meaningful gifts Archives

Patchwork Perspective Schools and community

Support small businesses with a Local Gift List

by Rosie Hurwitz March 15, 2021

The Covid restrictions have hit our high streets hard in recent months. The best thing you can do to support small businesses is spend your birthday gift money locally. Use Patchwork to create your local ‘wish list’. Then invite your family and friends so they can choose what they’d like to treat you to. It’s a safe, secure and fun way to receive cash direct that you can spend in your local community.

What is a Patchwork local gift list?

With a Patchwork local gift list you can let your family and friends send you birthday money securely. At the same time, support your high street or nearby small businesses by committing to spending it locally.

By creating a Pinterest board style “wish list” with Patchwork, you can share your ideas for things you’d like to treat yourself. Then your friends and family can choose which items or experiences on your ‘wish list’ they’d like to contribute towards. Your Patchwork will have a URL which you can share with your family and friends. Then you simply collect gift money direct in to your PayPal or bank account via Stripe. Simple!

Who is a local gift list good for?

Patchwork makes birthday gifting simple for you. It’s convenient for your friends and family, supports local and independent business AND is good for the environment too. Avoiding unwanted gifts solves the problem of things ending up unused at the back of a cupboard, and eventually in landfill.

It also makes people happy knowing you’re getting the things you want. Everyone is a tiny bit nosey and likes to see where their money is going! Plus it’s super convenient and secure and can involve those who are nearby or far away so it’s a real win-win all round.

How do I set my Patchwork page up?

It couldn’t be easier to set up your own personal local gift list. You can start a page from scratch or use our easy to customise template. Simply edit the images and text with your own gift and experience wishes. Then add your personal details and link a payment method. That’s it – you’re done and it’s ready to share.

When people arrive at your birthday wish list they can see the things you’d like to treat yourself to and choose which suits them and their budget. You can also add non-financial gifts too. For example, inviting friends to come over to meet you for a walk in the park and catch up over coffee.

What can I add to my local gift list?

With a Patchwork local gift list all money is sent to you direct to spend where, when and how you like, so there are absolutely no limits on what you can add to yours.

Perhaps there’s a brilliant deli near you. You can add a patch for some cheese and deli meats so you can enjoy an alfresco no-cook weekend lunch! Maybe you have a local bookshop. You can add a patch for £10 called ‘buy me a book’ and you can enjoy a good browse in your own time and decide exactly how to spend your gift. You can add patches from as little as £3 for a takeaway coffee, £25 to spend in your favourite gift shop, right up to £100 to treat yourself to a brand new hairstyle at your local salon. The only limit is your own imagination.

Can people part fund a patch?

If you are adding larger, more expensive items you can break the cost down and allowing people to ‘chip in’ Say for example you have your eye on a piece of art in a local gallery at £200. By pricing the patch at say £20, you can allow 10 people to chip in and you’ll have collected the amount you need. Patches can be funded multiple times (eg cups of coffee or books) or you can limit them to only be available once (that dress in the vintage shop for example). Offering a wide choice of items and experiences at different prices keeps everyone happy.

Ready to set up your local gift list?

You can start your page using our easy to customise template and have fun adding your own ideas. Need help? You probably won’t as it’s super simple! But if you do we always have time for a chat, so drop us a line at [email protected] or call us on 07547 439 805 between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Have fun making yours and let us know how it goes by tagging us on Instagram using @patchwork_it!

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family visiting grandparents on doorstep during coronavirus

Gift Ideas

A room with a view – a gift for those in isolation

by Rosie Hurwitz October 26, 2020

written by Rosie Hurwitz

And so here we are in Autumn, and things feel as uncertain as ever. But, there’s one thing we’re all certain we still can and want to do, and that is let our friends and family know we are thinking of them. Whether it’s a birthday, Christmas, a new baby or any other life event, Patchwork can help to connect people, with thoughtful isolation gifts that are really wanted, appreciated, and easy to organise digitally and from afar.

roses with windows of house in background

Gifts that say we’re thinking of you

Many of our elderly or vulnerable relatives are now spending a lot more time at home, alone. Including – sadly – those special occasions like birthdays, and now possibly Christmas too. It’s heartbreaking that we can’t be there in person with the ones we love to give them a proper hug or sit inside with them and have a cup of tea! Doorstep calls and sitting in the garden are lovely in the summer but as winter approaches, won’t be as easy to do.

Patchwork founder Liv’s Nan – Vera – turned an incredible 93 this month, and for the first time, she wasn’t able to visit one of her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for tea, cake and flowers. So to let her know they were thinking of her, the family clubbed together, and used Patchwork to organise and fund a beautiful and thoughtful group gift. A birthday garden patchwork allowed everyone to chip in towards some flowers for her back and front garden, some compost and manure (and the gardener to do the planning and planting!) So that although she might not be able to get outside at all right now, she can still have beautiful, colourful views from her windows.

A beautiful garden, piece by piece

Liv’s sister Rosie set up the page and shared it with the family near and far so that everyone could contribute to Vera’s “Room with a view”. One of the best things about a Patchwork group gift page (other than it being gorgeous to look at and a breeze to use) is that you can set your own prices so that everyone can chip in what they can afford. Whether it’s £5 towards some geraniums, £15 for an hours gardening time or £70 for two climbing roses. You can even set patches without a monetary contribution, so people can gift their time and skill instead. In this case, Rosie asked if anyone in the family could help out by being the gardener’s assistant (socially distanced and with their own tools of course!)

Grandmother and granddaughter enjoying a glass of champagne in garden

A gift that everyone can (eventually!) enjoy

So in the months to come, Vera will be looking out at newly planted roses, clematis, geraniums, wallflowers and know that it all happened because her family are thinking of her and miss her and want to show her how much they love her! And hopefully by Springtime the daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be back in the flower-filled garden for tea and biscuits and a chat with Vera.

Plants and flowers make us happier

Even if they don’t have a garden, everyone has a window to look out of, so this group gift idea can easily be adapted to include hanging baskets, window boxes, small potted trees, a bird feeder to hang up and maybe a small watering can to keep them healthy and green! It makes sense as we are all spending more time at home, to make our surroundings as nice to look at as possible. Adding colour and life to our outside space with flowers and plants is also scientifically proven to make us feel happy. And so for people living alone, this is an isolation gift that really can make a difference to their mental wellbeing at this stressful and often confusing time.

The perfect group gift for someone in isolation

We can’t think of a more perfect gift for an elderly or isolated person at this time, than something beautiful to look out at from their window. Whether they live in a small flat, or have a big garden, there’s always a window to sit by, and so this gift can always make the view better. If you’ve been inspired to set up a “Room with a View” patchwork or garden patchwork see our readymades and have a play. It’s so easy to set up a page, make it personal and then share with family and friends. Any questions? We’d love to help on LiveChat, via [email protected] or over the phone on 07547 439 805.

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Patchwork Loves Patchwork Perspective

Alternatives to Black Friday 2019

by Ismay Ozga November 21, 2019

written by Ismay Ozga

The end of November signals the coming of Black Friday; a day of massive discounts and absolute mania. Instead of getting swept up in over-consumption, mass production and unbelievable amounts of waste, we’re encouraging you to get involved with some anti-Black Friday activity instead. We’ve rounded up some of our faves to help you take a stand for the planet and for the people:

Eco-Age and Global Fashion Exchange’s #TAKEBACKBLACKFRIDAY

This year, Eco-Age have partnered with the Global Fashion Exchange to Take Back Black Friday. Take Back Black Friday is a digital protest, encouraging consumers to raise awareness and create positive impact on the day by highlighting individual acts of circularity and fashion sustainability. For example, you could attend a clothes swap and post about it on your socials, showcase items you’re repairing or upcycling before the festive season, or simply show up and stand up for the environment.

Stories Behind Things – The Big Clothes Switch (& Natalie Glaze’s Book Swap Club) and The Christmas Collective

Stories Behind Things founders Jemma and Ella have two events going on over the Black Friday weekend to help you make better, more conscious choices; on Thursday 28th November they’ve partnered with Who What Wear UK and WeWork to host The Big Clothes Switch. Take clothes you no longer wear or love and switch them for clothes you’ll never want to take off your back again. Then, from Friday 29th to Sunday 1st December, they’re hosting The Christmas Collective, a curated market full of sustainable, ethical brands to help you shop with a clear conscience.

And So To Shop’s Colourful Friday

As And So To Shop are an independent marketplace, they use Black Friday to rally against unsustainable discounts and demeaned value. Instead of offering discounts, they encourage their sellers to add something extra and meaningful into each order. This way, consumers still feel like they’re getting a great deal, but ASTS are still showing that what small businesses do is worth paying for.

Buy Me Once’s #GreenFridayFriends

Buy Me Once will be spending their Black Friday spreading a message of calm, conscious consumerism, and are encouraging people to do the same to become their Green Friday Friends.

At Patchwork our aim is to help you reject unnecessary consumerism and waste all year round; our gifting patchworks allow you to get one big thing that you really really want, rather than lots of little bits that will go to waste. You can check out our alternative gift patchworks here. Alternatively, we’ve noticed a trend this year that we absolutely love, where people are using their patchworks to spread joy and kindness in lieu of presents – we’re calling this the Give List, and you can make your own here.

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