Widely known as the "Gifting Gurus", Candace Ourisman and Ashley Bronczek are the founders of Secretly Gifting, a brand changing the face of personal and corporate gifting. With backgrounds in fashion and design, the duo brings joy and style to their client's gifting experience.
Hello, Gifting Gurus! What can you tell us about the story behind Secretly Gifting?
Secretly Gifting was born from our mutual passion for impactful gifting. Before founding SG, we were often being called upon by friends and family to curate “the perfect gift ideas” for various people and occasions. We saw an opportunity in the market to create a brand centered around the art of gifting. Three and a half years later, here we are! We have been lucky enough to be recognized as the nation's foremost gifting experts by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Yahoo! finance. These days we split our time between helping individuals and corporations with their gifting as well as curating our very own Gift Vault where anyone can shop our selection of the best gifts for every occasion!
You two certainly have your finger on the pulse of the gifting scene, working with both individuals and corporations alike. What have been the go-to gifts over the past few months? Any expected trends for 2021?!
The past few months have been all about conscious and joyful gifting. While the art of gifting is alive and well, we have been very intentional about the nature of the gifts given our current climate here in the US. Items that make spending more time at home as enjoyable as possible have been hugely popular. Our clients and e-commerce shoppers have been loving Homebody’s CBD Pearlescent Bath Soak, for its mental and physical health benefits. We have also seen an uptick in cheeky gifts, such as our hand candles. As far as trends for 2021, we anticipate more wellness, at-home cooking, and gifts that express gratitude.
As a fellow female-founded company, we love that Secretly Gifting is run by two inspiring women, and we can’t get enough of your matching “CEO” robes. What do you enjoy most about working with a friend?
We are incredibly grateful for our partnership both personally and professionally. Having a sounding board to work through challenges and opportunities is invaluable. We like to say that the Venn-Diagram of our skill sets has very little overlap and that has proven to be a major key to our successful partnership. Our common skills are communication, big picture thinking and fashion & design backgrounds. Those core skills complement the work we do together and allow us to stay in our respective lanes when appropriate. Oh, also we have a ton of FUN! The glamorous part of our job takes us to London, Paris, NYC, and beyond to scout out the latest and greatest in gifting, so it’s a dream come true to have business adventures with your bestie by your side.
In 2021, we’re ditching the resolutions and seeking to show ourselves (and our besties) a little more love. What better occasion to celebrate than Galentine’s Day! What are you gifting each other this year?
We are so on board with this idea! Self-love is so important, especially during these uncertain times. Equally as important is showing those that mean the most to you how much you appreciate them and what better way to do so than through the art of gifting!
Sometimes it’s hard to not purchase all of our treasures for ourselves and in the case of our BFF keychain, we couldn’t resist! We designed this keychain as the perfect Galentine’s and friendship gift for the gal who you couldn’t get along without.
Since it’s looking like we’ll all be living the robe life this winter, what tips do you have for accessorizing bathleisure?!
Where do we begin! Here at Secretly Gifting, it is all about the power of the accessory. We throw on our Weezie robes anytime we want to relax and feel cute around the house. Sometimes that means after we come home from work and get dinner ready for our kiddos, we keep our accessories on. Whether that's our Lele headbands or Mignonne Gavigan Earrings, there is no reason robe life can’t be Secretly Glamorous! Another accessory/ritual that we have added to our bathleisure is this incredible CBD pearlescent bath soak from a fabulous black female owned brand, Homebody.
Lastly, while we have the gifting experts on call, we have to ask...what are your Weezie picks for:
- Dad’s birthday: Every dad deserves to relax in luxury but we all know that dad’s rarely purchase anything for themselves. We think the men’s robe with a classic Tybee block font would be perfect.
- Sister’s graduation: The short patterned robe would be a fabulous graduation gift. We are partial to the blue hearts with a bright pink hudson monogram. Pair this with a set of the makeup towels (one of our absolute favorite Weezie items) for an extra special gift for the graduate.
- Neighbor’s new baby: There is nothing cuter than bath time with babies and the Baby Shower Bundle will make those first few bath’s as adorable as they should be… To add a little something extra, pair the bundle with our cheeky baby hand peace candle!
Thank you, Gifting Guru's! For more gifting ideas, check out our Valentine's Day Gift Guide!
