By Azera Rahman,
New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Not so common, should have a personal touch and must be special…Pulling out the perfect gift can be quite a tedious task. So why not get your get gift custom made.
A growing number of people, especially in the metros, are now beginning to opt for personalised gifts that are made according to one’s requirement and have the “personal touch” factor, which is missing in other items available in the market.
“Whatever is there in the market has no warmth value, it’s not personal. Hence people have now started opting for gift items that are made keeping their exact requirements in mind so that they give a personal touch and the one receiving the gift feels special,” Shalini Beriwal of Magnificence store who specialises in custom made gifts told IANS.
So from glass and ceramic items to candles and key rings, one can customise anything by either getting a particular design or a person’s initials imprinted. And all of this is done within the desired budget.
Says Pareena Oberoi of Sensations, another Delhi-based specialist in custom made gifts: “Not just individuals but also corporate offices have now started ordering for custom made gifts for their special guests and visitors.
“So it’s no longer mugs and pens which are getting packed as corporate gifts but more innovative articles like vases and candles with the company logo or the client’s initials on them,” she said.
“The first thing we ask a client is what their budget is and the amount of the item that they want. In all possible cases we try and get the work done below the quoted price,” said Oberoi.
For instance, a teenager had come to her and placed an order for 100 custom-made gifts for Rs.50 per piece.
“In that price range we could only think of key chains. So we got key chains with small torches imported at the rate of Rs.31 per piece, got the initials of all the people he wanted to gift the item to printed on them and there it was…all for Rs.45! He was more than happy,” Oberoi said.
Nisha Misra, a student of Delhi University said, “Despite being more personal, custom made gifts need not be expensive. My friend, who recently got married, got a whole lot of goodies for us like candles and vases in our favourite colour and with our initials on them.
“Not only did they thrill us but, as she later revealed, she got them at a very decent price as well.”
So be it birthdays, anniversaries, weddings or festivals, or no occasion at all, custom made gifts are catching up fast among people.
“With the wedding season on, we are flooded with orders. Our last assignment was that of a young woman who wanted the theme of her wedding to be peach and pink. So from getting thematic wedding cards to handmade jewellery boxes, tissues and candles, we made it an entire peaches and pink affair,” said Oberoi.
Some of the new items which these creative outlets are coming up with are candles with studded beads and pearls, shell candle holders, ceramic candle holders, bowls shaped in the form of a shell, vases in ceramic and leather and glass windmills.
“I would much rather go for custom made gifts which suit the taste of the person I want to something gift to rather than go for something which is available in every second shop,” said Ananya Sharma, an employee in a multinational company.
Companies like ABN Amro, Citibank, Sony Ericsson and World Bank are going all out for customised gifts for their special clientele and have already placed orders for this year’s Diwali – though it’s still months away.
Happy gifting.