Consumerism may be the downfall of civilization, but we believe curation is its saving grace. Because life is better with a good book and a few thoughtfully designed objects. So we’ve sifted through mounds of stuff to bring you, excitedly, the Brain Pickings Shoppe — a carefully curated collection of goodies we love and think you might, too.

The collection currently features 63 hand-picked items across 3½ thematic categories: design + eco + quirk, featuring everything from a hand-crafted bamboo keyboard to recycled circuit board coasters to Jane Austen action figures, books (divided into art + design + photography and life + work + mind), and tea lovers, because we love tea and wanted to share our favorites in case you do, too.

The books featured in the Shoppe have been previously reviewed here — you can find them in our book archive or simply plug a specific title in the search box at the top right to see what makes that book so special.

We’ll be adding to the collection over time, but wanted to get it started in time for gift-giving season — because who doesn’t have a friend that could use a solar-powered double rainbow maker?