After last year’s low-key festivities, Diwali 2021 has its work cut out. Contactless merry-making is passé, if the recently concluded Durga Puja was anything to go by, even though the spectre of the pandemic still looms large. From exchanging impersonal greetings on inert screens, we want to forge that personal touch once again. And what better way to do so than by gifting something thoughtful to a loved one?
“There’s a huge uptick in demand for personalised gifts this season,” says Krisha Seth, co-founder of Delhi-based design studio Dots and Doodles, specialising in stationery and paper products. Her team has launched a range of stationery gift boxes and Diwali gift tags, apart from a set of fine silver collectibles in partnership with silversmiths Frazer & Haws.
Mumbai-based Sanjana Chatlani, founder of the Bombay Lettering Company, adds that requests are pouring in from clients for gifting ideas. “Personalisation is key in the luxury space, especially as the people you are picking gifts for probably already have everything,” she says. “The question to consider is: What can I give them that’s special? This is where personal, meaningful gifting comes in.”
Apart from Diwali gift tags, she says gilded and framed initials are a popular category in corporate gifting this year. Engraved perfume bottles, with a note written in scented ink, are also in vogue. Beyond the indies, we have picked some classic go-to stationery items, in case you fancy going global.
Among luxury writing instruments, there are the well-known heroes—Mont Blanc, Waterman, and so on. And then there is the Sailor pen. An epitome of Japanese artistry, this model has a 21K gold nib with chrome trim and is also one of a limited edition of 110 specimens. Available at William Penn; ₹4.65 lakh
For that special touch to your festival gifts, get personalised gift tags in beautiful calligraphy, with gold foil, embossed with silver stars. Choose from a wide variety. Available at BombayLettering.com; up to ₹5,000 for a pack of 100.
This soft and grainy leather pouch, a classic from the collection of Smythson of Bond Street in London, is a luxurious multipurpose pouch to store cash, cards, passports and documents. Ideal as a travel accessory, its understated elegance belies the effort and time artisans have put in to create each piece. Available on Smythson.com/int; ₹27,400
If you are looking for class, you can’t go wrong with this combo from William Penn. The Tech3 Stylus from Cross is a multifunction device, combining a black and red ballpoint, a pencil and a stylus for capacitive touch-screen devices. The Quikrite writing system, meant to enhance productivity, comes in a green leatherette jacket. And the Secrid Simwallet, with RFID technology, is a modern take on the classic billfold. Available on Williampenn.net; ₹14,390
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