1. Everyone at one time or another is searching for that perfect gift, custom-made gift baskets are the perfect gifts
2. Basic components of a gift basket are; theme, container, colour, balance, design, wrap.
3. Anyone who needs to buy a gift for someone is your potential market. There is no doubt the market for gift baskets is great.
4. Women comprise the largest percentage of your market. Women tend to be responsible for buying gifts.
5. The products used can be basic or luxurious. Baskets can be small or large. You can work within any budget.
6. Busiest holidays for gift baskets – Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Secretaries' Day, Thanksgiving.
7. Most frequent occasions for gift baskets – baby, birthday, get well, weddings, thank you, anniversaries.
8. Don't restrict yourself to using only baskets. Any item with a cavity is a container. Any item where something can be attached to it can be your base.
9. Use keepsake containers. E.g., a roasting pan, pasta colander, salad bowl, mug, or a picture frame [as a tray.]
10. Enhance your containers with silk flowers, pot pourri, fabric, artificial fruit etc. Use a tacky white glue to affix the item, and let dry overnight. If you are short of time, use a glue gun.
11. Stained baskets looking a little tired – bring them back to life with a light spraying of clear varnish.
12. Need to add a little glitz to your basket – using a damp natural sponge and either gold, silver or copper folk art paint highlight your basket using light strokes of paint.
13. Add a little glitter to your basket – spray on glitter is available in various colours at craft stores. A little goes a long way.
14. Damaged handles? Don't throw the basket away, remove the handles and your left with a usable base.
15. Painted baskets may look great, but use caution! They may spread a paint odor to your food products. Dyed baskets and natural baskets may be your better choice.
16. If you are designing a gift containing a wine choose a basket with a handle so that you can secure the bottle to it. An alternate container such as an ice bucket would also do!
17. Your choice of container size should be in proportion to the gift items. Small items should be in a small container, large items in a large container.
18. Look for attention to detail & design when purchasing your baskets.
19. Hand woven baskets – check for sharp or jagged pieces. The ends of the material used to weave the basket should be woven to the inside of the basket.
20. Natural baskets can be found made from willow, wicker, grasses, roots, bamboo, reeds, twine, wood, rattan, and many other products.
21. Although hand made baskets can vary in size and shape, always check to make sure that the base is flat. If the base is unbalanced, select another.
22. Natural containers covered with moss can be appealing, but they do shed. Help the moss to stay intact with a light coating of hair spray.
23. When creating a birthday basket, add a touch of the recipients’ astrological sign.
24. Christmas & Hanukkah are religious holidays, but religious items are not appropriate for business gifts unless requested by your customer.
25. Ethnic or international theme basket – research the customs to avoid offending the recipient, embarrassing yourself, and losing a customer.
26. Increase your knowledge of different cultures to better serve your customers.
27. Italian theme – infused olive oil, pasta, vinegar, pasta sauce, coffee, biscotti, chocolate.
28. British theme – biscuits, preserves, curds, tea, cheese, pickles, relishes, mustards.
29. Japanese theme – sushi rice, dried seaweed, caviar, wasabi, ginger, saki, saki cups.
30. French theme – baguette, pate, cheese, fruit puree, truffles, bottle water.
31. A coffee basket can be converted into a variety of themes by changing the coffee mug used, or by adding a printed ribbon to your bow saying
Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Best Wishes etc.
32. Everything that goes into the making of your design comes out. Choose clean filler, products and wrap.
33. Use sufficient filler material in your baskets to avoid having the products sink. A great filler is styrofoam loose fill [peanuts] available through your local industrial supply company.
34. Styrofoam loose fill is most economically purchased in 20 cubic foot bags. It is ozone safe, anti-static and recyclable.
35. Fill your container with styrofoam peanuts to within 1” of the rim, then add your fancy shredded paper.
36. Have a very large base to fill? A solid, clean, empty cardboard box is a good filler for large containers. Fill the remaining space with un-printed newspaper, styrofoam peanuts or shredded paper.
37. Newsprint and craft paper are great fillers since they do not spread any colour, and your recipient's hands remain clean.
38. Newsprint rolls and sheets, and kraft paper rolls are readily available from your local industrial supply company.
39. When using printed newsprint place it in a plastic or paper bag so that the colour won't spread.
40. Items should blend to create a tasteful mix.
41. For design balance use products that total to an odd number. [3,5,7]
42. Do not mix food items with perfumed products. The scent will transfer to the food items just as a spicy food product aroma will transfer to a perfumed item.
43. When selecting gourmet food items, create a menu first. Start with appetizers, and then the main course followed by dessert. If you’re working with a low budget, choose only one course
44. We eat with our eyes first! Choose products with appealing, eye catching packaging.
45. Products in gold tone packing add a richness, sparkle and shine that make your designs stand out.
46. Develop a theme for your design, then select items that express the theme.
47. All your food items should be labeled with a list of ingredients, and the name and address of the manufacturer.
48. Small food items are inexpensive and perfect to use as space fillers in your design.
49. Choose items that can be cross-merchandised into several themes. E.g., coffee, tea, cocoa
50. To cut costs buy items in case lots.
51. To keep your designs unique use specialty food products not found in chain grocery marts.
52. Brand name products can associate quality with your gift design.
53. Food products that can be opened, and consumed without additional preparation should be your first choice for corporate, hotel amenity, and hospital stay gift designs.
54. Avoid using any items that require refrigeration.
55. When using fresh fruit in your designs, choose firm under ripe fruit. Make small air holes in your wrap for air circulation. Once you wrap your design fermentation starts. Store designs in a cool area.
56. When using cheese products make sure the product has a minimum 3-month shelf life. Use a note on the outside of your design addressed to the recipient to open and enjoy.
57. Your design is seen from all sides. Keep the back as neat as the front. Add in picks of tissue paper, napkins, and flowers to hide mechanics or just to enhance the back.
58. Keep your design looking neat by trimming excess shredded paper hanging over the sides.
59. When placing products in your design, make sure all labels are facing forward, and right side up.
60. Start your design by placing your larger products in the back of your container first to build height, and then your smaller items in front sloping downward.
61. To build extra height in your design secure one or two pieces of floral foam [oasis] in your base. Cover the foam with shredded paper securing it with floral pins.
62. When using oasis to build height, products can be kept in place by gluing a floral pick to the product using a glue gun. The pick is then pushed into the oasis. Using this trick your products can be placed securely in any direction.
63. To keep products in place use clear 3m scotch tape [red box] and especially useful is the double sided 3m tape [yellow box].
64. Use a cool melt glue gun to avoid serious burns to yourself and/or damage to your products.
65. When using tape or glue make sure not to cover any vital information such as the ingredients list and the nutritional analysis.
66. When using a glue gun make sure to remove the 'spider webs' to keep the design neat.
67. To stabilize products that droop or fall over, attach a piece of cardboard to the back of the product, or in the product. E.g. In magazines or a baby's sleeper – essential if you are shrink wrapping your design.
68. Placing a mug on top of the box it was packaged in will give your design height, and a higher perceived value. Secure the mug base with tape or cool melt glue. Neither the tape nor the cool melt glue damages the mug.
69. Scared of placing wine glasses in your design? Don't be! Criss cross the stems of the wine glasses. Use a piece of curling ribbon to secure the stems with a knot. Bring the ribbon around the stems, criss cross the ribbon, bring to the back, tie another knot. The glasses are ready to tie to the neck of the bottle.
70. To enhance wine glasses fill the glasses with sparking shred. If you are displaying the glasses upside down, the shred is held in by using one strip of clear tape across the opening of the glass. When filling the glasses with truffles use two pieces of tape in an 'x' pattern.
71. Mix in a small amount of gossamer grass with your regular shred to add sparkle and shine.
72. To add a richness to your shred top it with strands of mylar shred.
73. Enhance hotel amenity baskets with brochures on surrounding attractions. These are available free from your local tourism or chamber office.
74. Wrapping reflects your image – make it stand out!
75. Be creative with your wrap. There is a multitude of cellophane patterns to suit any occasion.
76. Avoid using densely patterned cellophane – it will hide your great products and design.
77. The easiest way to cut cello is with a cellophane straight-edge blade cutter.
78. To have your pouf centered, start with centering your design on the cellophane.
79. Save time when wrapping more than one design. Cut as many sheets of cellophane as required. Centre on design on the top sheet. Using post-it notes, go under the last sheet of cellophane, and mark your table to show where the front, back and sides of your design should be placed.
80. A pouf can be left as is, or to change cut the pouf off at an angle, or tape one side down to form a fan.
81. If your pouf is uneven, gather it together and trim the top into points. Holding the pouf bunched together; start cutting approximately 2” from the top. Cut from lower right to upper left, the lower left to upper right. Let the pouf loose, and then repeat the cutting.
82. If your design is to be shipped – shrink-wrapping it is essential before over wrapping.
83. Shrink film is a packaging material that shrinks in size when a high temperature heat is applied to its surface.
84. If products loosen after shrink-wrapping, the shrink-wrap can be re-shrunk.
85. Shrink film is available in rolls, or preformed dome, square and arched bags.
86. Make sure your shrink films and bags are f.d.a. approved for foods.
87. Shrink film is available clear and printed.
88. Shrink bags are available in clear and colour tinted.
89. Shrink film will shrink up to 50% of its original size.
90. A heat gun [not a hair dryer] is needed to shrink the shrink film.
91. When shrink wrapping your design start with the base, then the back, and then work forward.
92. Do not over shrink or you will split the seams or end up the holes in your film.
93. A small hole, in the appropriate area can be camouflaged with your store label or a bow.
94. To avoid burning holes, always keep the heat gun moving quickly around your design.
95. If you have created a tear, use clear 2” packaging tape to seal it. Camouflage with a store label or a bow.
96. If you are shrink-wrapping a fruit basket, you have to make at least two holes for the air to circulate.
97. If moving your design quickly while shrink-wrapping is a problem, using a 'lazy susan' makes turning easy.
98. When shrink-wrapping delicate items such as chocolate, hold a piece of cardboard over the item and shrink around it.
99. The most common width of ribbon used to make bows is a # 9, which is approximately 1¨” [3.5cm] wide.
100. Add uniqueness to your design by adding your own hand made bow.
101. Dress up your designs with finishing signature touches. E.g. A rose in the middle of your bow, a rattle in the middle of your bow for a newborn basket.
102. Always finish off the tails of your bow to avoid fraying, and to give your bow a professional look. A great way is by cutting a chevron ['v' shapes] at the end of the ribbon.
103. Designate one pair of scissors specifically for cutting ribbon only. This will ensures neat clean cuts.
104. Grab the attention of a corporate account by using their corporate colours when making a bow for them.
105. Change the look of a plain bow by snipping slivers of ribbon on one side of each loop. Feel daring . . . snip slivers from both sides of the loop. The cutting will give your bow a sunburst effect.
106. Add variation to your plain bow by making it using two colours of ribbon or even three.
107. An easy, and economical ribbon to work with is a polyester 'satin' ribbon, or an acetate florist's ribbon.
108. There are beautiful printed cotton ribbons on the market. To use them more economically, use of the cotton print and of a matching polyester ribbon to make your bow. Combine a cotton print in a matching polyester ribbon to make your bow.
109. The finer and smoother a ribbon is the more difficult it is to work with. It will tend to slip, and your loops will flop.
110. The stiffer your ribbon is, the more defined your bow will be.
111. Charge the right price! The easiest method is to ‘keystone’, which means totaling all your costs, and doubling that amount.
112. Pay yourself! Remember to include the cost of your labour also the cost of your products, filler, container, ribbon, bow, and wrap.
113. When developing your designs remember to offer at least three different price ranges to meet your customer's budget.
114. Never throw anything out! Recycle boxes, ribbons, scraps of shred, newspaper etc!
115. If a carton you are reusing is a little worn, take the carton apart and reconstruct it using it inside out. It will look brand new, and no one will be concerned about the printing now inside the carton.
116. Coding your gift baskets helps you remember how long designs have been on your shelf.
117. Know your market. Know whom you are trying to sell, and what they need. Make sure you meet your customers' needs, and be the first to provide it.
118. Know your competition. Know what they offer. Know their price points, quality and services.
119. Title you designs. It attracts, inspires and persuades your customers to buy.
120. Make sure people know about you. Advertise. There are various forms of media to advertise through. Radio, yellow pages, local newspaper, direct mail, etc. Choose the method best suited for you.
121. Top advertising venues – yellow pages, direct mail, newspaper, brochures, fliers.
122. Top effective networking opportunities – personal relationships, past business relationships, chamber of commerce, business and/or professional groups, women's business group.
123. The best advertising is word of mouth. Make a good impression with every design you make.
124. When creating a brochure it must answer who, what, where, when, and why about your business.
125. Significant growth areas for your gift baskets – corporate, holiday, thank you, get well, birthday, baby, bereavement, hotel amenity, housewarming, regional.
126. People respond psychologically to colour. Colour can change your design dramatically by sending different messages.
127. Colours also have symbolic associations, but occasionally vary by culture.
128. Limit your designs to using only 2 or 3 colours.
129. When the colours of a rainbow are placed in order in a circle, they form a colour wheel. Use the wheel to see which colour complements another colour. Each colour's adjacent, triadic, or split-complementary can found.
130. A touch of the right colour can add visual excitement to your design.
131. Complementary colours enhance each other, and are directly opposite one another on the colour wheel. E.g. Red & green, yellow & violet, blue & orange.
132. Triadic colours – if you draw an equilateral triangle on the color wheel it connects three triadic colours. E.g. blue, red & yellow.
133. Warm colours run from red to orange to yellow.
134. Cool colours run from green to blue to violet.
