Our favourite item from this year's unusual Christmas present list, was this Samba Foosball Table from Anthropologie.   Each table is made by skilled artisans from a village just north of Dakar from leftover wood from fishing boats known as samba.  The recycled wood still features the original patina that draws from its seafaring past meaning each table is a unique creation with a price to match. 

Image: Damian Libert

This set of serving spoons and forks by designer Marlon Darbeau is an interesting combination of metal and wood.  Called Dish Out, the sleekly modern set which was originally shown at Design Caribbean in the Dominican Republic, consists of a stainless steel bowl secured to a polished mahogany handle.

This stunning bamboo chair looks more like a piece of art than furniture.  Designers Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen wanted to create a beautiful, comfortable and, most importantly, sustainable chair.  Strips of eco-friendly bamboo were bent to create the main frame using long-established Asian plaiting methods.  The resulting design is both lightweight and sturdy as well as being pleasing to the eye.

Marta is sustainable coffee table and stool set created by Italian designers Giuseppe Vinci and Pasquale Onofrio and presented in Turin during Partatissima 2013 by the studio/workshop Izmade, which specialises in the production of sustainable furnishings and accessories.  The top of the table and stool are made from MDF and are supported by red tubes which are normally used in heating but which here have been bent and interlaced to create a strong support.

When you think about life in the Caribbean, knitwear and woolly jumpers don't immediately spring to mind, but up-and-coming Trinidadian designer Aisling Camps is hoping to change that.  The loose, open weave of her clothes (produced under her eponymous label) will ensure that you will still stay cool while looking hot.

Image: Shopbop

A stylish update to the traditional market basket is the Nevis Pinart Tote from Anya Hindmarch with its woven texture, colourful embroidered pattern and frayed edges along the front pockets and opening.  The bag also features a leather base and double handles. 

These porcelain and ash wood side tables from Kristie van Noort are a remarkable melding of two materials.  The side tables have been treated with the same pigments and processes as are used for ceramics and the result is a beautifully natural blending of colours and textures.

Spare and minimal, Stem is a wooden coat stand created by Italian architect and designer Matteo Gerbi.  Shown at the London Design Festival 2013 and produced entirely in England by local artisans, the piece has contemporary appeal and a sculptural feel that can adapt to any space.  Born of a childhood memory of workers in the Italian countryside who had the habit of hanging jackets and hats on the long handles of their tools, the stand consists of a cubic base into which eight circular beech wood pegs have been inserted at different heights for interest and practicality.  

Another slim profile table is Ripple by designer Benjamin Hubert (who's been featured here before) and Canadian manufacturer Corelam as part of an internal studio research project into lightweight construction techniques.

The table's unique corrugated plywood construction makes it incredibly lightweight.  Made of three-ply birch aircraft plywood which have been sandwiched together in layers, the table uses less material than a standard timber table and is light enough to be easily picked up and moved around.  Despite its seeming fragility, the table can support a surprising amount of weigh with its impressive strength-to-weight ratio being enabled by an innovative production process of corrugating plywood for furniture through pressure lamination.  Ripple is pleasantly minimal in its design language. The top surface consists of corrugated plywood overlaid by a flat sheet and the A-frame legs are again a sandwich construction, this time of two corrugated plywood layers.

Image: Master & Master

Czech Republic design firm Master & Master have created these stackable trestle tables. Stable and lightweight, the table top is secured in place by plastic backplates. The table legs are powder coated steel and come in several colours including Ultramarine Blue and White.