One of the things that struck me as I walked around the New York International Gift Show this last weekend was how powerful the idea of gifts are in our lives. Here I was walking around a giant convention center looking at booth after endless booth of products of all shapes, sizes and materials ultimately meant for someone to give as a gift. Gifts are something that we spend considerable amounts of time and money choosing for our friends, loved ones and oftentimes ourselves. Yet, while viewing firsthand the products that are meant to be the gifts we all will be offered to buy in 2007, I was left wondering how principles enter the equation when considering “gifts.” For the last PrairieMod Monday of January and in recognition of the NYC Gift Show, I thought it would be a good chance to explore the “Principles of Gifts.”
Considering an item for someone else’s home is not that much different from considering what you yourself would place in your home--principles should guide the process. Is the gift something that will unify with the person’s overall decorating scheme? Is it ecologically and socially considered? Does it have a simple elegance? Is it well designed in its color, its proportions or its materials? These are all important, principle-driven questions you can ask when looking for a gift. If you find it difficult to answer any of them with certainty, then the ultimate rule of thumb to follow should be: “Is this gift beautiful and useful?” This is a more distilled way to gauge the principled value of a potential gift. Think of the gift receiver and what you know they believe to be beautiful and useful and it will help minimize the gift that never gets used, put in the closet, or “re-gifted.”
So what was the forecast for the gifts you will be able to purchase in 2007? There are some really cool things happening in the world of handmade gifts and contemporary home accents. Lots of artisans are using cutting edge technology and materials to produce beautifully unique handmade items. The same sorts of aesthetics are also being followed in the contemporary home accents products—things that are simple, well designed, made sustainable and to fit our modern lives. It’s “Beautiful Meets Cool.” (You can check out some of these product lines in some of the other recent posts on PrairieMod.)
As great as these products were, there were plenty of things on display that represented the other end of the spectrum. Poorly designed, cheaply made, environmentally unfriendly, tasteless and boring. This parade of chinch and kitsch was prevalent everywhere (especially in general gift and the museum section) and unfortunately it will make up a large part of what people are lured into buying this year. It is a by product of people buying gifts that aren’t driven by anything more than “oh, I’ve got to give something—this is inexpensive and will do.” That sort of buying habit fuels the avalanche of tacky crap—it’s a vicious circle.
Instead, consider principles the next time you look for that perfect gift for a birthday/Valentine’s/Christmas/whatever occasion. It’s time to put the “thought” back into the act of being “thoughtful.”
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