Stylish Throws to High-Design Watches, May's Hottest Local Stuff
Wear
Local designer Lacey Douglas started making swimwear for fun while earning a bachelor’s in apparel design. After graduation, those fun side projects morphed into Nuke Swimwear, a line of teeny bikinis and one-pieces in vibrant colorways and fun florals inspired by her childhood in perma-sunny SoCal. $65–160
Image: Courtesy Jeremy Pair
Home
In the summer of 2015, Portlander Jala Smith-Huys took a two-month European sabbatical with her husband and two young sons. The trip inspired a union of design and sense of place, an idea that became Seek & Swoon. The newbie company’s USA-made throws in stylish geometric patterns use cotton from apparel factories’ cutting-room floors. $80–165
Image: Courtesy Vero
Wear
New company Vero (Latin for “true,” roughly) aims to shake up the watch industry with transparency, from the local Orox leather strap to the hands crafted in Morteau, France. The high-quality, sustainable designs don’t come cheap, but do come with a warranty and a fancy case to hand down for generations. $2,900–3,400
Image: Courtesy T-Rex Ripper
Gadget
Remodelers, flooring folk, and DIY homeowners, take note. Aloha-based T-Rex Ripper debuts its singularly focused line of staple and nail extractors designed to efficiently pull flooring staples, saving the tedium—and the backaches—of trying to yank them out with pliers or ill-fitting pry bars. $26–36
Image: Courtesy Jordan Philips
Drink
Impress even a sultan with gorgeous golden cantilevered Thalia mugs, made as a collaboration between local product developer James Owen and Bishop House owner Brian Sunderland. The two worked for six months to find an adhesive that could bond borosilicate glass, 24k gold, and stainless steel and handle both 200-degree tea and iced coffee. $329 for set of two
