Elegant functionality from Nambe.

• Position: What's New? Holiday Gift Guide - Brief Article

There's something special about Christmas decorations. But we're not just talking about any decorations--we're referring to those from Nambe, Santa Fe, N.M. Its museum-quality collection of tabletop and gift accessories consists of metal, full-lead crystal, porcelain, and colored glass--produced by young, cutting-edge American designers such as Fred Bould, Neil Cohen, and Laurie Brzezowski. (By the way, Nambe designs can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art--New York and San Francisco--the Chicago Athenaeum, Center for Modern Art in Prague, and the International Museum of Design and the British Museum, both in London.)

The holiday lineup includes:

* Lasso Candleholder ($37). Cohen's designs often fool the eye and tickle the imagination--and are always unique and tasteful. While the holders are solid, formed in metal, they appear to be flowing--themselves melting like a candle.

* 2004 Cross ($45). This sterling silver-clad ornament is reminiscent of a soaring angel--protective and...