If you’re in need of a not-too-pricey stocking stuffer for that special someone with hometown pride, Rochester-themed goods from local artists and small businesses can hit just the right note.
From Flower City-logo jewelry to Finger Lakes flavors, these items can be slipped into a stocking in a pinch. Memberships to local museums, galleries, theaters, and other cultural institutions also make for gifts that keep on giving.
ROCHESTER ART PRINTS | $2-$17 | dellarious.com
Colorful pop art-style screen-printed posters, stickers, T-shirts, and more by Mike Dellaria, AKA Dellarious, have stayed affordable through his rise in popularity. Anyone from Rochester knows his iconic work.
ICONIC ORNAMENTS AND “MUGSHOTS” | $10-29 | catclay.com
Cat Clay has ceramic mugs, ornaments, magnets, and jewelry touting hometown pride and a variety of subjects — from reproductive rights to Black heroes, and cheeky lyrics. Strictly Rochester themes include David Bowie’s 1976 mugshot on a mug and the Rochester subway token on an ornament.
FLOWER CITY STUD EARRINGS | $10 | etsy.com/shop/MayAndBirch
Farmington-based maker Samantha Anne, who goes by May and Birch, offers laser-cut wood and acrylic adornments and ornaments celebrating region. The simple Flower City logo stud earrings would fit anyone’s style, but you may opt for a city of Rochester map ornament, or a wall piece of one of the Finger Lakes.
ROCHESTER MERCH | $4-$30 | dunwoode.design
Frequently recognized as Rochester’s favorite artist in CITY’s annual “Best of Rochester” readers’ poll, Shawn Dunwoody’s mark is all over the city. You can get many of his murals and messages in the form of stickers ($4-$5), T-shirts and hoodies (from $29), coloring books, posters, and enamel pins. Don’t miss the Legion of Legends posters and T-shirts that reimagine Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and other Rochester notables as comic book superheroes.
BLACK BUTTON LILAC GIN | $32 per 750ml | blackbuttondistilling.com
At the onset of the dark, cold months, why not give the gift of bottled springtime? A great bet for cocktail-loving friends and anyone with adventurous palates, this potent potable (at 84 proof) is an homage to one of the Flower City’s most fragrant parks, with lilac, lavender, rose, and hibiscus notes. Black Button Distillery only rolls this specialty out around May, you can order a bottle from Marketview Liquor’s stock.
GARBAGE PLATE POSTER | $14 | etsy.com/shop/bdrexdesign
Rochester designer Becky Drexler’s poster of a deconstructed garbage plate shows the real way to make a plate (with the right ingredients: mac salad and potatoes, fight me) with each component illustrated and labeled. The poster comes in white, black, or deep blue, and is elegant enough to hang in a grown-up’s kitchen.
FLOWER CITY STEEL TRIVET | $35 | etsy.com/shop/coryorourkestudio
Cory O’Rourke’s hand-forged steel sculptures and home goods reflect an appreciation of nature and the human form. But his single wedge trivet of the Flower City logo — a steel petal, if you will — is an instantly recognizable abstract industrial form. No cook on your gift list? The trivet doubles as a wall ornament.
MEMBERSHIPS TO LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
When you give the gift of membership to one of our region’s many museums, art houses, and theaters, you give year-round access to culture — and future excuses to get out of the house.
Note: Different theaters’ season packages go on sale at different times. For details, reach out to Geva, Blackfriars, The Avenue, JCC CenterStage, The MuCCC.
The Brick Lab | From $96 for a single child, discounts for each additional kid | thebricklab.com
Flower City Arts Center | $50-$80 | flowercityarts.org
Ganondagan/Seneca Art and Culture Center | $20-$60 | ganondagan.org
Genesee Country Village & Museum | $75-$200 | gcv.org
George Eastman Museum | $25-$95 | eastman.org
Lamberton Conservatory and Botanical Gardens | $10-$50 | highlandparkconservancy.org
The Little Theatre | $40-$85 | thelittle.org
Memorial Art Gallery | $75-$200 | mag.rochester.edu
Rochester Contemporary Art Center | $25-$70 | rochestercontemporary.org
Rochester Museum & Science Center | $85-$145 | rmsc.org
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra | $75-$199 | rpo.org
Seneca Park Zoo | $57-$310 | senecaparkzoo.org
The Strong Museum of Play | $154-$249 | museumofplay.org
Visual Studies Workshop | $40-$80 | vsw.org
From Flower City-logo jewelry to Finger Lakes flavors, these items can be slipped into a stocking in a pinch. Memberships to local museums, galleries, theaters, and other cultural institutions also make for gifts that keep on giving.
Colorful pop art-style screen-printed posters, stickers, T-shirts, and more by Mike Dellaria, AKA Dellarious, have stayed affordable through his rise in popularity. Anyone from Rochester knows his iconic work.
Cat Clay has ceramic mugs, ornaments, magnets, and jewelry touting hometown pride and a variety of subjects — from reproductive rights to Black heroes, and cheeky lyrics. Strictly Rochester themes include David Bowie’s 1976 mugshot on a mug and the Rochester subway token on an ornament.
Farmington-based maker Samantha Anne, who goes by May and Birch, offers laser-cut wood and acrylic adornments and ornaments celebrating region. The simple Flower City logo stud earrings would fit anyone’s style, but you may opt for a city of Rochester map ornament, or a wall piece of one of the Finger Lakes.
Frequently recognized as Rochester’s favorite artist in CITY’s annual “Best of Rochester” readers’ poll, Shawn Dunwoody’s mark is all over the city. You can get many of his murals and messages in the form of stickers ($4-$5), T-shirts and hoodies (from $29), coloring books, posters, and enamel pins. Don’t miss the Legion of Legends posters and T-shirts that reimagine Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and other Rochester notables as comic book superheroes.
At the onset of the dark, cold months, why not give the gift of bottled springtime? A great bet for cocktail-loving friends and anyone with adventurous palates, this potent potable (at 84 proof) is an homage to one of the Flower City’s most fragrant parks, with lilac, lavender, rose, and hibiscus notes. Black Button Distillery only rolls this specialty out around May, you can order a bottle from Marketview Liquor’s stock.
Rochester designer Becky Drexler’s poster of a deconstructed garbage plate shows the real way to make a plate (with the right ingredients: mac salad and potatoes, fight me) with each component illustrated and labeled. The poster comes in white, black, or deep blue, and is elegant enough to hang in a grown-up’s kitchen.
FLOWER CITY STEEL TRIVET | $35 | etsy.com/shop/coryorourkestudio
Cory O’Rourke’s hand-forged steel sculptures and home goods reflect an appreciation of nature and the human form. But his single wedge trivet of the Flower City logo — a steel petal, if you will — is an instantly recognizable abstract industrial form. No cook on your gift list? The trivet doubles as a wall ornament.
MEMBERSHIPS TO LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
When you give the gift of membership to one of our region’s many museums, art houses, and theaters, you give year-round access to culture — and future excuses to get out of the house.
Note: Different theaters’ season packages go on sale at different times. For details, reach out to Geva, Blackfriars, The Avenue, JCC CenterStage, The MuCCC.
The Brick Lab | From $96 for a single child, discounts for each additional kid | thebricklab.com
Flower City Arts Center | $50-$80 | flowercityarts.org
Ganondagan/Seneca Art and Culture Center | $20-$60 | ganondagan.org
Genesee Country Village & Museum | $75-$200 | gcv.org
George Eastman Museum | $25-$95 | eastman.org
Lamberton Conservatory and Botanical Gardens | $10-$50 | highlandparkconservancy.org
The Little Theatre | $40-$85 | thelittle.org
Memorial Art Gallery | $75-$200 | mag.rochester.edu
Rochester Contemporary Art Center | $25-$70 | rochestercontemporary.org
Rochester Museum & Science Center | $85-$145 | rmsc.org
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra | $75-$199 | rpo.org
Seneca Park Zoo | $57-$310 | senecaparkzoo.org
The Strong Museum of Play | $154-$249 | museumofplay.org
Visual Studies Workshop | $40-$80 | vsw.org
