{"id":166779,"date":"2024-12-06T12:35:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T17:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=166779"},"modified":"2024-12-06T14:08:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T19:08:48","slug":"art-food-decor-and-more-check-out-the-2024-bates-alumni-gift-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/06\/art-food-decor-and-more-check-out-the-2024-bates-alumni-gift-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Art, food, decor, and more: Check out the 2024 Bates Alumni Gift Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If your holiday shopping spree has yet to materialize \u2014 or if you\u2019ve been scared into your house by an impending winter storm \u2014 the 2024 Bates Alumni Gift Guide is here to help you find presents from the comfort of your own home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuffed with meaningful gifts sure to charm everyone in your life, from your youngest tots to your foodies to your eclectic art collectors, the fourth annual guide features more than 40 products and services by alumni around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
2024 Bates Alumni Gift Guide<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Check out the complete 2024 Bates Alumni Gift Guide<\/a> to shop for tomato sauce, handmade art, photography, and more.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

From the Retail category, put together Liz, Lizzy, and Lewiston, and you get Lewis | Organic Essentials for Baby + Kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz Coulson Libr\u00e9 \u201902 and Lizzy Sall Ott \u201904 own and operate the textile and home goods company, aptly named after Bates\u2019 home city. The two women were friends in high school in Pennsylvania, followed one another to Bates, moved to New York City as young alumni, and eventually drew on their distinct artistic skills to launch and grow the widely-successful Lewis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lizzy
Lizzy Ott ’04 (left) and Liz Libr\u00e9 ’02 pose in front of a display of Lewis products. (Courtesy of Lewis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Publications including The New York Times\u2019<\/em> Wirecutter, New York Magazine\u2019s<\/em> The Strategist, HGTV Magazine<\/em>, and Martha Stewart Living<\/em> have featured Lewis. Celebrities Serena Wiliams and Amy Schumer were spotted on Instagram dressing their kids in the brand\u2019s clothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Bates students, Libr\u00e9 and Ott came to know and love Lewiston for its rugged beauty, in contrast to stereotypical imagery of coastal Maine. The ethos of Lewis echoes Libr\u00e9 and Ott\u2019s impression of Lewiston as a place to let the underdog shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the artwork is done by hand by Liz, so it has a very loose imperfect look to it that we love,\u201d Libr\u00e9 and Ott say. \u201cWe think Lewis and Lewiston share an uncommon beauty factor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis is known for its patterned, 100 percent organic cotton baby and kids\u2019 clothing and bedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t interested in typical cookie cutter imagery for kids,\u201d Libr\u00e9 and Ott say. \u201cWe mostly turn to nature for inspiration, and things other brands might not think of as beautiful \u2014 snakes, oysters, porcupines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"rews
Brews are the “Maine Event” at Magnify Brewing, owned by Eric Ruta ’14. (Courtesy of Magnify Brewing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Gift-givers from Maine to Florida can indulge in another Lewiston-influenced product with beer from Magnify Brewing, founded by Eric Ruta \u201914<\/a> and based in Fairfield, N.J. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Bates student who majored in environmental studies, Ruta interned for two years at Baxter Brewing in Lewiston, a popular location for student interns to connect academics with real world experience<\/a>. \u201cThat sparked my interest in the craft beer industry,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magnify\u2019s hazy IPAs, fruited sours, and sweet stouts are available to purchase in 11 Eastern states and at the Magnify taproom in Fairfield. The tap list includes a ready-to-gift Imperial IPA dubbed \u201cStocking Stuffer\u201d and a nod to Lewiston with hazy New England IPA \u201cMaine Event.\u201d Delivery is available throughout New Jersey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruta appreciates that his professors gave him academic credit for the internship. \u201cWithout that experience, I probably wouldn\u2019t have opened Magnify.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full gift guide for items from novels to shippable cheese to handcrafted ceramics and sustainable furniture made from something entirely unexpected: recycled chopsticks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year’s guide features an array of products, including Lewiston-inspired items.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1827,"featured_media":166812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[7,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-annual-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1827"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166779"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166849,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166779\/revisions\/166849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}