Gifting Don’t: Wrapping like crap on purpose 22 December 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Aesthetics, Beauty, Christmas list, Modern culture, Salvage.add a comment
I just learned about a phenomenon called crapwrap, where people try to wrap things crappily. They’ll even do it for you, for a fee. The local news spot showed boxes wrapped with gaudy reused paper and brown packing tape.
The interview included a crap-wrapping employee talking about why they do what they do. He suggested it was a great way to present a package in a one-of-a-kind way.
He’s wrong. Really, the boxes just look like your four year old took a crack at the box. There are soooooo many creative ways to use ordinary objects to embellish beautifully instead of elementary-like. Crumpling up ugly paper, poor technique and using bawdy tape are just that, and they are not beautiful when combined. They are simple and ugly.
There are so many more so much more interesting textures and materials around your house that can be both recycled and unique. Think brown paper bags, foil, spray paint, old t-shirts for wrapping. For joining think clips, rivets, thread, thumb tacks; for tags use the inside of Avon boxes, last year’s Christmas cards (heck, use these for paper!), etc etc.
Of course, if you actually want an ugly gift to give to someone, be my guest. Just don’t say the the best way to make a gift unique is to make it ugly.
Gifting: Shopping aesthetics 14 December 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Aesthetics, Architecture, Christmas list.add a comment
A bit of a tangent to this series, but . . .
My wife and I spent five hours shopping yesterday, which is pretty unusual for us. It was our first time to the mall in longer than we could remember. We had a few stops on our list. Banana Republic wasn’t one of them, but we ended up there and found some sales, some clothes for a wedding in January.
I used to shop Banana Republic regularly when I lived in Nebraska. Their sales on men’s clothes were significant. I regularly found wool dress pants marked down from $90 to $10. I bought a wool sports coat for $20 on sale five years ago or so.
The sales at the store here in Fayetteville are meager in comparison; I don’t remember if I’ve ever bought anything down here.
I remembered the reason I liked shopping there, besides good clothing on sale, this weekend. The store is well designed. Merchandise isn’t so crammed onto racks and shelves like it is in department stores. There is, so to speak, white space. The shopping experience is simply superior if you can’t afford boutiques on Fifth Avenue, or if you haven’t made a commitment to buy handmade. Other stores are set up similarly, such as Express, Lerner New York and Structure.
So long as the sales are good, I’d pick these stores over a department store any day.
Gifting: Beware of the doghouse 9 December 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Advertising, Christmas list.2 comments
I hesitate to post this since it’s an ad, but it’s a darn good ad that actually uses the phrase “thoughtful gift.”
My wife has actually expressed interest in a new Dyson. Is a Dyson better than a “dual bag?” The video also reminds me of a man I know who cannot bring himself to buy impractical gifts for his wife. Poor guy.
Saatchi & Saatchi did the video. Visit the campaign’s website here. There is an amusing and institutional audio loop on the website that goes through things wives wish their husbands would or wouldn’t do. Some of them are kind of funny, such as “Stop checking out other women in restaurants” and “Express your feelings.” There is also “Talk more, but don’t interrupt” followed by “Speak less.” Um, which is it?
Gifting: Consumerism ≠ happiness, memories or meaning 2 December 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Affluenza, Christmas list.add a comment
This is the second or third Christmas, to my knowledge, that the Advent Conspiracy has been around.
The video largely follows the ideas behind this Gifting series. I like that it points out that consumerism doesn’t equal happiness, memories or meaning.
And speaking of Advent, my wife and I plan to read through the new book God With Us: Rediscovering the meaning of Christmas. It was published last Fall and covers Advent, Christmas and Epiphany according to an interview of Kathleen Norris, a contributing author in the book, by Gregory Wolfe. The hour-long interview can be heard or downloaded on the Rediscovering Christmas website. The same website describes the book by saying “Through daily meditations, scripture, prayer, illuminating history and fine art, we experience what saints have glimpsed through the ages — the wonder of God made flesh.” We have high hopes for the book which arrived on our doorstep during lunch today.
Consumerism causes death in New York 1 December 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Affluenza, Christmas list, Entitlement, Modern culture.1 comment so far
Another short blurb for today. By now most people have heard that a Walmart employee was trampled to death in the 5am chaos of Black Friday. ThinkChristian points to a Times article where people are speculating on where to place the blame for the tragedy. They also note a Newsday article suggesting New York legislators are planning laws to require security in the future to control these mobs.
I can’t honestly remember if I’ve ever shopped for Christmas gifts on Black Friday. I’m pretty sure I have, but I certainly don’t make a point of it. I like shopping and don’t mind crowds, but I very much dislike dealing with traffic and lines on the scale one expects for that kind of outing. So at this point in life I don’t go. Further, shopping opportunities in little Siloam Springs aren’t exactly plentiful (I don’t really count Walmart as a place I buy Christmas gifts), so my wife and I get most of our goodies online anymore.
The ThinkChristian article ends by asking what people of faith can do to counter the consumerism of American culture on Black Friday in particular. My suggestion was to try and make it the day of the year when more money is given to charity than any other.
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Gifting: Fairness; ugh. 19 November 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Art, Christmas list, Painting.4 comments
One of the things my wife and I struggle with is fairness in gifting.
Personally, I find this annoying. The actual monetary value of a gift, in my opinion, is irrelevant if the gifts are of equal value to the recipient. This, however, is much more difficult to predict and control than deciding to spend $50 on both Sally and Rupert’s gifts.
Regardless of how annoying the idea of fairness is to me, our families seem to abide by this rule. In the last year or two it’s become more difficult than ever before, though. Our siblings are getting hitched, adding new in-laws to the gift giving fray — in-laws that we don’t necessarily know very well and who are therefore more difficult to find any gift for, let alone a thoughtful gift.
I’d be curious to know others thoughts and dealings on this particular issue. And in conclusion, here’s a Tim Jones painting that will be for sale soon on a new blog powered by Ebay. The starting bid for this nice little piece will be $85, making it a much more thoughtful gift than, well, lots of other things for $85.
Gifting: Cost does not determine value 14 November 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Christmas list.add a comment
A few years ago my dad’s side of the family decided they didn’t want to exchange gifts at Christmas any more. A few years before that we’d gone to an exchange system. Buying things for everyone and then waiting for everyone to open all of the gifts was just unwieldy, even if a group of 10 people. Further, none of us need much, and all of the kids were well into college.
A couple years ago my dad broke the rule and bought something for his sister. It was a very simple gift, but very thoughtful. He bought her an entire case of V-8.
Apparently she had, earlier in the year, mentioned how she wasn’t buying the beverage, finding it difficult to justify the cost. She’s on a fixed income, having been in an automobile accident 20 years ago that left her in constant pain and unable to work. For a lot of us, buying juice won’t seem very taxing on the budget, especially juice for one person. I can assure it wasn’t taxing on my father’s budget, even as much of a self-proclaimed tight-wad as he is.
Yet, it was a very meaningful investment. And yes, my dad was chided for breaking the family rules.
Gifting: Handmade on Etsy 10 November 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Art, Business of art, Ceramics, Christmas list, Craft, Etsy, Handmade, Painting, Printmaking, Woodcut.add a comment
Etsy specializes in offering handmade wares including everything from clothing to pottery to painting. It’s a great place to find thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts. My wife and I both keep a store there; hers is the Elegant Scarf. A link to mine can be found in the sidebar. Following are a few of my favorite sellers and one of my favorite items from their store. Click on the images to get to their store.
Kim Westad : Ceramist
Sweet pea in orange :: $35
mLee fine art (woodcuts)
African queen :: $45
Stepanka (porcelain sculpture)
Small porcelain bud vase :: $35
newbyart (encaustic)
The great awakening :: $120
Entitlement, affluenza and we’re spoiled brats! 6 November 2008
Posted by pcNielsen in Affluenza, Art, Christianity, Christmas list, Entitlement, Etsy, Handmade, Intentional observation, Modern culture, Salvage.3 comments
Christmas is coming! My friend Amy, on her blog Growing Like Trees, talked yesterday about gift giving. Or, in her case, not gift giving. Her post inspired the following.
I really love the Christmas season, but I’m terrible at receiving gifts. I only realized this a few years ago. If I get something that doesn’t pique my interest, or that I wasn’t expecting, I’m not very good at hiding my disinterest — or feigning interest. No one’s ever told me that I was being a jerk, I just happened to realize it after looking back at how I’ve handled Christmas gifts in the past ten years.
“Jerk” might be a strong self-accusation, I hope. I’m not the kind of person that gets giddy about things very often (to my wife’s chagrin). Even when I’ve received something I really like, I fear my thoughtful countenance risks appearing ungrateful after I tear through the tape and wrapping paper.
Then again, maybe my countenance doesn’t look anything like I’m imagining it. Thankfully, no one in the family owns a video camera. Regardless, I know that my heart has been ungrateful when it should have been giving thanks.
I am one of a very spoiled generation. Many of our parents and grandparents live comfortably, have expendable income for luxuries — luxuries that didn’t exist even 25 years ago — take vacations at will etc. etc. Little do we realize as youth that a lot of these people lived very modestly when they were our age. By our age I mean in their 20s and 30s.
In a culture super-saturated with objects to be bought, in a culture ubiquitously and unapologetically inundated with advertising, in a culture where we are referred to (and might even refer to ourselves) as “consumers,” we expect to have what we want now. Credit makes that possible.
And then causes the economy to collapse (when misused).
Frankly, I could go without any gifts at Christmas. The food, family, [good] decorations, mystery and so on are enough. Further, I tend to buy things I want, if I can afford them (i.e., not on credit), when I want. My father-in-law is the same way. It makes it difficult, I’m told, for others to buy gifts for us around this time of year.
On the flipside, I very much enjoy giving thoughtful gifts. Thoughtful gifts are generally not iPods and laptops. Sure, the tweens in the house will think these are great when wrapped, under a tree and tagged with their name. But thoughtful gifts are usually not LCD televisions and barbie dolls or Tickle Me Elmo.
Thoughtful gifts are one-of-a-kind, unique and tailored to an individual. An original painting is a great example, and yes you can afford one, especially if you’re already thinking of spending $300 on an iPod Touch or $900 on a Sony flat screen TV. You just have to know where to look. Handmade scarves or teapots are other examples, which you can find a plethora of on Etsy.
I’m just learning that I like to find or create thoughtful gifts, just like I’ve just learned that I’m a jerk about receiving gifts. One of the better examples of a thoughtful gift was an advertisement I framed for my brother. Three years ago my home group — cell group, life group, Bible study, call it whatever you want — spent a day helping a diabetic woman clean out her garage. The garage was full of a amazing stuff, a lot of which was moldy and falling apart and went to the dump. The rest went into a garage sale.
There were all kinds of decorative things she used years ago in a shop she owned in California. There were enormous boxes of outdated clothing. She kept saying there was probably a bong out there too. The friend orchestrating the cleanup wanted to find it and take it home, which I thought was hilarious since he was an elder in our church.
We didn’t find the bong.
Being a dumpster diver and prone to salvaging anything I find interesting enough, I kept a keen eye on the stuff headed for the dump. A large stack of catalogs, of all the things to keep around for 25 years, ended up being the golden ticket.
I took home a 1979/1980 retailer’s catalog. It was full of things like VCRs and Camcorders listed for ungodly amounts of money, and the back cover proudly presented an Atari 2600 console. I had one of these growing up that grandpa found at a garage sale. My brother was and is an avid gamer. The page displaying the game console was in great condition. I held onto it for months before the holidays rolled around when I cut the page out, framed it and gave it to Daniel for Christmas.
Opportunities like that have to be made, sought out, and even when you’re looking out for them they don’t always show up. It also helps to know a person well. Finding or devising the perfect gift for that second cousin you met ten years ago at a reunion will probably be exponentially more difficult than for your nuclear family members.
Two things in conclusion. First of all, to any friends or family who may have felt slighted by my spoiled brat reaction to a gift you gave me in the past, I’m sincerely sorry. I pray I’m a more gracious person in the future, starting this year. Secondly, this post introduces a two month series where I will recommend ideas to readers for unique and one-of-a-kind gifts.
The series will be titled Gifting, and will be published whenever I come across a good idea up until Christmas.
What would Jesus buy? 3 December 2007
Posted by pcNielsen in Affluenza, Christmas list, Disposable culture, Entitlement, Modern culture, Sustainable living.add a comment
A Facebook friend alerted me to this docu-comedy titled What Would Jesus Buy? It looks hilarious based on the trailer. It’s showing in a select few theaters right now, and I’d encourage you to see it if it’s nearby as an antidote to America’s stereotypical consumerism which rears it’s borrowing head every December.
A list of partners is here under the heading “Save Christmas.” You can also save your city.
