What to Send When You Can't Attend

Updated 02.22.23

In times when you can’t be there to celebrate a special occasion in person, you can still touch people’s lives with thoughtful gestures that speak to their milestone moments. Here are a few ideas to create a unique, artisan gift experience.

Select textures and elements that reflect the person and their event style. What comes to mind when you think of the individual personalities? Is it elegant, casual, colorful, adventurous, or something else? A gift for those who revel in the outdoors will be different than one for those who enjoy glamorous evenings and elegance. Ceramic glazes offer many unique textures, sleek, sophisticated, or earthy, to surprise and delight your gift recipients. Each item that’s paired with the focal piece (such as hand-woven, custom wood, or forged metal) will further elicit the intended feel of the gift. (If you’re looking for client suggestions, read more here.)

Engraving adds a beautiful touch. Personalize the gift box with a date, initials, or a name to reflect the occasion. An engraving lasts a lifetime, and options of script or block text will further enhance your style objective.

Choose a handwritten note. Select a gift tag and add a few genuine words to show you care. It doesn’t have to be lengthy; kind words go a long way.

A bonus option. Depending on shipping and temperatures, include a homemade treat from your region or one of the recipient’s favorite destinations to highlight a particular taste or locale. (Old Bay? Hot Sauce? Chowder crackers?) Simple treats made in their hometown or favorite travel locations can be a fun touch.

When many miles or conflicting schedules separate you from being with friends or loved ones, you can still create meaningful gifts by capturing a heartfelt spirit in the gift design.

Designing a Tasteful Transition

Creative ideas, new approaches, and nimble behavior, that’s the name of the game. Plans are in motion, albeit on a smaller, more intimate scale. There may be less fanfare and greater challenges, but the world keeps turning. Families are moving into new homes, couples are getting married, and business projects continue. As this transition evolves from weeks into months and lays the foundation for a different future, what plans are you putting in motion? How will you create touchpoints to connect with existing customers?

As you consider your outreach strategy, here are a few things we’ve observed in recent weeks. First, the sincerity of the message matters, with more attention being given to the note accompanying each artisan gift box. People are pausing to reflect on their relationships. Second, now more than ever customers appreciate meaningful gestures and candid conversations. We work closely with clients who are genuine about their intention to recognize valuable colleagues, who still want to celebrate big life events like the milestone anniversaries and weddings, and acknowledge special business partners. They’re sending thoughtful ‘thank you’ gifts to executives who lend an extra hand and to colleagues who’ve stepped up as mentors. And for the newlyweds on honeymoon at home, well, special artisan gift boxes are arriving on their doorsteps too.

We’ve included a few examples here of artisan gift boxes selected by those who understand the value of quality, hand-crafted elements, and how much the thought behind them means to their recipients.