For every Mother’s Day I can remember, my mom has always asked for the same thing: a poem. The tradition started at a time when my two siblings and I were too young to make money on our own. It stuck because, like others I’ve met, my mother has always preferred sentimental gifts to excess, even if my stanzas were never comparable to Keats or Ginsberg.
Besides poetry, my mother’s favorite thing to receive would probably be a photo. This is another trait she shares with many moms I know. Today, most of the photos she receives are sent directly to her digital photo frame to participate in the carousel of images from past weddings, holidays, and karaoke birthday parties. But the bookshelves, mantels, and walls in her home are still littered with “framers,” those pictures of moments so memorable that they’re all printed and preserved in their own physical sanctuary.
Sure, a photo as a Mother’s Day gift seems like an obvious choice. But after two years that didn’t go the way most people wanted, why not give Mom something you know she wants?
If yours is anything like mine, she probably spent more time with her puzzles and comfy clothes and air fryer during the pandemic than with her kids and grandkids. Another photo will of course not make up for that. But it might just make Mom feel closer to her loved ones — and it might take up less space than a pretty garden, watercolor set, or most of the other things she’ll eventually tire of.
While the gift of a photo is obvious, that doesn’t mean it can’t be surprising. In any case, she will be delighted by the nostalgia it evokes at first glance. If you have the budget, presenting it in a frame will only impress her more. And if you know where to look, there are options that are as unique as Mommy herself. (If she or you don’t like photos, a frame can be used to show off art, printed memorabilia, or, of course, a handwritten poem.)
For trendy moms, Kate Spade’s metal South Street Wave frame ($65) has curves reminiscent of Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror. Those who are serious about design may prefer the KP01 frame, designed by Kuno Prey for Alessi ($65). Combining glass, birch and especially a binding clip makes the piece decorative, whether it contains a photo or not.
Also made of mixed materials, but more traditional in appearance, is the Tonal Wood and Bone Frame ($25) from Society Social, a brand I first heard about from SuChin Pak, a journalist, podcast host, and mom herself. It would pair nicely — in a not-too-matchy-matchy way — with Magnolia’s White Marble Clara Frame ($22), a line co-founded by another mom, Joanna Gaines, a co-star of the home make -about show “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home.”
Few things are more classic than Tiffany & Company silver. Small yet elegant, the brand’s sterling silver travel frame, designed by Elsa Peretti ($200), holds two small photos and is the kind of timeless object Mom can give you as a gift one day if you’re lucky. Equally covetable: A Pleiade frame from Hermès ($760), which is made of mahogany and, like many of the house’s accessories, saddle-stitched leather.
If mom is a maximalist, consider Jay Strongwater’s Bejeweled frame ($1,050), which is embellished with a dazzling array of colorful Swarovski crystals. More affordable but no less captivating is the Murrina Light Blu frame from Original Murano Glass in Venice (starting at $94), which is studded with tiny glass beads, some of which look like tiny eyeballs.
Is she a museum visitor? The dark flowers of the Peeters Bouquet of Flowers frame ($42), from the store at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, are inspired by painter Clara Peeters’s still life of the same name. Maybe Mom is more loyal to MacKenzie-Childs, another New York institution. To complement a collection of the brand’s black and white plaid pieces, try the Vintage Button frame ($45), which features a deep green palette. Should her taste not be British, the blue and white Magnolia Blossom frame from English porcelain manufacturer Wedgwood ($145), founded in 1759, might be more her style.
About a century and a half later, Cavallini began producing handcrafted wood frames in Florence in 1901. The Pavoni frame (starting at $55) features silver leaf and a subtle, painted pattern that can be mistaken for a natural patina that has faded over decades. developed. Equally old-fashioned is Jan Barboglio’s Iron and Glass Liliana Frame ($175). It is handmade in Mexico and comes with mesh that can be placed over a photo to make it look more antique.
Finally, Aura Mason’s digital frame ($199), a top pick from Wirecutter sold by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is suitable for moms, like mine, who never tire of looking at pictures — and a more beautifully designed gadget that allows you to do this.