Gifts – let the small joys of life come in
Who does not love to receive gifts from near and dear ones? Sometimes the gift is from a friend, sometimes from family and then sometimes from one’s employer in the form of corporate gift. In all cases the purpose of gifting is to re-confirm and re-establish the unique relation of mutual affection, trust, and appreciation.
In my first year of office in Mumbai, I received a big steel casserole as the employee Diwali gift. Till date the casserole, as shiny as ever, is being used in my kitchen. Once while in Bangalore, all employees received a box of assorted chocolates each, as appreciation from the company for good performance and it created a lot of excitement. Recently, on the international day for women, the HR team went from desk to desk with a red rose and a chocolate box for women employees. These are small joys that keep the work place environment lively and joyful; and increases the professional bonding as well.
Why corporate gifting?
Corporate gifting is gifting on behalf of a company for business purpose. Normally gifts are given to clients, partners, external delegates as well as to employees. Most common are employee gifts on special occasions like Diwali or important regional festivals, Excellence in team performance, individual achiever awards, farewell gifts and so on.
Corporate gifting makes the business ties stronger. It is a way of showing appreciation to your employees and stakeholders. Sometimes gifts are given to delegates as a show of appreciation and respect. Often banks and big retailers send gifts to their regular clients on special occasions to make them feel special.
Choose the right corporate gift
Corporate gifts reflect the culture and values of the organization. Corporates should be proud of their culture, values, and the country they belong to. They also have social and environmental commitments. E.g., what can be better than choosing a rare art or craft form from your country and showcasing them to your overseas business partners through corporate gifting?
Youth of this generation are aware citizens. Many of them are fitness conscious as well as conscious about protection of environment. They are also vocal about inclusivity, social justice, and fair trade. Choose an employee gift keeping all these in mind. When the company must gift thousands of employees, budget is also an important factor.
Keeping all these in mind, Arteastic has created this list of great corporate gift ideas.
Palm leaf Boxes
Palm leaf painting is one of the distinct and most ancient form of crafts in Odisha , which have been continuously in existence for more than thousand years.
The boxes are made of Palm-leaf strips. Then they are hand-painted/ etched using sharp pen and brush. Can be used as a Jewellery box, decorative piece or for keeping miscellaneous stuff. These eco-friendly boxes are ideal employee gifts. As an organization you will contribute in keeping alive centuries old art forms that might otherwise just fade away.
Dokra Tribal craft
A 4000-year-old craft, traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization, is still preserved by the Tribal belt (mainly eastern belt – Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal) of India. It is a completely handmade process where artisans mould the metal in clay moulds using earthen ovens. Beautiful home decors, stunningly beautiful tribal jewellery and other utility items are made using this craft.
The everyday-use utility products like Dokra Pen stands, key holders, paper weights can be considered as employee gifts. These are affordable, eco-friendly products. These vibrant tribal artefacts will add life to the work environment. It will also enable you to promote the tribal craft of our country.
Palm leaf Paintings
Palm-leaf painting is probably the oldest form of writing in India. Most of our ancient manuscripts are etched on Palm-leaf. Palm leaves are available in abundance in coastal areas of India, durable and stronger than paper. They are treated in a completely organic process using natural ingredients so that they last for centuries.
Owning a Palm-leaf painting will be equivalent to owning a piece of three-thousand-year-old history. Unchanged over the centuries, this beautiful art epitomizes not only culture and tradition, but also the spirit of an ancient civilization, which flourished despite numerous challenges. A palm leaf painting is a perfect corporate gift for your esteemed clients and business partners, to proudly showcase your civilizational culture. It is eco-friendly, light-weight and very easy to pack and carry while traveling abroad.
Pattachitra Paintings
Pattachitra, a traditional painting style unique to Odisha, traces its roots to the 12th century AD. It is storytelling on a canvas as it captures mythological stories, folklores and epics on a handmade canvas called Patta, with brush and organic colors. Sometimes pattachitra are painted on a tussar silk canvas making it very light weight and easy to carry. It is a perfect gift for your art lover business partners who would cherish the most intricate traditional paintings from India. It will also be a great opportunity to acknowledge the great work done by the artisans of India.
Meditation Bowls
Also known as singing bowls, these are meditational tools. It has a metal bowl and a wooden stick. The bowl normally has Buddhist Mantras written around its body. It is called a singing bowl since it creates a very calm , soothing and lingering sound when struck by the wooden stick. The vibration in the air is ideal for meditation; creates positive energy and is a great stress reliever.
Singing bowls are used widely by yoga practitioners, healing therapists, meditation practitioners and so on.
In today’s stressful life, many health and fitness conscious youngsters are moving towards yoga, mindfulness, and meditation practices. Most of the modern corporate organizations are invested in the physical and emotional well-being of their employees. In such cases, meditation bowls can be ideal gift for the employees of all age.