Celebrating Mother’s Day - A Step Back Into Time

I thought to take a step back and look into the history behind this day where mothers all over the world gleam with delight.  It happens to be the second highest retail grossing day outside of Christmas and one of restaurant’s most busiest days.  Here is what I found:

People in many ancient cultures celebrated holidays honoring motherhood, personified as a goddess. Here are just a few of those:

• Ancient Greeks celebrated a holiday in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods
• Ancient Romans celebrated a holiday in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess. The celebrations were notorious enough that followers of Cybele were banished from Rome
• In the British Isles and Celtic Europe, the goddess Brigid, and later her successor St. Brigid, were honored with a spring Mother's Day, connected with the first milk of the ewes.

In addition to the popular Mother's Day holiday in the United States, many cultures celebrate a Mother's Day:

• Mother's Day in Britain -- or Mothering Sunday -- is the fourth Sunday in Lent  
• The second Sunday in May is Mother's Day not only in the United States, but also in other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium.   
• In Spain, Mother's Day is December 8, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so that not only mothers in one's family are honored, but also Mary, mother of Jesus.
• In France, Mother's Day is on the last Sunday of May. A special cake resembling a bouquet of flowers is presented to mothers at a family dinner.

Taking a step forward and taking the commercialism out of the day, it is a day honoring moms. Today, a mom is a super multi-tasker, balancing everything in all aspects of life while maintaining sanity!  

Celebrate those Moms that are special to you with this metaphoric Lily vase, symbolizing happiness, “sainthood”, prosperity and perfection.  If you are a little lost for words, ask us for help when writing your sentiments.

Click HERE to purchase Lily vase for a special mother

The Overlooked Business Gift

Whimsical Paperweight $60

Click HERE to purchase

What some consider to be a simple and unassuming desk accessory has been locked in treasure vaults of royalty and collected by the world’s most famous personalities.

The history of the paperweight is fascinating. During turbulent times of Napoleonic France, around 1845, Parisian glasshouses began to create pieces of crystal that would permanently impact the history of glass art. Designed originally as an elegant gift item for sale to the burgeoning middle class, each piece carried a sentiment. For example, a pansy weight spoke of “tender thoughts” and friendship; a rose weight was given as a token of love.

These small crystal pieces became instantly prized and French factories strived to surpass each other as the paperweight metamorphosed into a presentation piece. When Queen Victoria called nations to exhibit their finest accomplishments at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, France displayed paperweights.

Fast forward to today, glass artists continue to include their most complex glasswork in paperweights. I have 5 paperweights on my desk, each guarding over their own stack of papers. My most favorite end-of-day “to-do” is to review my stacks and place a weight on top of them. Some are colorful glass objects, such as a small staircase …as a reminder of climbing to success, and one is even an ornate bookmark. They are my gatekeepers and friends.

The whimsical paperweights of John Derian are inviting to any desk where work and fancy unite. In particular, this clover paperweight is abundant with good thoughts. The four-leaf clover is an ancient sign for good luck, according to the old folk rhyme: “One leaf for fame/ And one for wealth/ One for a faithful lover, / And one to bring you glorious health”. Also, dreaming of a field of clover foretells of prosperity, health and success and in Ireland, it is an omen symbolizing love, heroism and wit.

Now, who couldn’t use a little more luck, wealth or health?

SMART BUSINESS DURING A BEAR MARKET

Selecting a gift that is valued, used and remembered extends a message of thanks long after the gift is given.   As we live through these rocky times we have a tendency to ask our employees to work harder and longer and be grateful for their job.  

While many companies are not looking to spend cash on direct compensation, flexible incentive pools and retention incentives have been created by over 20% of companies polled by a Hewitt Survey.  An article in the Wall Street Journal by Phred Dvorak echoes this sentiment.  Findings from a survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP stated: “Respondents said they were worried about keeping key workers and boosting morale in a turbulent economy.”  

Creating an employee incentive strategy is a smart solution for many reasons: 

• possible non-taxable status of certain employee incentives,
• allows companies to separate compensation from recognition and
• positive impact on corporate culture and cost structure.

Especially during this bear economy, quality and specialty items provide a lasting luxury gift that many employees would not necessarily purchase themselves.  According to Incentive Research Foundation, incentive programs can increase performance by 22% and team performance by up to 44%.

 

Please click HERE to purchase. 

With this in mind, one of our best fail-safe and repeated gifts is this business document holder.  The croc-embossed leather speaks quality and refinement.  It is the ideal size to hold documents, your personal electronics and other essentials.  Most importantly, having finely appointed accessories makes you feel good, fortifies your self-image and gives a boost to your self-confidence …. motivating you to be better at your game when at work.

What are your thoughts about this?  Does owning a beautiful pen or a brand new wallet or a new leather portfolio make you feel better?   Are you motivated when recognized by your employer?   I would love to know!        

Sweet Tweets: A Pastel Collections of Elliptical Chocolates

Springtime is here and there is no better way to celebrate Spring and the Easter holiday than with our chocolatier Diana Phillips. Besides having a great name, her chocolates explode with flavor while the eye is mesmerized on the designs.

Enjoy! Diana Martin














The Pastel Collection of Elliptical Chocolates by Diana Phillips

Please click HERE to order these deliciously artful chocolates

Diana Phillips says:

So simple and yet, so not. Forgive the implied snobbery, when I say
I take the art in artisan most seriously. Yes, I love chocolate and
all it's many personalities. And blah blah blah about nature and
seasonal bounty like every other food nut. Which, of course I am.

I follow bees. Right now they've set up house in my lavender hedge.
And they're loving my lemonade lemon tree. The lemonade lemon is
also known as the Eureka lemon, so said because when you slice it
open, it's PINK! The skin is a beautiful variegated yellow and
green that makes beautiful zest.

And I've got a White Lady rose on the arbor that's loaded.
So back to the "art" of chocolate. I had to think of something
worthy of these scents and tastes for spring. The egg shape is
intriguing with its curve and elliptical swagger. But on it's
own,zzzzzzzz.