If, like me, you occasionally
have to buy gifts for people who seem to have everything, it can be hard to
find inspiration. It's great when you get a clue or an idea from them, but this
doesn't always make for a nice surprise!
This is why I love the idea of themes for gifting. The oldest and best example
of this is Anniversary Gifts based on number of years.
With both the Traditional list and the Modern list, as well as Colours and
Gemstones, these lists are able to take a lot of the guesswork out of gift
buying. Using these lists can narrow down your search for a gift and save a lot of time and effort.
Year |
Traditional Gift |
Modern Gift |
Colour |
Gemstone |
|
1 |
|
Paper |
Clocks |
Gold or Yellow |
Gold |
2 |
|
Cotton |
China |
Red |
Garnet |
3 |
|
Leather |
Crystal or Glass |
Jade or White |
Pearl |
4 |
|
Fruit or Flowers |
Appliance |
Blue or Green |
Topaz |
5 |
|
Wood |
Silverware |
Blue, Pink, Turquoise |
Sapphire |
6 |
|
Iron |
Wood |
Purple, White, Turquoise |
Amethyst |
7 |
|
Copper or Wool |
Desk Sets |
Yellow or Off White |
Onyx |
8 |
|
Bronze or Pottery |
Linen or Lace |
Bronze |
Tourmaline |
9 |
|
Willow or Pottery |
Leather |
Terracota |
Lapis Lazuli |
10 |
|
Aluminium/Tin |
Diamond |
Silver or Blue |
Diamond |
11 |
|
Steel |
Jewellery |
Turquoise |
Turquoise |
12 |
|
Silk or Linen |
Pearl |
Oyster White |
Jade |
13 |
|
Lace |
Textiles or Furs |
White |
Citrine |
14 |
|
Ivory |
Gold Jewellery |
Ivory |
Opal |
15 |
|
Crystal |
Watches |
Red |
Ruby |
16 |
|
Wax |
Silver Holloware |
Silver or Emerald Green |
Peridot |
17 |
|
Furniture |
Furniture |
Yellow |
Carnelian |
18 |
|
Porcelain |
Porcelain |
Blue |
Cat’s eye |
19 |
|
Bronze |
Bronze |
Bronze |
Aquamarine |
20 |
|
China |
Platinum |
Emerald Green |
Emerald |
25 |
|
Silver |
Silver |
Silver |
Silver |
30 |
|
Pearl |
Diamond |
Green |
Pearl |
35 |
|
Coral |
Jade |
Coral |
Emerald |
40 |
|
Ruby |
Ruby |
Red |
Ruby |
45 |
|
Sapphire |
Sapphire |
Blue or Red |
Sapphire |
50 |
|
Gold |
Gold |
Gold |
Gold |
55 |
|
Emerald |
Emerald |
Emerald Green |
Alexandrite |
60 |
|
Diamond |
Diamond |
Diamond White |
Diamond |
Obviously Year 7 is of particular interest to me as a Wool picture is an ideal gift for this anniversary year! There's also Year 13 which lists Textiles as a modern gift and Year 4 which lists Flowers.

However it doesn't end there. The colours list can be particularly useful if you already have artwork in mind but don't know where to start. A colour, or a pair/group of colours can provide the starting point for a commissioned piece and give ideas for the subject matter. Narrowing down the options can help to drive creativity. You never know, there may also be the ideal piece ready to go!
As well as colour choices, other things to feed into ideas for anniversary gifts could be honeymoon or favourite holiday locations, wedding flowers, joint hobbies/interests. Using these ideas you can choose or commission original and unique artwork to make a brilliant anniversary gift!

Lastly, don't be afraid to brainstorm ideas with an artist or maker. You
don't have to have a detailed brief before you approach us. We can talk through
the beginnings of an idea and help form it into a brief with you as well as
source photographs and research ideas.
Interested in gifting fibre art? Email me at ushma@fifteen2.co.uk