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The Technical.ly Brooklyn holiday gift guide

Buy local! Buy tech stuff!

Have a very Brooklyn holiday. (Photo by Flickr user asenat29, used under a Creative Commons license)
Buy your family gifts that are both inventive and unique, and also help the local economy this year.

Here at Technical.ly Brooklyn, we’ve had the privilege of covering some really interesting people doing wonderfully cool stuff. There’s the winner of the Make It In BK pitch competition, Chitra Agrawal, who left a career in the corporate world to build a business making aachar (an Indian pickled condiment) out of a soup kitchen in Bed-Stuy. And don’t forget the camping stove that uses thermodynamics to create electricity out of fire with which you can charge your phone — truly, there is no shortage of interesting ideas and products being manufactured in the borough.
So with that said, we’ve picked some of our favorite projects from the last year or so of Technical.ly coverage for you to peruse for gift ideas. (This is not an ad or affiliate marketing, these companies don’t even know we’ve picked them.) Check it out!

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Time for another cup. (Courtesy photo.)

Time for another cup. (Courtesy photo.)

For the insatiable foodie

Brooklyn Delhi — Brooklyn Delhi won this fall’s Make It In BK pitch competition. Run by Chitra Agrawal out of Bed-Stuy food pantry St. John’s Bread and Life, Brooklyn Delhi makes the Indian pickled condiment aachar. ($8.75.)
Ample Hills — Backed by leading Brooklyn venture capitalist Charlie O’Donnell and his Brooklyn Bridge Ventures fund, Ample Hills is an Earth-friendly local ice creamery. (Class 5-pack, $45.)
Afineur — Afineur makes fermented coffee. If that sounds gross, well, you’re wrong. The project of two bioengineers, Afineur’s coffee beans are exposed to bacteria specially chosen to eat away the molecules that make coffee bitter. (Signature set, $89.)
Critter Bitters — In their quest to get people eating more insects, Critter Bitters founders Lucy Knops and Julia Plevin created toasted cricket-based bitters for your cocktails. A couple of these and the crickets won’t be the only ones toasted. ($30.)
Farm to People — Farm to People merged with Quinciple last year, creating a Brooklyn organic food box delivery juggernaut. The company sources locally grown products and delivers boxes to your door. (Holidaze in a bundle, $65.)

Harry Doull (left) and Stephen Tracy (right) are pretty pumped about candles. (Photo by Tyler Woods)

Harry Doull (left) and Stephen Tracy (right) are pretty pumped about candles. (Photo by Tyler Woods)

For the keeper of the household

Keap — Simply the best, most elegant candles we’ve ever smelled. The work of two ex-Google employees working down in Industry City. (Gift set, $50.)
Greetpoint — Brooklyn-designed and printed greeting cards from the person who built CNN’s breaking news Twitter. (Monthly subscription, $8.)
Danielle Trofe — Sustainable lamps and lampshades made out of mushroom mycelium. Must be seen to be believed. ($250-$1,250.)

Kentucker Audley, decked out in full "movies" regalia. (Photo courtesy of Kentucker Audley)

Kentucker Audley, decked out in full “movies” regalia. (Photo courtesy of Kentucker Audley)

For the fashionista

Thursday Finest — 3D knitted, customizable socks, made in Bushwick. ($18.)
Hat that says “Movies” on it — A Technical.ly Brooklyn favorite. Is just what it sounds like. Seems like creator Kentucker Audley has increased the line to many more items that say “movies” on them as well. ($25.)

BioLite's clean cookstoves reduce emissions by more than 90 percent. (Image by Tyler Woods)

BioLite’s clean cookstoves reduce emissions by more than 90 percent. (Image by Tyler Woods)

For the gadget geek

Pensa’s DIWIRE— Prototype product ideas with ease with this innovative tool from Downtown Brooklyn design shop Pensa. ($3,375.)
BioLite — Camping inventions burst out of Dumbo’s BioLite. Build low-waste fires that generate electricity. (CampStove bundle, $199.95.)
goTenna — Use this device’s radio waves to text and use maps even when you’re completely off the grid, without cell service. ($149 for a pair.)

StrongArm's V22 Ergoskeleton. (Photo courtesy of StrongArm Technologies)

StrongArm’s V22 Ergoskeleton. (Photo courtesy of StrongArm Technologies)

For the gear devotee

StrongArm Technologies — For the working man in your life. A back brace support system that helps to lift and bend for heavy objects without injury. (Contact for purchase.)
Notch — A hit at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, monitor your form while working out or training with their 3D motion capture device. ($328.)

Elements of the Periodic Table of Trash. (Gif by Tyler Woods with images courtesy of the Periodic Table of Trash)

Elements of the Periodic Table of Trash. (Gif by Tyler Woods with images courtesy of the Periodic Table of Trash)

For the art aficionado

Periodic Table of Trash — Trash never looked so good on your walls. ($40.)
Fiercely Curious — A curated digital gallery by Gowanus’s Erin Przekop with some very affordable art. ($250-$6,500.)

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