Present perfect

From alluring wine glasses to tempting fragrances — here are some unique gifting ideas for this festive season

It’s that time of the year… the time that calls out to rebuild relationships, renew bonds and make new friends. As Diwali approaches and weddings pick up pace, shopping for gifts can become a nightmare. So here are some ideas that might help you create beautiful memories with friends and family.

Wine Glasses

Shopping for wine glasses abroad can become a thing of the past as People for Animals (PFA) has decided to give the dying art of hand-blown glasses a boost and offer a good collection within the country.

“The hand-blown glass industry in Firozabad is fading,” ,” says Maneka Gandhi, founder of PFA, and Minister for Women and Child Development. “The area is famous for glassworks, but mostly bangles. We thought of giving it a push and revive it. Momin Latif pitched in to design these wine and water glasses. It took us two years of training to bring these 2,000 glasses out for the festive season. We hope this will be a successful edition

The money collected from the sale will be used for shelters and hospitals. With the success of this limited-edition initiative, the Minister feels that the artisans will be equipped with a new skill and product to enhance their livelihood.

The glasses are available at two eminent stores in the plush Chanakya mall — Casa Paradox by Raseel Gujral and Zooki by Charu Singh till October 27. Then they can be bought at 14, Ashoka Road. Price: Wine glass Rs 1,200 and water glass Rs 1,000.

Wooden House Fairy Lights

Giving Chinese products a run for their money are these wooden house fairy lights with LED bulbs by thesilvermist.com. The brainchild of two Mumbai-based youngsters — 23-year-old Akshay Jaitpal and 20-year-old Pooja Nagarkar — this gifting site is just a few months old. “We started the site in January and added this product in August. Till now, we have sold almost 1,000 pieces. These are made of veneer wood and can be cleaned with a cloth. Besides Diwali, these can be used as home décor and for parties,” says Jaitpal. The lights are long enough to hung over a window easily.

As his grandfather owns a saw mill, Jaitpal specialises in gifts made of wood. “Initially, we thought of making it a corporate gifting site, but after studying the market, we decided to make it more personalised and unique,” he states. Browse through the site and you will find wooden cards, jewellery boxes, personalised candle holders, frames, coasters and even photos engraved on wood. TheSilvermist products can’t be found be in any brick-and-mortar store but are available online and are marketed on Instagram as well. As Jaitpal is a developer, the site has been designed and developed by him. Price: Rs 300 onwards

Pots & Plants

Imagine ducks, owls, goblins, fairies, giraffes and more colourful earthen items lighting up your home and garden. That’s the smiling world of pots and plants from Earthly Creations. “I missed the colours of the countryside in my city home,” says founder Harpreet Ahluwalia who lives in Noida. “I wanted to see jugnus (fireflies), butterflies, birds in my garden.” So, one fine day, she gave the neighbourhood potter some designs and from those emerged some smiling, colourful pots. “It was also a stressful time for me personally, but the pots sparked life in me. When people started finding these creations cute, I felt very happy. I love seeing these smiling pots.”

Eventually, she translated the joy into work for the potters, bringing some smiles to their lives too. “Most of them are simply limited to making plain matkas (earthern pot) and diyas (lights), so I had to train them.”

Right now, she works with over 40 potters pan-India as each region has different clay. The variety is vast enough and you can take a pick from garden pots, wall pots, table tops and festive ones. Potted indoor and outdoor plants are also available for sale. These can be ordered online (earthlycreations.in) or through her Facebook page. “We deliver pan-India.” She also hold exhibitions in various places, the Blind School Diwali Mela being one of them. Prices range from Rs 50 onwards

Perfumes
This season look good, feel good and smell good with Neesh! This brand founded in 2014 has a range of perfumes for men and women. “Neesh means ‘an outburst of excitement’. It was launched to battle body odour owing to the extreme heat and dust in the outdoors,” says director Rishi Verma.

The range of 12 fragrances comes in “pikpacks (20ml credit card perfume bottles)” which make them handy and easy to carry around. Browse through and you will find various fragrances like Sultana, Attar E Ishq, Amour De Oud, Eau De Mehfil, Moha Beau T, Rose E Mohabatt and more. They are also available in a small tester pack and as roll-ons.

“Big perfume glass bottles are fragile and difficult to carry, while pikpacks fit into any pocket conveniently. The designs point towards the colours and tradition of India. We have used authentic Indian ingredients and blends in all our products,” adds Verma.

With discounts from time to time, the brand has curated special customised boxes for Diwali. They are available in a few designer boutique stores and premium hotels. Online, Neesh can be bought at Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and neesh.in. Price: Rs 199 onwards.