Peak Picnic
Tinned Fish and Canned Wine That Easily Upgrade an Outdoor Meal
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The principles of summer entertaining are refreshingly simple: Elevate the ingredients, dial down the fuss. After all, it’s a season centered around farmers’ market jewels that barely need polishing and weather that encourages languid gatherings. Lately, that sense of ease arrives in the form of chef-approved staples already dressed for the table. EAT Gohar, a new pantry suite from the home goods brand Gohar World, reads like an age-old shopping list: olive oil and tinned fish, chocolate and tea. “We partnered with the best small food producers we know, from Korea to Lebanon,” says the company’s co-founder, artist Laila Gohar. “It feels like a never-ending dinner party from around the world.” Cantabrian anchovies and Atlantic sardines with preserved lemon, sustainably sourced in collaboration with the tinned-fish brand Fishwife, come in giftable striped boxes. (Bring along a baguette in Gohar’s beribboned carrier.) And for “endless pitchers of iced tea,” Gohar and her sister Nadia offer a peppermint rose hip blend alongside citrus-spiked black tea by way of Seoul. Equally quenching is the elegant canned wine from Oona, a new label that counts chefs among its founding partners. Each release is presented with a meal’s worth of recipes, such as Natasha Pickowicz’s Eton mess, starring strawberries macerated in a barbera rosé from California’s central coast. Later this month, Oona will launch a skin-contact pinot gris for orange-wine heads. “I just went kayaking and we brought a case,” says Alexis DeBoschnek, another Oona founding partner and author of the cookbook “To the Last Bite,” noting the can’s versatility: suitable for a picnic, a rooftop or cracked open for a houseguest fresh off the ferry.
Light Work
Cordless Lamps for Illuminated Deck Dining
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Artful lighting makes for a mood, and portable tabletop lamps can be especially useful for hosting indoor-outdoor gatherings on long summer days. “The best dinner parties are the ones that move from space to space as the night moves on,” says Helen Rice, who runs the antique and contemporary design shop Ponytail out of her home in Charleston, S.C. An avid collector, Rice stocks lighting by just one brand, the Barcelona company Santa & Cole. Her personal favorite is the Sylvestrina, a rechargeable, dimmable LED lamp that appears like a candle, with a glass tube neck and a ceramic base that lends a warm photo-friendly glow. Other centerpiece-worthy options include the Gry table lamp by Ferm Living. Named for the Danish word for “dawn,” it features a touch dimmer and a tall domed glass fiber lampshade that softly diffuses textured light. For a more industrial outdoor aesthetic, the touch-activated Rod lamp by Diesel Living pairs an opaque aluminum base and shade with a steel neck resembling rebar.
Clean Fun
Cloth Napkins That Bring Personality to the Table
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From sweet juicy fruits to buttery corn on the cob and fat oysters heaped on a platter, many of summer’s classic foods are hand-held, making napkins an important consideration. Lilli Elias, the Amsterdam-based creator of Autumn Sonata, who produces her line in Portugal, is inspired by archival fabrics in antique markets in the Netherlands and patterns from dusty bookshops in upstate New York. For one set she launched in the spring of this year, Elias used a paisley motif she found in a German anthology of prints from the Middle Ages. Andrea Hill, the New York-based founder behind Tortuga Forma, launched a line of bright patterned napkins in June. In jewel tones that camouflage stains and a cotton material that doesn’t require ironing, they’re intended for everyday use. When Shay Carrillo started her Portland-based housewares brand Madre, her goal was to combine visual appeal with function. She’d struggled to find a napkin for her children’s lunchboxes that was “simple and beautiful and not covered with obnoxious kid characters,” Carrillo says, “so I made my own.” On July 22, she’ll release her second collection of linens with a rolled red hem finish in shades including papaya, wasabi and dulce de leche.
Sitting Pretty
Outdoor Chairs to Brighten Up Your Yard
When the weather heats up and gatherings move outdoors, entertaining becomes a matter of getting back to basics. Elaborate entrees are swapped for grilled fare, drinks become a self-serve affair and heavy dining room chairs seem far less practical than lightweight portable alternatives. Evoke midcentury cookouts with the classic American lawn chair — its aluminum frame and colorful woven plastic seat have been meticulously revived by the MoMA Design Store. Produced in partnership with a Florida-based family company with decades of experience in the folding chair business, each piece is assembled by hand and weighs less than five pounds. Equally suited for backyards and beaches, Ita’s Leisure Chair comes in a variety of richly pigmented hues and has a low-slung silhouette that can be slipped into a tote bag when folded. For those seeking a piece that works for decks and living rooms alike, the Los Angeles company Kalon has taken the shape of its pinewood Rugosa Chair and rendered it in reflective powder-coated aluminum and water-repellent textiles. The Rugosa’s wide-set profile is meant to leave space for crossed legs and invite lengthy bouts of relaxation — perfect for kicking back with friends until the sun goes down.
Carry All
Durable Yet Stylish Serving Trays and Platters
When it comes to serving ware, ceramic pieces tend to dominate — but they’re also prone to breaking with one mishap. This summer, try an expressive vessel made with more unexpected, durable materials to liven up a tablescape. The design duo behind the Los Angeles-based housewares company Nickey Kehoe put their own spin on camping enamelware with a circular Kelly green platter showered with bright yellow speckles. Golden Editions, a décor studio founded by the Barcelona-based artist Sara Efia Reddin, offers a deep earth-tone tray with handles, made by artisans employing traditional weaving practices in Bolgatanga, Ghana. The Welsh lifestyle brand Toast sells a vintage-looking, two-toned enamel salad bowl; a porcelain outer layer gives the illusion of a ceramic veneer but the piece won’t break if dropped (at most, chipping may occur). The most opulent serving option comes from Claude, the online furniture and décor shop. This footed concave tray, hand-welded from stainless steel and designed by the Copenhagen-based artist Louise Roe Andersen, was conceived to keep fruits chilled. And when any of the above is off-duty, simply display it on a counter or table as a decorative catchall.
Buzz Off
Accessories to Banish Bugs
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Summer’s most unwelcome party guests are known for making themselves at home. They’ll share your spritz. They’ll even mistake your “shoo” signal as an invitation to bring friends. But there are a few unexpectedly stylish ways to ward off these visitors. Neepa Hut’s handwoven food tents are designed to keep your outdoor antipasto untouched. Made by Filipino artisans with sinamay, a woven fabric from the abaca plant, these collapsible structures are a Southeast Asian heritage craft. Another plate protector is Terrain’s rattan food cover — each multicolored cover is uniquely hand-dyed and handwoven. If you plan to play offense, Alessi’s Dr. Skud fly swatter is aesthetic ammunition. The industrial designer and architect Philippe Starck designed it with three small legs, so it can conveniently stand upright and at the ready. Kinfield’s Golden Hour repellent is an alternative to the unpleasant aroma of most bug sprays with a mix of Indonesian citronella, lemongrass, clove bud, lauric acid and vanilla. And the final hack for a bugless summer is an element no mosquito can withstand: wind. The handwoven wind fan designed by Jasper Startup for Gervasoni is a larger floor fan sure to produce ample airflow. For a smaller solution, West Elm’s Junior Vintage V-Fan is made with a midcentury design that would fit in on any tabletop.
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