In our April newsletter we featured Marigold & Grey a boutique gift basket company that specializes in the design, preparation, and delivery of custom welcome gifts for weddings and other special events. We also chatted with the owner, Jamie Kutchman, to learn a little bit more about her, her company, and her fabulous baskets!
Q: How did you decide to start Marigold & Grey?
A: It was crunch time, a couple of weeks before my own wedding, when I realized how tricky it is to find unique, one-of-a-kind items for welcome gifts. I wanted thoughtful and locally-inspired items since all of my guests were making the effort to travel in from out of town. After all the time and energy that went into the gifts, I returned from my honeymoon and heard that some of our welcome bags were delivered to the wrong hotel by mistake. Some guests received a gift and others did not…embarrassing! This immediately got me thinking about the need for a boutique welcome gift company! At the same time, I was becoming increasingly more and more unhappy in my corporate career. I was financially successful but inside, I felt stagnant and unfulfilled. So, in April of last year, I resigned from my job (on a conference call, actually!) and in mid-November, I launched the e-commerce website that you see up and running today.
Q: What is the best part about using Marigold & Grey?
A: When brides, grooms and planners use the design-your-own-gift function on the website, in just 5 to 10 minutes and a few clicks here and there, they have a beautiful, well-designed set of welcome gifts ready to welcome their guests to town. If done the traditional way, it can take days and weeks to research ideas, source the items, wait for the items to ship, and then assemble everything. The month or so leading up to a wedding should not be filled with last-minute stressful tasks such as welcome gifts. It should be spent celebrating with friends and family. I love taking some of the stress away!
Q: What is the process you go through with your clients?
A: Clients can work with us one of two ways. The first is to use the e-commerce website to design their own gifts from start to finish. They first choose a packaging option (box, bag or basket) and then add the contents they’d like inside (snacks, beverages, toiletries, keepsakes).
The second way is to take advantage of our Concierge Gift Design Service. Clients provide us with their wedding style, location, gift budget, and color palette and we put together a gift design for them that matches their overall vision.
Q: What is your favorite gift item to add to baskets?
A: Oh, this is a tough one since there are SO many items in the collection that I absolutely love. But if I must choose one, it would have to be the Neighborwoods Cedar Map Coasters of Washington DC! These are high-end, unique, handcrafted, functional and smell amazing.
Q: What is your favorite gift basket you’ve ever done?
A: Hmm. Another tough question! I’d have to say a garden-inspired basket I designed for the Bowties & Bubbly bridal show back in January where each room at the venue had a distinctly different design. The design for this particular room was a garden party with a bubbly bar and tons of greenery. I loved the soft, lush, feminine, organic, luxurious feel of this basket. I’d definitely love to be a wedding guest receiving this as a welcome gift!
Photo credit: Krista A. Jones Photography
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Carine's Bridal Atelier 
