Search for New York gifts and you'll mostly get the Statue of Liberty, yellow cabs and the Manhattan skyline. That's fine if the person you're shopping for is from the city. It's a strange choice if they grew up in Buffalo, spent summers in the Adirondacks or live somewhere in the Finger Lakes, where "New York" and "the city" are two very different things.
Where upstate actually starts is its own argument, and we're not settling it here. What we can do is point you to gifts that treat New York as a whole state. Everything below is in our New York gifts and souvenirs collection.
Start with the state, not the skyline
The simplest upstate gift is one built around the outline of New York itself, the whole shape, from the western end on Lake Erie to the tip of Long Island. Our state designs do exactly that. On the New York slate coaster set you can choose from designs like:
- HOME Outline and Home Sweet Home, which use the state shape in place of the letter O
- Classic Outline, the plain state shape
- NY Initials
- Brush Lettering and New York Script, for the state name in a hand lettered style
- Word Cloud
None of these lean on the city. They read as "this is where I'm from," whichever part of the state that is.
The coasters come four to a set, 4 inches across, round or square. Slate is a quarter inch thick with hand chiseled edges, so each one in the set is a little different, and there are foam pads on the back. If you'd rather go lighter, the New York cork coaster set uses the same designs on 3/16 inch cork that grips the table without pads and takes a hot mug without complaint.
For the Buffalo native
Buffalo gets its own skyline in our range, and for someone from there, a Buffalo piece will land harder than a state outline.
- For the wall: the Buffalo skyline wall sign is 10 by 10 inches in leatherette, engraved with City Hall, the Lake Erie waterfront and a bison. It hangs on a single nail from a sawtooth hanger.
- For the kitchen: the Buffalo skyline serving board is solid bamboo, 17 by 5.25 inches, cut in the shape of a wine bottle, with the skyline and city name engraved on one face.
- For the tree: the Buffalo skyline slate ornament comes in 3 or 4 inches, and there's a wood version too.
For the camp, the cabin or the lake house
A lot of upstate life happens at a second place: the camp in the Adirondacks, the cottage on a lake, the family place everyone fights over in July. Those houses need coasters more than most.
Cork is the easy pick for a place like that. It's light and quiet on a table, it won't chip if it gets knocked to the floor, and it's fine under hot coffee or a cold drink. A Home Sweet Home set on cork says "this place" without trying too hard.
For the Finger Lakes wine drinker
The New York wine bottle serving board is the same bamboo, wine bottle shaped board as the skyline versions, but engraved with one of the state designs instead. It's a cheese board, a bread board or a tray for a couple of glasses. Hand wash it, dry it, and oil it now and then with food safe mineral oil.
A tree that grows everywhere upstate
New York's state tree is the sugar maple, and the state's Department of Environmental Conservation describes it as abundant everywhere upstate. If the person you're shopping for is the type who notices when the maples turn, a warm wood or brown-toned piece fits that feeling better than cool grey stone. The New York wood Christmas ornament is pale natural wood, 3.5 inches across, with the design engraved dark into the grain and a twine hanger already tied on.
One thing to know about the Empire State design
We also make an "Empire State" design that pairs the state outline with the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. It's a good design, but it leans city. For a true upstater, the plain state designs or the Buffalo skyline are the safer choice.
How ordering works
Nothing here sits on a shelf pre-made. Each piece is engraved after you order it and goes out within 1 to 3 business days. Coaster sets don't come in a gift box, so wrap it if it's a present.
If you want to see the whole range side by side, including the city pieces for the people who do love Manhattan, browse everything we make for New York.
