When Anne & I started Anne Wesley, we honestly had no intention of being gift makers. We just wanted to create a leather goods brand line based on our urban lifestyle. Even when we started personalizing leather goods, we thought our customer base was just those who wanted to have their own name or monogram on their personal item.
Now, years later, If I had to guess, then I would say that at least seventy-five percent of our orders are gifts. So while the end product is a handmade, customizable, made-to-order personalized leather good, ultimately what we provide are perfect presents and gifts for friends and loved ones.
But what if you're trying to find a gift for someone who doesn't quite fit into the "friend" or "family" category, at least not yet. Anne & I honestly don't have a lot of close friends, but we have given a lot of gifts to acquaintances! Such as Arnold, our USPS Postman, Simon, who ended up staying in our Airbnb for eight months, Liesbet, the girlfriend of another Airbnb guest...I'm sure you get the point.
Let's face, even if there's someone you're really interested in getting to know, but you've just recently met, then getting the right gift to essentially not scare them off is also important.
From literally thousands of gifts that we've handmade, we've found the perfect gift for these situations is an Anne Wesley Personalized Leather Keychain. I'm not talking about the cheap keychains sold at tacky gift stores or gas stations, but one that's handmade in the USA with some of the finest leather available and made-to-order just for your recipient.
First, the price for our most basic personalized keychain is priced perfectly at $30. These days, any gift under $30 is considered relatively inexpensive, especially for working adults in larger cities like the San Francisco Bay Area where it already costs $30/day to commute and grab lunch. Gifts over $50 is a common price for closer friends and anything over $100 is of course in the "family" or "friends who are essentially family" category.
Second, because you can personalize the keychain with the person's name or initials and customize certain colors, it fills the "it's the thought that counts" requirement, which truly is the most important aspect of gift giving. Even though this gift is for someone who you may consider as a "new friend," it can't be completely impersonal.
For example, if you were to shop for a keychain on Amazon and just hit that "buy it now" button, then more likely than not you've just gifted something that's going to be junk. Gift them something that shows you put in some thought and that person will most likely at least keep it, even if it's out of pure guilt. But more likely, they'll end up using it and start thinking of you as a really thoughtful person that they may want to be friends with in the future.
Lastly, all Anne Wesley products come with a free gift box and card. As I previously mentioned, Anne & I make a lot of the gifts we give, but that's because it's the field we work in. For those making a decent living, it's probably more cost efficient to let us take care of it for you.
Anne & I have a inside couples joke about how our order of gift giving is like a rewards program and that everyone always starts off with a keychain.
