Get them something they did not know existed. The impossible friend has already bought everything they want, so a gift that competes on usefulness loses. What works is the object with a story they cannot buy for themselves, because they would never have thought to look: a vintage matchbook from a hotel bar, a candle painted with sardines, reading glasses that hang like a necklace. Everything below is on the shelves at 555 Hudson Street and in Collected Objects, priced as listed.
Under $10, and still a real present
Vintage Matchbook, $4. One-of-a-kind ephemera from hotel bars, steakhouses and airlines, matches still inside. Pick three and put them in the card. This is a better gift than most things at fifty times the price.
HA KO Paper Incense, Autumn & Fennel, $8. A single leaf of washi paper incense, woodsmoke and fennel, burned after dinner. Small enough to slip into anything else on this list.
Objects with a sense of humour
Jolie Paige Sardine Pillar Candle, $84. Matte black pillar with a school of blue sardines painted around it by hand, six inches tall. Each one is painted individually, so no two friends get the same fish.
Dachshund Trinket Tray in Silver, $38. A catchall cast in the silhouette of a dachshund. For rings by the sink or keys by the door, and for the friend who owns a dachshund or wishes they did.
New York Gourmet Puzzle, $58. An illustrated map of the city's food, borough by borough, from Water & Wines. For the friend who has an opinion about the best bagel and will argue with the puzzle.
Things they would not buy themselves
Cowboy Eau de Parfum, $48. Tomato leaf, dewy green, a barn in late summer, from Nose Dive in a 50 ml bottle. A scent nobody expects to like, which is exactly why it gets worn.
Margarita Pendant Reading Glasses, Blue, $168. Reading glasses worn as a necklace, hand-finished in Madrid from bright blue acetate. For the friend who has started holding menus at arm's length and will not admit it. One pair.
Hand-Blown Ombré Glass Bottle, Purple & Amber, from $288. A hand-blown bottle that shifts from violet to bronze, with a glass stopper, and no two land the same way. The one on this list that gets put on a shelf and pointed at.
Ribera Hammered Cocktail Shaker, $128. Hammered stainless steel from Encasa in Spain, with real weight in the hand. For the friend who makes the drinks and has been using a jam jar.
What to skip
Gift cards, experiences they have to schedule, and anything you chose because it was safe. Safe is what the impossible friend already has.
The rest is in Collected Objects and Brocante, where the one-of-a-kind pieces live, or come and look at 555 Hudson Street, open daily eleven to seven. Every order leaves the West Village wrapped by hand.
Written September 2026. Prices and stock change, so the product page is the honest version.