Showing posts with label gift ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift ideas. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Forget e-vites and emails...Exquisite stationery from Libretto makes writing a letter special again

The beautiful new stationery collections from Libretto will make you think twice the next time you are tempted to send an emailed thank you note. It seems that while convenient, electronic communication via computers, phones and tablets are lacking in the tactile qualities that used to make handwritten notes something you would save and treasure. Now more than ever, it seems we want that special touch that only a handwritten note can provide, so maybe Libertto's new collection of stationery products will prompt a new trend.

Either way, I like that Libretto has unveiled its 2015 stationery collections including notebooks, note cards, paper weights and stationery boxes.

Renowned for its luxury stationery and exquisite leather goods for some of the world’s finest designers and fashion brands, such as Christian Lacroix Papier, Liberty and Architectural Watercolors, Libretto believes in the charm and power of paper. According to press materials, the company's guiding principle is that social stationery should be inspiring and truly "social" and romantic, amusing, provocative. Libretto uses print techniques that are very tactile, such as gilding, flocking, pop-up, embossing. Their pieces are beautiful to the eye, but they are more than that...you want to touch them and run your fingers across them to savor the craftsmanship of items that honor the past but are made for today.

You can purchase Libretto products in the U.S. at Neiman-Marcus, NKate's Papery, the Frick Museum and The Getty Museum; in England, at Selfridges, Liberty of London, Heals, Harrods, the V&A and Le Bon Marché; Beymen in Turkey; in Australia, David Jones and Myers:, in Hong Kong, Lane Crawford; and in Japan, Bus Stop and Takashimaya. 

Aren't these products delicious?
The collection includes journals, notecards, paperweights and more. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.


With these items, writing a note or keeping a journal is something special to be savored. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
Here's the front...and then...Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
The back of a paisley journal. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
The title page. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
Here is the Hampton Wedding journal...the front. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
The back of the Hampton Wedding journal. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
The title page of the Hampton Wedding journal. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
Paperweights (remember those?) are also part of the collection. This is the Glam'azonia paperweight.
Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
And the box it comes in. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
Here is the Bijoux paperweight. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.
And its box. Copyright Libretto-Group.com.

The Libretto Group was founded in 1997 by Thomas Cushing and created Kate Spade’s first license, Kate Spade Paper. A blend of beautiful illustration and fine leather goods, using Kate's signature fabrics and leathers, it changed the direction of social stationery. Since then, Libretto has created several stationery and accessory collections, under license, for some of the world’s finest designers and fashion brands, including Christian Lacroix Papier, The New York Times, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Lotta Jansdotter, and Orla Kiely Paper. 

What do you think? Do you prefer handwritten letters and thank you's or the electronic variety?



Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Unique Fragrance lets you design your own perfume

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Unique Fragrance, a website that allows you to design and blend your own custom fragrance online. Well, I tried it out.

I won't go into all the how-to's, although they are very simple, because they are documented here. Suffice it to say, once you go to the website, you choose "Design your Own Now." From there, it walks you through several questions and you have to make a few decisions. The process takes just a few minutes.

For instance, the first question asks you to describe your style of scent. The choices are:

  1. Casual - You like natural freshness with lemon accents.
  2. Feminine - You prefer warm notes, a powdery and aromatic fragrance with floral highlights.
  3. Glamorous - You like scents with timeless natural essences, fruity notes mixed with exotic; a sweet floral scent.
  4. Sensual - You enjoy nights out; oriental notes; a combination of floral and fruity.
  5. Natural - You prefer an everyday perfume with aromatic natural notes and fresh accents; warm and energetic.

While I like all of these, depending on the situation, I had to choose one, so I went with Casual.


Copyright Unique Fragrance

Next, it asks what type of scents you prefer:

  • Fruity - raspberry mango and coconut, perfect for summer.
  • Natural - mint meets tart; think of sweet green tea
  • Fresh - fruity and tart notes like apple blossom and cedar; perfect for daytime or a refreshment after sports
  • Citrus - pineapple and orange blossom; perfect for every day
  • Mediterranean - oranges to roses 
  • Extravagant - green tea and iris, sweet-tart bouquets

Copyright Unique Fragrance

Again, they all are scents I enjoy (I secretly really want to know what "Extravagant" smells like), but I narrowed down my choice to Natural.

Then, you get to choose up to six different ingredients. The website recommends 11 based on the answers you provided to the previous questions, but it really gives you 50 scents to choose from. I stuck to the 11 they recommended to avoid combining scents that should never be combined and from those, I chose five:

  • Sicily Lemon
  • Bourbon Vanilla
  • Tangerine
  • White Musk
  • White Jasmine

That's it!

Now, you get to choose your bottle shape and size. Prices start at $69.90 for 1.7 fl. oz. in short or tall bottles in a variety of shapes. I chose the Falcon Bordeau with a snazzy red cap. The most expensive option is $189.90.

Copyright Unique Fragrance
Lastly, you get to name your perfume. You get two lines for your text and a maximum of 18 characters. You also have the option to upload a photo or choose from three illustrated designs if you want more than text on your bottle. You also get a choice of six different fonts for the copy.

My unique fragrance arrived in just two weeks. It came in a shipping box with crinkle cut black shredded paper, making an attractive presentation.


The perfume bottle was packaged in a black gift bag, suitable for giving.


Inside the bag, the bottle is wrapped in black tissue paper and tied with a black fabric ribbon.


I love my finished fragrance. It has a unique scent, unlike anything else in my perfume collection, and I think I'll be enjoying it very much for years to come.


Bottom Line: It may be rather hard to answer these questions if you were doing it for someone else. It was hard enough answering some of the questions for me because all the choices were something I'd gravitate to; choosing just one, wasn't easy. That said, I would definitely try it again and if I knew the person I wanted to gift a fragrance to well enough, it might be easy to narrow down the choices. If nothing else, it is a pretty unique gift that anyone would be sure to appreciate.

To read more about Unique Fragrance, click here.



Monday, October 20, 2014

Personalized pillows make great wedding, baby and housewarming gifts

Our daughter and her family surprised us with the most thoughtful housewarming present after we moved into our new home. I hadn't seen anything like it before and I was wow'd by the quality and creativity of the gift.

Here it is, a customized pillow from Finch & Cotter, an online retailer with its own website and a virtual storefront on Etsy. The pillow, personalized with our address, closing date and even the exact longitude and latitude, was done in sage (our colors) and is an amazing accent pillow for our home.


I absolutely love it and checked out Finch & Cotter's website for more information. It turns out that the pillows are handmade in Chicago to commemorate newborns, weddings and much more. Prices start around $25.

In short, they are beautiful, so thoughtful and creative that I can't believe I hadn't seen these before.

Check them out and let me know what you think.

All images below are copyrights of Finch & Cotter.