Walking out of Possibilities, that chotchka and card emporium on Seventh Avenue, I saw a father and son walking in.

"This is a woman's store," the father said.

"It is?" the boy asked.

"Yes, my son. You see there are only women in here…"

The sexist implications aside somehow I knew
that the two of them were about to embark on an important mission:
buying a  Mother's Day gift.

Ah, the pressure. The agony. The thump thump thump heart beating anxiety to locate a perfect gift for mom.

As you can imagine, Mother's Day is a big deal around here. On the Saturday before, hordes of fathers with children will crowd Seventh Avenue making the pilgramage
to
the Clay Pot, which will be filled to the gills with clueless
men and kids struggling to find the perfect gift.

More than once, when shopping for a gift for my mother, I've been
tempted to steer a particularly clueless man toward what I knew would
be a more appropriate gift. But I resisted. It was not my place. If I
did, however, run into a friend's husband, I might make a small
suggestion. But hey, it was all in the name of friendship and karma
(and she could thank me later for the Lisa Jenks necklace).

While there are now many good stores to choose from (Living on
Seventh, Loom, Bird, Treasure Chest) in Park Slope And too, too
many places to name on Fifth Avenue (Diane Kane, Matter, Flirt, Cog and
Wheel, Eidolan and on and on…), the Clay Pot is still, symbolically,
the destination of choice, the holy grail of Mother's Day gifts.

For one thing, they have a comprehensive selection of the best in
contemporary jewelry design (at a variety of price points) and they
feature an eminently tasteful selection of the best in contemporary
home and gift items. As they say on their web site:

"The Clay Pot was established in 1969 as an urban ceramics
studio by Robert and Sally Silberberg. Thirty-five years ago Park Slope
was hardly the enclave for young professional families it is today, but
it was always a neighborhood, and The Clay Pot is essentially a
neighborhood store. Joined by their daughter Tara in 1990, the store
now reflects her passion for jewelry and has developed into a
nationally recognized source for America's premier jewelry designers."

Plus, they make it so easy for men to find a gift that will make
their wives swoon. The window is chock full of great ideas, as is the
store itself. But more importantly, their long-time employees are the
best at giving advice on gifts at every price range and style. They ask
all the right questions (price, personal style of the recipient, likes
and dislikes) and take the time to work with you. From hand crafted,
simple and tasteful, high design or even something with a little Bling, there's something for mom's taste.

That brown Clay Pot gift box with a black ribbon is the de-facto
Park Slope equivalent of the blue Tiffany box. To many a woman it means
that her husband has done his job, that he's reached to the sky and
pulled down a star. Good work.

Some men even venture into the vaulted and expensive wedding ring
department. Oooooooh. Now that's a guy who really knows how to buy a
gift.