely badass screwdriver with a heavy brass flywheel to let physics do all the work.

It’s also beautiful.

Check out the other cool stuff on Placed Atoms too.

Pilot FriXion Erasable Pens

These are surprisingly awesome.

They come in a ton of colors (except yellow as my daughter pointed out).

Instead of doing the typical bad ‘erasable pen’ gimmick, they actually use an ink that turns transparent when heated and an ‘eraser’ that creates heat through the friction of rubbing the paper to turn the ink invisible.

It also means putting the paper in the freezer makes your secret message come back.

Write your kid a message with one of these and run a lighter over it to really make their minds explode.

I Want My Hat Back - Jon Klassen

I’ve written about Jon Klassen here before, but he is far an away my favorite children’s author.

I Want My Hat Back, and the rest of the Hat Trilogy, are perfect gifts for the toddler in your life.

Maileg mice

Danish toy brand Maileg makes the cutest, highest quality, perfectly collectible little mice.

There are like 40 of them in my house.

Enough said.

Woosah Outfitters

Woosah might be the brand I own the most items from.

Founded by artist Rae Lang, Woosah makes cool lifestyle stuff based on Rae’s woodcut artwork for people who like nature.

I think that makes sense.

It’s great stuff, from great people.

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

An oldie, but a goodie.

I remember listening to this on tape in the back of my parent’s minivan driving through the American Southwest.

A must read for anyone who likes to hike.

Traveler’s Notebook, Passport Size

I’ve carried one of these for years and love the flexibility that comes with the interchangeable notebooks.

The smaller size perfectly holds a passport alongside your notebooks, so you don’t lose it on your journey.

When you get back home, just swap the passport back out for another notebook and get on your way.

These days, mine has a zipper pouch full of stickers in it. 🤷‍♂️