📝 Editor’s Note
The next installation on the best places in the world (as provided by Rambull profilees): the best restaurants in the world.
No doubt controversial, this list includes everything from michelen star stalwarts to $5 greasy cheeseburgers. In my opinion, nothing better than a great meal surrounded by good people. The ones I added to the list include Stonehouse, Santa Barabara; The Yeatman, Porto; Le Diplomate, D.C.; and, M Sushi in Durham.
Now, what say you?
Please reply to this email to send me ones you know deserve to be on this list.
Without further ado….
Why Melanie?
She came recommended by her sister, Charlotte. Charlotte is a good friend from college and wanted to recommend her sister because her “super-power is the ability to make the people around her recognize their self-worth. She does this by being uniquely thoughtful in her personal and professional approach.” I told Melanie that this will be an expensive week because the recommendations are going to resonate within my household. The cotopaxi hip-pack has already shown up at our house…
Follow Melanie and her company on Instagram: hewson.co
Self-Description
An extroverted introvert, seeking daily comfort in the chaos as a survivor of 2 under 2.
Melanie’s Recommendations
Written in her own words…
Product
I’m always looking out for products that are well made, thoughtfully designed and streamline or enhance my day to day needs in some shape or form.
Rose LA – My new special toddler tolerance potion – Rose Delights! With a 2 and 3 year old, I find I need to take the edge off pending the latest development cycle we’re stuck in and having dipped the old toe in CBD and THC over the years, haven’t really found something that gets it just right for me each time. Thankfully, I discovered the perfect solution. Rose based out of the Sierra foothills creates cute little CBD and THC edibles that are made from rosin and anchored in regenerative farming – clearly and consistently dosed, coming in seasonal flavors and a fun chewy bite. It’s an approachable little edible, I’d likely share with your parents. My go tos are the Deep Sleep CBD and the High Energy THC. You can parent and have fun.
Eqpd – This is a new brand on my radar, created by an ex-Patagonia product designer. American made and designed to last; it’s literally dubbed the last bag you’ll ever need.
Cotopaxi – I snoozed and I’m late to the game on this badass do-good for the world brand but after almost ten years in NYC, I realized I was craving some color in my life. As the part time pack mule in my house, I feel like I never have a bag big enough for all the junk we lug around from place to place and decided to try a new type of vibe and get a hydration hip pack aka a fanny pack that holds more shit and let’s you ditch your toddlers personal water bottles in favor of a family friendly hydro spout. I probably look like a total dork using this out in the wild in RVA since it’s made for hip active adventurers but it fits a diaper, snacks, cell phone, sunscreen and comes with a 2L water bladder in the design. The fact that it enables me to be hands free with the kids, is just the cherry on top of this design Sunday.
Fozzi Foam Blaster - I’m really going to try and get off the kid theme here, but this foam blaster is where it’s at. We’re religious about our bedtime routine and the bath is like the critical moment for us, gettem in and gettem out zen. However, bathtime is a decent time suck so we’ve been slowly graduating to showers a la mom and dad which TBH is just not that fun, you’ve got to share the spout, and someone always gets cold… anyways, I randomly stumbled on this foam blaster, that’s also body soap. It is a blast, literally. The kids spray the wall, themselves, gets them clean but doesn’t take 30 minutes and a gallon of bathwater on the floor to transition them to the PJ vibe.
Digital Tool
Playground Buddy – Put it in your back pocket, it’s a literal lifesaver when traveling with the tiny roomies. This app is a user led map of playgrounds all over the world. I can’t say I’ve market tested this in that many places but recently our family went to Italy, and you could locate available play spots wherever we were. You can contribute to user data by finding and logging new sites. Bless all the parents who came before me and helped build out this awesome resource.
Professional
Marco Polo - A fabulous friend and partner Lydia @ Telltale Designs got me hooked on the video sharing app, Marco Polo. It’s a collaborative tool that allows you to snap videos on the go and send directly to a contact, enabling you to get those quick hit ideas and comments over to each other almost as if we were working together in the office. It’s a dialogue without the meeting dirge. I use it primarily as a business tool with clients to quickly and efficiently go over new thoughts and random sparks of ideas. For any voice note fans out there, this is similar just with video and archive! I love that I can reference back to the ‘conversation’ and remind myself where my head was at the time.
Gift
LottoLove is a fabulous company I got connected with, during my early days as a member of Hey Mama (also plugging this for working moms looking to expand their network). These scratch off lottery tickets are a more sustainable approach to gifting with each one revealing a prize impacting causes around the world think clear water, solar power, literacy and mentor training. Last year, we included the ‘WIN for Women’ cards in an International Women’s Day appreciation campaign for a graphic design client and had a huge response rate to the experience. These are an awesome corporate gift that can be customized in a variety of ways!
Country Kubb: This is one of the OG discoveries that goes back a long time. First introduced to me by a friend, we’ve gifted and gifted and gifted some more, this strategic lawn game inspired by the Vikings. We’ve played with nephews, grandparents, friends and colleagues and literally everyone who plays it gets addicted and in turn, passes down the fun to another friend or family member. Highly recommend putting this at the top of the list for anyone who lives near a beach or park. You need a lot of space because you’re going to start huckin’ wooden ‘skulls’ and ‘femurs’ around.
GoldBelly: When my family moved from Brooklyn to Richmond a few years ago, my biggest transition challenge was the lack of good food (RVA you gettin’ better!). I missed my Black Seed bagels, Breads Bakery babka, Nom Wah Dumplings … you name it, you can find it here. This national consolidator of all the best food is an absolute favorite for gifting anyone, anytime. I’m loving sending the Emmy Squared 4-pack of pizzas to new parents.
General Gifting Sentiments …
Don’t overthink it. For my birthday my sister sent me my favorite beer, that’s hard for me to find locally – shoutout Other Half’s Forever Ever Session IPA. It doesn’t have to be new and novel, sometimes the gift that hits the hardest, is the one you already love.
More is not always better (ditch tchotchke gift baskets in exchange for a single well-made gift or local treat). I love hitting up the local bakers I find on Instagram to create something tasty for holiday treats. Quality over quantity, baby.
Expensive doesn’t always show your recipient you care more. In business settings, it can often create unnecessary pressure and awkwardness for your clients.
Never send anything direct from Amazon even if you splurge for their gift bag. It comes across as lazy (sorry I’m not sorry).
A handwritten note goes a lot farther than you think.
Meet people where they are. What’s their lifestyle, what could complement or support that?
Stop with the gift cards. Annually in the US, we have $21 BILLION left unused on gift cards. People forget, lose them … it’s such a waste for so many reasons.
Travel
Sabah Shoes have been my go-to travel shoe for over ten years. They are uber comfortable, sleek and most importantly versatile. I pack my leopard sabahs whenever I’m on the go beach, mountains, summer, winter … year-round, you name it. They work. They come in a ton of colors and seriously make people stop in the street to comment how fun and unique they are. They are a decent investment, but each pair is handmade and such great quality, it’s absolutely worth it (I still have my first pair that was my primary travel shoe in India, in 2014). Also, pro move, take them to a cobbler and ask for a rubber protector to protect the leader sole.
PSA to the homies out there looking to jump the Atlantic with your car seats in tow, most American car seats are illegal in Europe and not at all compatible with their cars. Unless you get crafty and buy super specific adapter components, which aren’t always clear what you need until you get in the literal car you’re using, your kids will be flip flopping around. It’s sketchy. We just slugged two car seats to Italy and man was I wishing I had that detail a few weeks earlier…
Next on our travel list is road tripping the Coast of Cali hopefully in one of the pimped-out Sprinter Vans you can find on Outdoorsy, an RV/camper van rental platform.
Plug
I’m excited to share my small but mighty side hustle turned fulltime gig is about to turn three in August! Hewson (named after my son) is a B2B marketing studio specializing in tailored, innovative client and employee gifts for small to midsize companies. Currently, I’m on the lookout for 1) new partners in the market needing support with client and employee gifting and 2) cool products made by cool people.
Want to reach Melanie? “Please reach out if you have any interest in working together or if you just have a great recommendation for a gift.”
Email: melanie@hewson.co
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniesullivanparker/
Marco Polo: 917-363-1164
Cheers!
P.S. from Rambull — In the same way a meal always seems to taste better when you cooked it, a drink tastes much better when you made it. I’ve found myself enjoying a tequila drink ever since I got my hands on Lalo Tequila. This Tequila has a very clean and pure taste that I haven’t tasted with other brands. Below are the ingredients for my go-to drink, which I’m calling the ‘Tenney’ because it is a ten out of ten.
Sparkling Water
Ice + Lime + Stir
Respect to whoever added Hillstone to the best restaurants list. It’s always such a solid choice (I’ve tried so many times to recreate their spinach dip)