The best presents are the ones that say "I know you". A framed print does that better than most things, because it ends up on a wall they walk past every day. It also happens to be one of the few gifts that never needs a battery, a charger or a returns slip.
So we have done the thinking for you. Six people you probably have on your list, six prints they will actually want to hang, and where it makes sense, a book or record to wrap alongside it. The extras all come from Readings, the independent bookshop that has been part of Melbourne life for decades. Support local twice in one gift.
For the food lover: Anthony Bourdain at Les Halles
Before the travel shows, Anthony Bourdain was a working chef. He ran the kitchen at Brasserie Les Halles on Park Avenue South in New York, and it was during those years that he wrote "Don't Eat Before Reading This", the 1999 New Yorker essay that grew into Kitchen Confidential the following year.
Our print catches him in chef's whites on a New York street, plate in one hand and a very Bourdain gesture in the other. It is the most loved print in our shop this month by a wide margin, and it suits a kitchen, a dining nook or the hallway outside one.
Pair it with: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, from Readings.
Shop Anthony Bourdain At Les Halles New York
For the music lover: David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust
In June 1972 Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and the character he built around it changed what a rock star could look like. More than fifty years on, Ziggy still reads as modern.
This print is a flash of red on the wall, Bowie mid-pose in full Ziggy costume. It brings a jolt of colour to a living room or a record corner. Hang it at eye level above the turntable and let it do the talking.
Pair it with: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on vinyl, from Readings.
Shop David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
For the art lover: Mt Fuji by Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama is best known for dots and infinity rooms. This exhibition-style print takes a different route: Mount Fuji rising over layered, patterned hills, with dots and repetition running through every band of colour. It is bright, graphic and calm all at once, and an easy pick for someone who loves Kusama but already owns the tote bag.
It works beautifully in a bedroom or study, and pairs well with simple timber furniture.
Pair it with: Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, from Readings. Published in English by Tate, it is her own account of a life spent making art.
For the pub regular: Split The G
"Splitting the G" is the pub game that took over social media: drink your first mouthful of Guinness so the line between the stout and the creamy head lands right through the middle of the G on the glass. Harder than it sounds, and endlessly debated.
For the friend who has turned it into a personal challenge, this is the print for the home bar, the man cave or the rental living room that needs a sense of humour.
Shop Split The G Guinness Wall Art Poster
For the summer dreamer: Tennis in Lake Como
Some people spend all year planning their next European summer. This is for them. A clay court, mountains, Italian lake light. It is pure holiday, and it looks right at home in an Australian summer too, especially in a bright room with white walls and linen.
Pair it with a long lunch and a spare afternoon. Some gifts do not need a shop.
For the one who has everything: their own photo
The dog, the wedding, the beach shack, the blurry shot from the night everyone still talks about. Upload any photo and we will print and frame it in our studio, on the same archival paper and in the same frames as the rest of our range.
It is the one gift on this list nobody else can give them.
A few gifting tips
Not sure of the size? A3 or A2 is the safe bet. Big enough to make an impression, small enough to fit almost any wall or lean on a shelf.
Choosing a frame? Tasmanian oak is warm and works with almost everything. Matte black suits graphic and photographic prints. Matte white keeps it light and gallery-like.
Giving it to a renter? A framed print can lean on a sideboard, mantel or picture ledge without a single nail.
Every print is printed and framed in our studio and backed by 900+ five-star reviews. Until 30 November, everything is 40% off, applied automatically at checkout. A good excuse to buy one for them and one for you.
Looking for more ideas? Browse our photography prints or start a whole gallery wall.