Friday, January 24, 2014

Etsy // Gifts for Him

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In general, the men in our lives can sometimes be difficult to buy for. It doesn't take long after buying sports jerseys, pajama pants, beer of the month clubs,  and Xbox's for a few years, until we start to run low on good gift ideas.

Lately, I've been browsing the shops of Etsy because I've seen all there is to see in the department stores.  Although holidays and birthdays are a great time to update a guys wardrobe, those gifts tend to be a little repetitive.

The very first thing that caught my attention while combing through thousands of Etsy shops, were mens leather engravable bracelet cuffs.  A lot of guys are wearing the leather around their wrists right now, and I'm personally loving the look.  I combed through dozens and DOZENS of shops, looking for 3 main things:

                                                                               1. Style
                                            2. Many great ratings from satisfied customers
                                                                            3. QUALITY



                                         This is what I finally found....
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                                                                    Maven Metals
I'm in love with these.  Not only for the look, but for the way you can customize them.  The latitude/longitude engraving is such a great idea!  You can look up the location of someplace special (like where you had your first date, where you first said "I love you", or where you were married) and have the coordinates engraved on the bracelet or key fob.

When I contacted the shop owners (Julie & Ben) about their items, I learned that they hand make their leather bands, and leather key fobs, from raw leather hides.  This is really important, because most other shops are using premade bands from outside sources (and the difference in quality is obvious, even from the pictures).  Julie & Ben hand cut, shape and size each band so that the bracelets are custom fitted for the recipients wrist size, and fully design the stainless steel shapes.  Then each bracelet is burnished, hand buffed, and finished with a high quality professional leather conditioner.  So, with all this said, and after seeing they have over 1,500 very satisfied customers, I'd say you can feel pretty confident in placing an order with Maven Metals!
(If you're reading this before 11/28/13, don't worry, Julie & Ben are taking a teeny tiny break, but will be back in business by the 28th!)
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Next up...Wallets
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But not just any wallets!  These are 100% handmade wallets, with an amazzzzzing guitar detail from Fullmoonn.  You can choose from many different styles and colors of guitars, and if your special guy actually plays....well I'll be darned...some of them even have a special place for a pic on the inside!  I've never seen anything like these, and I'm blown away at the level of detail that goes into them.  These would be such a great gift for any guitar player or rock and roll fan!!  
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And what better to fill these wallets with, than a personal message that will last forever...
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This was totally by accident.  I didn't plan on finding anything to put in the wallet, but I stumbled upon these, and the light bulb went off.  What's even more perfect, is that the owner of the shop,Rame Works, also makes customizable copperguitar picks!

 Anyway, these wallet inserts can come to you in either copper or aluminum, and can be hand stamped up to 200 characters.  If you need ideas for what you'd like to have yours say,check out this shop to view many different examples of what other people have included on theirs. Your message can be anything from super mushy, to an inside joke....or maybe words of encouragement, or even a bible verse.  Whatever it is, make sure it's a good one, because this one is meant to last :).
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And last but certainly not least!!!!
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Well aren't these spiffy?!  The Etsy shop, Breadwinners, makes some really cool (and super affordable) cuff links.  You can have them made with your favorite guy's initials, and they have many different styles to choose from.  However, the reason I chose Adam and Laine's shop was for the other customized work they'll do.  You can send them 2 photos of something special (pets, wedding photos, baby/kid photos, your "kiss" print, etc), and they can edit them to fit in the cuff link!!  The possibilities here are endless!  I'm thinking baby's first footprints, a private personal message, sports teams, wedding vows.... I wonder if they could use your childrens artwork? (you'd have to ask them on that one!)  Framed pictures are always good on a desk, but this way the photos or message can go with them everywhere throughout the day :).  Awwwww ;)
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I hope you enjoyed these Etsy finds as much as I have!!  I'm a big believer in supporting small businesses, and I truly appreciate the talent and creativity of the owners to these shops!  Well done, friends! :)
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