Nordstrom’s Olivia Kim On Gift Giving And The Importance Of Selfies

by Dena Silver

One way to host a memorable dinner is to have 50 influencers noshing and chatting on a dock at The Standard in Miami, in the midst of the Art Basel party circuit. Add in selfie sticks at each seat and a drone buzzing overhead to capture it all, and the evening becomes even more fun. This was the scene last night when Nordstrom’s Olivia Kim hosted a dinner avec Rafael de Cárdenas, to celebrate Pop-In @ Nordstrom: Gift&Go. The holiday pop-up shop curated by Kim is stocked with playful gifts like an inflatable one-person kayak and a Zana Bayne harness plus, this is also where you can purchase selfie sticks and a drone. Last night guests like Lisa Marie Fernandez, Mickey Boardman, Alison Chemla, Sarah Cristobal, Kyle DeWoody, Paul Kasmin, and Eric Firestone each unwrapped a gift from the pop-up. In the spirit of holiday giving, we talked to Kim about her take on gifts, and of course, selfies.

Would you consider yourself an expert gift-giver?
In theory, I should be the best gift-giver, but I’m actually horrible because I’m such a procrastinator and I’m always trying to find the perfect gift for each person. I have lots of ideas, but it’s just about execution for me.When we’re curating the shops, especially around the holidays, I’m always thinking, “This would be the perfect gift for Jen, this would be perfect for Christine, and this for Alex.” I come up with shopping categories based on groups of people who are like my friends. Selfishly, these are all things that I also want for myself.

Are there any exclusive items in Gift&Go?
We’re really excited about partnering with Bamford again; we did five custom designed Rolexes that we designed in partnership with them. We also partnered with Bodum to customize their French presses and tea makers. It’s all about their seventieth anniversary, so they made them in these cools seventies Memphis colors.

What’s the best gift that you’ve gotten recently?
For my birthday, my boyfriend had a portrait of me drawn by this incredible artist, Cedric Rivrain. He looks at pictures of you and you as a person, he says it has a lot to do with the eyes and based on that he makes an entirely new portrait. It’s incredible.

Who’s the hardest person in your life to purchase a gift for?
My best friend Jen. We’re so much the same; our references are the same, our influences are the same, we basically finish each other’s sentences. I basically know what she wants, but I have to go above and beyond that, so it’s not too expected.

And who’s the easiest person to find a gift for?
Probably my mom, because moms love everything we do. You can’t get them anything wrong. You could give your mom a pencil, and she’d be like, “This is the best pencil I’ve received in my life!”

So what’s the story with the drone at dinner?
Gift&Go is about finding the best gifts for people who already have everything in their lives. And so we’re just trying to find these eclectic gifts that may not be easily available, so we found this drone company. We’ve got one flying around tonight, taking pictures of everybody, and we’re also giving one away.

And everyone gets a selfie stick. Are you a proponent of the selfie?
I think the selfie stick is extremely relevant and it’s of the time. Selfie was the word of the year last year, and selfie stick is going to be the gadet of 2015. We sold out of it on the first day of the shop. You might not buy one for yourself, but it truly is the perfect party favor.

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