Where Did You Learn to Make Bows for Gift Baskets?
Large pull bows were my choice to sit atop gift baskets before I attended a bowmaking class in the early 1990s at the California Gift Show.
That’s where bowmaker extraordinare, Juanita Lewis, conducted a tutorial guiding about 30 attendees to make bows during the 45-minute event.
At the end, our bows were grand and beautiful even though everyone thought “the other person’s bow” looked better. I was thrilled and remember bringing the bow home in hand on the 3,000 mile flight.
My first How to Make a Bow video, which you can watch through this link, has been an online favorite for several years. I’ve updated that video, which you can watch above, to include two types of ribbon.
You’ll find more information about where to find ribbon on this page at GiftBasketBusiness.com and more video tutorials at GiftBasketVideo.com.
Where did you learn to make your first bow? Was it at a craft store, watching a tutorial that played on a screen? Did a Web video show you the basics?
What’s Your Favorite Gift Basket Enhancement?
The first time I saw faux peacock feathers extending from the top of a gift basket, the idea of adding something new, different, or dramatic atop my own baskets made me more aware of the possibilities.
Bows and ribbon also make a huge impact as an all-occasion enhancement, and the same is true about fan toppers, which is demonstrated in a new video on the GiftBasketVideo.com site.
Which enhancement is not only your favorite but also the one that lights up customers’ eyes? Is it cattails, ting-ting, star spray, or another addition?
Different Cultures Put a New Spin on Bowmaking
Years ago, when Flora Brown and I toured the Los Angeles downtown district to create the Where Did You Get That? wholesale report, we entered a building that housed multiple businesses where a young lady of Latin descent was adding a bow atop a baby gift basket.
She answered our questions about the products and gift basket designs inside the shop
while making a bow that we’d never seen before.
The three-inch wide bow was similar to the puff bow shown in this video with one difference. Each group of loops were cut vertically on the side.
That extra step gave the bow a totally different appearance than what we’d seen atop our own gift baskets and others displayed at conferences and trade shows.
Today, I make a conscious effort to visit shops that feature gifts and baskets in multi-cultural neighborhoods. It helps to broaden my knowledge of what’s hot, new, and trendy, and as with general visits to stores throughout the world, I’m not looking to outright copy what’s seen but simply getting a glimpse of what’s attractive in the gift world.
What have you seen in cultural shops that would interest your customers, or if you’ve not visited these stores, which ones will you now enter to see gift basket and bowmaking designs for people who weren’t born in the country where you live?
How Important is Tissue Paper?
There was a time when tissue paper played a vital role in gift basket designing.
Here’s how designers once added it in their baskets.
It seems that tissue paper isn’t a big part of today’s designs. Still a favorite to line the inside of tote bag gifts, it’s no longer a featured technique, adding color and softness inside and around a completed basket.
How is tissue paper added to your designs, or is it a product that you’ve abandoned?
Elegant Enhancements Add Class and Style
The first time I saw a long, floral garland at a wholesale outlet, my first question was “How do I take this big thing and add it to my gift baskets?”
Little did I know that all that I needed was a pair of wire clippers to snip and cut the garland into short and long pieces.
I thought that all enhancements were purchased in the exact length as shown in other gift basket designs, so there I was, looking for pre-cut products to add into my baskets.
Was that your mode of thinking when you decided to start making your designs?
As the years passed, designers worldwide showed me different tips and tricks about enhancements that stay with me today, making quick work of adding these items to complete each theme.
1. Purchase seasonal picks during the off season. Spring picks bought during the fall or winter are often 70 to 80 percent off the regular price.
2. Remove the wire from wired enhancements that are too full to add as one piece. This is a frequent habit for me each time I purchase three-pronged pine picks.
3. Curl star spray and onion grass stems with open scissors to create a full and abundant appearance.
Ribbons and bows, which you’ll read about here, are two more enhancements that are added atop the completed design or included inside next to foods and gifts.
What’s your favorite method for adding or buying enhancements?
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