What Lisa Eisner Can’t Live Without

I wish Erewhon did an “employees’ favorites” thing, like some bookstores do, so you know what’s real, real special. This, for example, is the world’s best raisin bread. I bring an extra bag filled with loaves when I go to New York; I take it to people and they’reso happy. The bread’s packed with pecans and things like currants and candied orange peel. It’s dense — it weighs like ten pounds — and you can buy it presliced. My freezers are full of sliced loaves because it’s so great to freeze and have at the ready.

There’s this incredible masseuse who grew up and lives in Big Sur and comes down every couple of months. Her skin is so moist you’re like,What the hell?She told me, “I tried all these things. Here’s the secret: There’s this place in Vermont with this tallow …” It’s basically whipped tallow with a bit of beeswax and marshmallow root, and I have the big jar and the more travel-size jar and use it everywhere all the time — including on my grandson. It smellsnice!

Outdoor lights are mostly awful. You can use LED or halogen bulbs in these, but I hate white light — it shoots right to your eye. Ouch! The effect with these is a warm glow, and the light is mediated by clear or colored glass (you pick). When you hang them in trees and install them along pathways, it’s quite magical, like fairies.

I still wear Keds — always in white. I buy them a bit bigger and put my insoles in. The more worn-out they are, the better. The white, of course, becomes beige or greige very quickly, and they break in quickly, too. They don’t stay stiff; they mold right to your feet. I wear them in summer and it’s almost like being barefoot. They’re very “utility,” almost like water shoes. If you get them sopping wet, whatever. You don’t have to be precious with them. I like a Ked with a sundress or vintage 501s.

Truly, I don’t know where to start with Ted, who is a giant mentor of mine. He’s the GOAT and the best bang for your buck. There are so, so, so many perfect Ted things. These barrettes are very smart. (I really digthe labradorite one, too.) They elevate anything.

These thick sweats (I likethe version with pockets) are deliciously comfy. They’re not sexy; that’s not the point. Everything’s generous — the pockets, the butts. When you get home after being out with something nice on, this is what you want to get into. Nina, who’s behind Freecity, silk-screens them, and she also makesthese wonderful karate pants out of vintage Army tents. The hardest thing sometimes is breaking things in — you know, getting them to that sweet spot — and this fabric feels really broken in. I specifically loveher version with the brass studs running down the pant legs. The studding is not overwrought. It’sjustenoughdetail.

You can put this on pretty much everything, and I do! It’s very good on eggs and tacos and in chicken soup.

The more you stay home, the more you watch TV, the more you start creating your own little spa. This is a sort of secret-to-life setup in a briefcase: You slip into these blow-up boots that go up to your pubes, and there’s a part for the hips and for the arms, though I mostly do the legs. I feel like the air compression is awesome for lymphatic drainage.

These are gorg — you can imagine how beautiful if you set them on a dark-wood table. I have these as square leather mats with the dramatic goat fringe. I thought I would use them only occasionally, but I actually end up using them all the time. His Italian linens are amazing too.

I turn everyone on to this, but my friend Linda Wells turnedmeon to it. In St. Barts, what with all the sun, she said to go to the pharmacy and get this — but now you can get it on Amazon. I use the shade Berry, which is barely there colorwise; it soaks in and nourishes the lips at a level that seems to go deep beyond the surface.

This is one of my collaborations with Commune. It has the cast-bronze lighter cozy (they come in different finishes), a cast-bronze Sea Urchin incense holder, and these divine handmade incense sticks from Hayashi-Ryushodo, a nearly 200-year-old fragrance-maker in Kyoto.

[Editor’s note: Eisner’s gift box is currently preorder only.]