ReZoom

When it’s time to bring home mementos of your latest jaunt across the Atlantic, steer away from snow globes and t-shirts with ReZoom’s picks for quintessential keepsakes from Europe.

1. Waterford Crystal
Waterford, Ireland

The art of making crystal goes all the way back to the 1200s in Ireland. But, it wasn’t until brothers William and George Penrose founded the original Waterford Crystal company in 1783 in the small town of Waterford that the world began to take notice of the fine goods and amazingly clear crystal coming from the Emerald Isle. Even when the company went under a century later, the Waterford name had enough of a reputation to make the company’s re-opening in 1947 a huge success. Buying crystal in Ireland will cost you a lot less than the highly taxed American imports as well as providing you with a timeless and beautiful souvenir of your time in the land of saints and scholars.

2. Handcrafted Lace Goods
Burano, Italy

On a small Venetian island 40 minutes north of St. Mark’s Square, many members of this small community of 7,000 still practice the fine art of lace making handed down by generations of women over the centuries. Burano lace, known for its delicate and very difficult “air stitch,” is esteemed throughout the world and was once highly coveted by merchants and royalty alike. Louis XIV wore a Burano lace collar to his coronation and Napoleon’s son had a Burano lace bedspread. When you visit, be sure to only purchase authentic Burano lace. Most of the great “bargains” available on the island were actually manufactured in China. You’ll pay a higher price tag for real Burano goods, but you can also rest assured that you won’t find anything else like it no matter how much you travel.

3. Dalecarlian Horses
Dalarna, Sweden

For many centuries, woodcrafts were the bread and butter of most Swedish families. Leftover pieces of wood from this cottage industry were often carved into toys for children, the most popular of which were small horses. Eventually, craftsmen because whittling horses and painting them in bright red or blue shades with various other decorative touches to trade. Today, the Dalecarlian horse is a popular symbol of Sweden in addition to being a full-blown industry. Rather than coming from leftover bits of pine like in yesteryear, modern Dalecarlian horses are only made from the best timber and the trees that will be used in their manufacture are chosen and specially marked before being cut down. Nusnas is the current hub of Dalecarlian horse production where you’ll find two rival factories founded by two rival brothers, Nils and Grannas Olsson.

4. Limoges Porcelain
Limoges, France

As the world expanded through trade, the Limoges region of France began manufacturing porcelain that was amazing at the time because it was considered the first porcelain comparable to the exquisite goods only recently discovered by European traders in China. Many Limoges pieces of the time were decorated by well-known artists or aristocratic women studying the craft of painting on porcelain. Modern pieces still bear a stamp indicating the factory of their origin as well as the mark of the artist. Whether you’d like a fine piece for your home or a true collector’s item, Limoges is a great purchase. Most modern collectors look for pieces made between the late 1700s and early 1930s, and no matter what the year of production, hand-painted pieces are always more valuable than machine-stamped offerings.

5. Nutcrackers
Ore Mountains, Germany

Originally, nutcrackers were made for the very purpose that their name entails. However, as the mining industry declined in Sonneburg and other parts of the Ore Mountains, many Germans turned towards manufacturing the woodcrafts for profit. Of course, the 1892 debut of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” cemented the role of nutcrackers in German culture and industry. Today, the most recognizable nutcrackers are manufactured at the Steinbach Company, founded in 1870. Steinbach is known for their traditional style nutcrackers as well as limited editions depicting everything form U.S. presidents to popular fairy tale characters.

6. Evil Eye Beads
Anatolia, Turkey

Whether you’re superstitious, against all old wives’ tales or fall somewhere in between (knocking on wood and tossing spilled salt over your shoulder definitely count), the beautiful blue evil eye beads (“nazar boncugu”) of Turkey and other Mediterranean nations make for great souvenirs. Many Turks believe that it is possible to cast the “evil eye,” either intentionally or unintentionally, when whose who aren’t as lucky as you see your good fortune. Whether the evil eye is a result of normal, human envy or the malevolent casting of a curse, the result is the same - you will lose your wealth and luck as soon as the evil eye finds you in its sights. That is unless, of course, you have your own evil eye bead to ward away jealousy and protect your good fortune. Whether you’re interested in the charm’s aesthetic qualities or its powers, you’ll probably want to take a few home.

7. Tartans
Scotland

It might be expected to bring home tartans from Scotland, but you’d also be hard pressed to find other souvenirs as emblematic of the nation as its most famous textile. (While “plaid” might be an acceptable substitute for tartans in most of the world, Scots only use “plaid” when referring to blankets or cloth thrown over the shoulder, and we wouldn’t want you to be embarrassed abroad.) Tartans are emblematic of clans, companies and numerous entities in this foreign land and as many variations of tartans exist as do theories explaining the Loch Ness monster. Pick up a tartan scarf or tam, and you’ll have the perfect reminder of your Scottish adventure.