Elevate Your Epic Event Experience

The seats are filled with close friends and loved ones sharing memories of a vibrant career and a legacy of contributions. Stories of lifelong relationships and funny moments circulate around the table. These are your lasting memories as an honored guest at a Hall of Fame occasion.

When you’re planning a milestone event, your goal is to craft an experience guests will deem unforgettable. Distinct details and attention to subtle points keep the attendees reminiscing about this special evening.

For these memorable occasions, we support your vision of excellence by focusing on three aspects of unique artisan gifts: planning, personalization, and presentation.

Here, we share an example of these elements at work for a recent Hall of Fame recognition.

Planning:
Avoiding the scramble to find the perfect gift means allowing time for valuable discussions, learning about your special guests, and exploring artisan options. It’s a relaxed and creative process that delivers the best results with thoughtful intention. This client began our discussion four months in advance, allowing time to imagine how they wanted the experience to feel and who the honored individuals were as colleagues and friends. This level of planning translates into a beautiful celebration of accomplishments enhanced by meaningful gifts.

Personalization:
A custom gift that speaks to an individual’s passions is accomplished in different ways. For this occasion, a meaningful mantra was transformed into an elegant engraving. The particular phrase, Agape Love Time (unconditional love), elevates the gift box and leaves a lasting impression. (This is another reason why advance planning is key.) Read more timeless engraving ideas here.

Gaining insight into your gift recipients allows us to select individualized elements. In this case, a custom coffee flavor and unique packaging, along with festive wrapping paper that acknowledges a commitment to community, is paired with the artisan pieces. A genuine note, also designed by an artist, is a treasured addition.

Presentation:
Giving your gifts in a handcrafted gift box turns the presentation into a work of art. Not only are the elements inside the gift box meaningful, but gift recipients have a custom, engraved, wood box for their home (Read home display ideas here). A premium gift box is a gift they’ll enjoy well beyond one evening.

We’re fortunate to have a gift moment captured on video: Watch this short Instagram reel of a Hall of Fame recipient surprised by one of our custom gift boxes. Our favorite part is that the gift-giver's passion for the gift box is appreciated not only by this individual but also by others who turn to see the exchange.

We love seeing these kinds of memorable gift-giving experiences for you.

Next time you lead the event details for a milestone occasion, consider your planning, personalization, and presentation as you create your unforgettable evening. We invite you to connect with us using the form on our Custom page.

Welcome Gifts: Create an Atmosphere of Anticipation

Scenic trails, cozy blankets, and crackling campfires are what we imagine when we’re dreaming of a weekend getaway. The door swings open, you step inside, exhale, and leave your worries behind. There’s a gorgeous view to enjoy as you embrace the cabin comforts and anticipate the weekend ahead. A beautiful gift box is there waiting for you. It’s an unexpected surprise, an invitation to explore new tastes and treasures. Each element inside the gift box hints at the excitement to come. Isn’t this the way all weekends should begin?

The way we welcome our guests sets the mood for an entire experience, whether it’s the start of a relaxing retreat or a thank-you to lifelong friends in your wedding party. Here are three ideas to inspire your gifts as you welcome friends, family, and guests.

The flair of local flavors - Highlight local artisans from the region with savory treats made by small businesses. It could be the scent of pine, cinnamon spice, or palo santo candles paired with snacks like caramels, chocolates, or pretzels made by a family business. A sample beverage from a nearby brewery, coffee beans, or a sip of spirits (bonus for a catchy name or creative label) is another way to spice up your gifts.

Bring back memories - Include at least one piece that lives beyond the sips and snacks as a joyful reminder of the experience. It could be engraved wood coasters, a festive pin, distinct ceramic cups, or a handwoven towel. Give your gifts in a handcrafted wood gift box to leave a lasting impression.

The karma of kind words - Take the time to include a personal note. Jot a few words on the back of a scenic postcard from the area and include a second one for them to share, leave your message on a beautiful hand-illustrated card, or add heartfelt thanks inside the day’s itinerary. You might be surprised at how many times these notes get pinned to a corkboard at home, used as bookmarks, posted in the office, or shown proudly on a refrigerator. Your words are appreciated, take the time to say something from the heart.

The magic happens when you infuse your personal style throughout the gift experience and create an atmosphere of anticipation for what’s to come.

If you’d like ideas on how to reuse these beautiful gift boxes you can get a copy of our free guide here. These deluxe wood boxes can be found on our Specialty Series page.

Off-Road and Online

Updated: April 6, 2023

Adventure lovers, beach-goers, and trail seekers now enjoy the opportunity to build collaborations and take conference calls on the road. The workspace concept is redefined as the family dog makes regular on-screen appearances, and the back of a pickup truck transforms into a workstation. With the shift to fewer in-person meetings, you may wonder how to stay top-of-mind with customers. The hidden benefit of remote work is seeing your clients in a new light, in more personal and interesting surroundings. It's a great chance to get to know the human behind the email and better understand how to celebrate what matters to them.

As we weave personal travel into our business agendas, deal-making, and day-to-day business decisions move from the mainstream to the airstream. Designs are drawn from the comfort of deck chairs, and strategies are solidified from the shorelines. Successful entrepreneurs drop knowledge from behind the wheel of an RV (@Jesseitzler), while others work from converted Sprinter vans nicer than most apartments. Mini cabins and newly renovated motels are enjoying a resurgence as clients post from locations that tout open hallways, no elevators, and no closed corridors.

All this blending of work and home offers a glimpse into people's passions, a chance to note their travels and tendencies. Tap into these passions as you think about your client gifts. Upgrade their morning java with a beautifully glazed ceramic mug, or add a spark of style to their campfire with a unique whiskey tumbler. Send colorful, handwoven coasters or bar towels that spice up the park table yet require little space to carry. Whatever the favored activity, a nod to your client's lifestyle with a handcrafted artisan gift box reflects genuine thoughtfulness that will last through years of road trips and rendezvous.

For all of our explorers out there, honk if you love artisan gifts, refill your mug for the ride, keep the mints and chapstick close, and set your course for the next destination.

How to Match Artisan Storytelling with Your Corporate Mission

Sitting at an end table in a busy local restaurant, we began a conversation about how to tell the story of living a healthy lifestyle through elements of artisan work. Our contact was looking for a way to give custom hand-crafted gifts, and at the same time, represent a corporate brand of health and wellness. Between spoonfuls of soup, we picked through sample ceramic pieces and bantered about ideas.

Big meetings with special clients require a lot of planning, agenda outlines, and logistical coordination. At the end of all that planning, a client gift had better cap off a productive day with surprise and delight! Deciding on the contents of a meaningful gift can be tricky because these professionals represent many international cultures, and you likely have never met them before. Still, you want to leave a lasting, positive impression of your company. The question becomes how does one give a thoughtful gift, in line with the company brand, without crossing any cultural boundaries that may inadvertently offend someone.

The beauty of artisan work is that it offers variety, and the ability to select unique pieces that are both meaningful and reflect a company’s mission. In working with this global corporation, we considered different options and challenges. Food items were off the list when we evaluated transit times and the guests’ travel plans. Avoiding any direct implication of alcohol was another variable we removed. Their brand encourages healthy living and outdoor activity, so how best to blend those ideas with artisan appeal?

The solution was twofold, first to select elements created by artists located in different areas of the country, places where their employees live and work. This was a creative way to showcase the company’s geographic diversity while highlighting the craftsmanship of a unique set of artists. And, in picking certain pieces, we accomplished the second objective, which included a subtle reference to healthy lifestyles (cutting board and veggie/cheese slicer) and enjoying the great outdoors (National Parks postcard book, woolen to-go-cup holders, and brass hiking bells).

To complete this story, we chose styles from upstate New York, the Hudson Valley, Vermont, and Maryland to create the gift boxes. We also shared the individual artists’ information, and how each element represented a different local region.

In these times when our differences are often the focus, it was rewarding to see how artisan gifts so beautifully aligned diverse cultural connections with a positive corporate mission.

Clink Outside the Box

Updated April 30, 2024

Centerpieces and seasonings, treats and treasures, and an elegant serving tray are a few of the ways your gift box recipients keep their favorite items organized and on beautiful display. Between sipping, toasting, and pouring, artisan gifts are meant to be enjoyed.

Handwoven towels and textured ceramic tumblers make a stylish addition to the kitchen or bar. What about handcrafted mugs, porcelain cups, or espresso cups for breakfast in bed? A custom box makes a special place to keep your favorite recipe books. As a beautiful centerpiece, your handcrafted box will spark fresh conversation around the table with friends and family. Whether you work from home or at the office, a custom gift box adds style to your writing papers and pens.

These artisan gifts are here to elevate and celebrate your lifestyle.