2025 Finalists - FROM YOU TO ME
Name Helen Stephens
Product in the Final: I Made A Book About You
Congratulations on being a finalist! How does it feel to be recognised in this year’s Gift of the Year awards?
We are delighted that I Made A Book About You is a finalist in the Gift of the Year Awards 2025. We feel honoured to have had the product recognised. So much effort goes into the development and creation of our gifts, so it means a lot to get to this stage in the competition.
Can you tell us a little about your brand and the inspiration behind your successful product?
FROM YOU TO ME is about creating gifts that are meaningful, gifts that matter. Our products are emotive and heartfelt. They are great to give and even better to receive. I Made A Book About You started life as a personalised product on our website, where a customer could add a message and even select the pages that go in the book. A couple of our trade customers ordered them to give as gifts and said they'd love to sell them in their shops . . . so we made a stock product.
What makes your product special, and why do you think it stood out to the judges?
It's an affordable, heartfelt gift that can be written in, making it unique to the person it is being gifted to. It's a thoughtful gift that will make the recipient feel very special and loved. It's also a repeat purchase product, one person can buy multiple copies for many people and each book will be different, as it celebrates the relationship between two people rather than one.
Who is your product designed for, and what kind of reaction have you had from customers so far?
I Made A Book About You is designed for anyone to give to a friend or family member. Our customers have loved it. The higher they pile it, the more they sell.
What trends or themes do you think are shaping the gifting industry right now?
A current theme is definitely meaningful gifts and new ideas that aren't just a new look for an old idea. For the few years following lockdown, creative businesses were understandably cautious with their new product development and retailers were careful with their purchasing budget. This led to little newness in the shops. This now seems to be shifting, there are definitely some great new products that are finalists in the Gift of the Year awards for 2025.
How has being shortlisted, and now being a finalist impacted your brand so far, and what do you hope to achieve from the awards?
Being shortlisted is a privilege and gave us a great opportunity on social media. Hopefully being a finalist will put our business in front of new retailers who will be able to see all the wonderful products we design in-house and produce.
Of course we'd love to win, but the compeition is of a very high standard this year.
What exciting plans do you have for the future?
We've just launched over 20 new products for 2025 so we are very excited about getting them on the market. Feedback so far has been excellent. We've some other exciting plans for 2026 which I can't share yet, but hopefully by May there will more to tell...
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received (or given), and why?
It was a handmade book called A Tale For A Sleepy Bunny, written by my nine year old daughter complete with illustrations and a cover made from a shoe box. She showed great initiative and creative skills from such a young age, she now works part time in the business. We also published the book about 3 years ago in collaboration with an illustrator, and it's sold really well.