Cool New Toys, a Cache of Catchalls, and Other Recent Strategist Finds (2024)

“Every time a friend asks me what to get to outfit their kitchen, I point them to this,” recipe developer and chef Jane Morgan told the Strategist’s kitchen and dining writer Emma Wartzman. The Goldilocks Utensil Set is just as useful for the serious home cook as it is for the recent college graduate learning to fry an egg. This professional-grade 12-piece array includes a standard wooden spoon, tongs, a silicone spatula, a fish spatula, a ladle, and a grater as well as items rarely found in other sets, like measuring cups and a colander. Morgan said the pieces are “no frills but high quality—like, you could find them in a restaurant-supply store.” The set is also the least expensive of its size on our list.

In the early days of smartphones, devices with physical keyboards (like my beloved BlackBerry Bold) were the norm. Of course my iPhone can perform all the functions my BlackBerry did, but it’s also loaded with distractions that make it hard to stay on task. However, since plunking my iPhone into a Clicks Keyboard case, I feel as productive as I did in my BlackBerry days. The case has a keyboard that sits just underneath the phone’s screen. Its keys have the same satisfying click and adjustable backlight BlackBerrys were known for. I now type onto a screen unobstructed by a digital keyboard. This lets me see more search results on a single web page and keep tabs on a long text while I’m replying. The main downsides: Clicks isn’t waterproof and is too large for my back pocket. Still, I’m a fan. Pretty soon I’ll be typing without looking, just like I could in the aughts. –Jordan McMahon

“I brought this Drybar diffuser to the Olympic trials. The prongs vary in length, and that helps with the different curl textures in my hair. My hair is big and plays a huge part in my confidence, so it’s been important to figure out a routine where I’m comfortable wearing my hair down.”

“I’m Black, so I can’t be going outside all ashy. You know, rubbing your elbows together and starting a fire. You take a shower, you exfoliate, you got your skin-care routine. My girlfriend introduced me to Bio-Oil for my skin.
It gets rid of scars and bumps, and
a bottle lasts you a long time.”

“Back when Cha Cha Matcha made its entrance in New York City, I saw them using an electric whisk, and it was a moment of like, How brilliant is that? I was on line and asked them where they got it, and now I have the whisk everywhere.”

Harry Potter Squishmallows launched in 2023 and made our list of the year’s hottest holi- day toys. The latest batch from the Wizarding World is now available for preorder and features Dobby the house-elf, a mandrake, Fawkes the phoenix, and the Sorting Hat.

A lot of collaborations feel contrived, but this one from artist and author Phoebe Wahl and the brand Sarah’s Silks just makes sense. I love how each silk scarf could double as a framable piece of art.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, and this plush key chain, featuring Ms. Kitty as she looked in 1974, is my favorite piece of celebratory merch so far.

LEGO releases brand-new themed building sets on a regular basis. This replica of Bumblebee, the Transformer that turns into a VW Bug, is my pick of its recent drops.

These days, all real Halloween heads know that July 5 is the start of spooky season. Decorations first hit shelves
at arts-and-crafts stores like Jo-Ann Fabrics and Michaels, quickly followed by T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Target, and Home Depot. If you see something you want, buy it—products go fast. Around now is also when Halloween fanatics start to share stuff online with the hashtag #CodeOrange, which means the frenzy has begun. This year, the hot item everyone wants is the Costco Giant Ground Breaking Skeleton. It started to go viral the weekend before July 4, when people began noticing it in warehouses and sharing pictures of it online. I recently called my local store to check on a restock, and the person on the phone said, “Are you calling about the skeleton? You must be the 3 millionth person today.” It was 10 a.m., and the store hadn’t even opened yet. She said the phone had been ringing since 7:30.

It’s inspired by Portuguese azulejo tiles from the 18th century.

An “exuberant study of a blackberry” from Book of Flower Studies, housed in the Met Cloisters.

Antiques dealer Erica Weiner has a habit of swiping restaurant-branded ashtrays, including this one from Paris’s famous Café de Flore. “Turns out if you’re not drunk and emboldened to steal, you can buy one,” she says.

Maraschino cherries and candy- cane stripes make for one maximalist dish.

If you blink, you might think these hyperrealistic bugs are actually crawling across the plate.

These plates apparently celebrate the Palio horse race, held twice a year in Siena, Italy. They are a lovely and wacky take on the “slow and steady” motto.

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Retailer

I have very oily eyelids and lashes, so when I get lash extensions, I get less than two weeks of peak fluttering fullness. Around day ten, I start finding fake lashes everywhere: on pillowcases, in the sink, even nestled in the cotton fibers of my bath mat. My favorite lash artist, Clementina Richardson, owner of Envious Lashes in midtown, developed a serum that’s supposed to help extensions stick around, so I decided to give it a try. The formula protects the glue from skin oils and moisture. “It’s kind of like a nail-polish topcoat— a topcoat for glue,” she said. You’re supposed to apply it twice a day, in the morning and before bed. I started to notice a difference around day nine, when I realized I hadn’t seen any errant lashes on my cheeks or on my desk, and by week three my lashes were at about half-fullness, which is huge for me. So far, I’ve tested the serum on three sets of lashes, and the results are consistent: a solid extra week of near-full flutter. –Crystal Martin