Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. This week, we’ve turned it into a Father’s Day gift guide, with recommendations for what to buy your paternal figures — or yourself. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday, along with monthly travel and beauty guides, and the latest stories from our print issues. And you can always reach us at tmagazine@nytimes.com. HEAD TO TOE Upgraded Dad Hats and Sandals
The dad hat already appeals to a broad subset of men, parental status notwithstanding: Father’s Day presents an opportunity to seek out a more considered version of the cap. The London company Story Mfg. makes one out of naturally dyed, handwoven cotton that can be customized with a crocheted initial, while the Japanese brand Poten’s caps are made by the same factory that manufactures the hats for all of the nation’s major league baseball teams. Nervous Designs, an online small-batch pop-culture-merch purveyor, has a hat lineup featuring a variety of niche music and film references, like one with the logo for “Koyaanisqatsi,” the 1982 experimental documentary that explored the relationship between humanity and nature. Men's wear aficionados and outdoor enthusiasts alike will appreciate a worn-in chino cap by the Japanese brand Kapital or a seersucker plaid long-bill design from the California-founded, Japan-based outdoor brand Gramicci. Pair any of these with an equally design-forward dad sandal like Bode’s leather-and-raffia slides, a welcome alternative to the standard flip-flop. The French shoemaker Paraboot’s buckled nubuck design is reminiscent of a fisherman’s sandal, but actually draws inspiration from shoes once made for Carthusian monks. For a more luxurious take on the orthopedic sandal, Japan’s Auralee makes a hand-finished double-strap sandal made from New Zealand calf leather. ENGLISH ACCENT Earthenware Planters With Deep Roots
Adam Keeling, the director of Whichford Pottery in Warwickshire, England, learned to make terra-cotta flowerpots from his father, a master craftsman trained in the traditional English method that includes the use of hand-carved molds, roulettes and stamps. Today, the father and son work together at Whichford, preserving techniques passed down over centuries. Alex Matisse, the co-founder of East Fork pottery in Asheville, N.C., has long been an admirer of the English workshop and recently commissioned it to create a five-piece collection of garden pots that are perfect for any dad who enjoys mucking about in the dirt. The East Fork x Whichford planters come in three classic Victorian shapes — first popularized in the mid-19th century by the upper class to display their imported bulbs and flowers — made with a frost-proof blend of two English clays (from the villages of Blockley and Ironbridge) and decorated with floral motifs. Matisse, a great-grandson of the French artist Henri Matisse and an avid gardener himself, designed the botanical motifs in brushwork, which were then carved into molds and applied in bias and relief on the pots. Whether you plant narcissus and tulips or basil and thyme, each pot is “a piece of the English countryside,” says Keeling. HOT STUFF Chef-Approved Tools for Grilling Season
The charcoal brand Thaan was first born in 2014 at Pok Pok, Andy Ricker’s now-closed Thai restaurant in Portland, Ore. It became beloved by chefs like Michael Cimarusti, who used it to cook wild, dry-aged fish at Providence in Los Angeles. Last October, when Thaan launched a Kickstarter for a compact, tabletop version of its live-fire charcoal grill used in restaurant kitchens across the country, the campaign was funded in 20 minutes. Now the first run of the Thaan Grill — insulated for fuel efficiency and safety, and small enough to use on a balcony or bring to the beach — ships in June, just in time for Father’s Day. For a wood-fired option, there’s the Tuscan Grill Original, designed with Alice Waters and handcrafted by metalsmith artisans in Tuscany for searing meats and vegetables over burning hardwood in a fireplace or fire pit. When cooking with flames, protection matters: the Copenhagen-based kitchenware company Veark makes long-sleeved mittens in a shade of ocher that patinas over time, an aesthetic reward for putting them to work. For the father who makes pizza at home, the Italian restaurant Flour + Water and the cutlery shop Bernal Cutlery (both San Francisco institutions) recently collaborated on a razor-sharp stainless-steel pizza cutter made in Japan. FAIRWAY FINERY Unconventional Golf Gear
Over the years, I feel like I’ve given my dad every golf accessory imaginable, but a new wave of brands are making stylish gear that has me revisiting the idea. Moln, the Tokyo-based travel brand, sells an understated cart bag made of lightweight, waterproof nylon, while the Santa Monica, Calif.-based golf brand Malbon’s version is made from vegan leather, available in classic black or forest green. Metalwood Studio, a Los Angeles brand known for its vintage-inspired golf apparel, partnered with Adidas on the newly released MC70 golf shoe. Minimalist at first glance, the design takes cues from a soccer cleat with asymmetrical lacing. And when his game isn’t quite up to par, try a pack of golf tees from the Arizona-based company Devereux Golf or one of Radry Golf’s flowery club covers to at least keep the mood light. LUCKY CHARM Necklaces Featuring the Patron Saint of Travelers
The New York-based physical trainer, dietitian and jewelry designer Mark Armstrong Peddigrew has worked closely with the singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright for the past 18 years, accompanying him on monthslong multicity tours. Since 2010, Peddigrew has spent his days off visiting local flea markets and estate sales, where he hunts for charms that he incorporates into his jewelry line, Cartography. To date, his pieces have included found objects from over 30 countries across five continents. This summer, Peddigrew is releasing a collection of necklaces featuring antique Catholic talismans found at various European markets, including London’s Islington Passage and Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen. Each new one-of-a-kind piece has a cerulean enamel pendant of St. Christopher, who, Peddigrew notes, “every good Catholic knows is the patron saint of travel” and a Virgin Mary in silver and gold leaf. The talismans are hung on a brass chain, either 18 or 22 inches, that Peddigrew sourced from a dead-stock jewelry vendor in Rhode Island. The necklaces are assembled by hand in New York City, by which time their components have passed through many hands and places; fitting for a collection that Peddigrew says he has “dedicated to wanderers.” ALL ABOARD An Afternoon on the Water
For a father who has all the gear he needs, a minicruise with family might be the ultimate gift, offering him some slowed-down time in nature. The options, happily, have never been more plentiful. In New York City, Tribeca Sailing offers a 1960s Hinckley for a sunset circuit around the harbor, while Newport Classic Yacht Co. maintains a fleet of wooden boats along the Rhode Island coast (and partners with the Vanderbilt, Auberge Collection property, which is housed in a former Gilded Age mansion built in 1909). The Ocean House hotel, about 40 miles south in Watch Hill, R.I., keeps its own yacht among its guest offerings, while the Inn at Perry Cabin on the Chesapeake Bay deploys a 1902 skipjack (a traditional sailing boat used to dredge oysters) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On the west coast, SF Bay Adventures puts San Francisco’s waterfront to excellent use, with schooner charters that pass Alcatraz and sail beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. If guided discovery appeals more than pure leisure, the architectural boat tours run by the AIA in New York and Chicago Architecture Center are an illuminating way to spend an afternoon. FROM T’S INSTAGRAM
We asked 10 artists and designers to reflect on the onscreen flora that’s inspired them, from fantastical topiaries to scene-setting bouquets. Click here to see the full list of films and follow us on Instagram.
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