New downtown shop features gifts in a basket

The new boutique on Water Street is overflowing with gift ideas.

The Hingham Gift Company, which specializes in mix-and-match gift basket building, offers more than 300 “unique, luxurious, and practical” items. When gathered together in a gift basket – or sold separately – they make eye-catching and appealing gifts for a friend, family member – or yourself! Each item is special and useful, down to the gift basket container. The shop is located at 61 Water St., beside Bare Cove Gourmet Caterers on the harbor end.

“The most unique thing about the Hingham Gift Company is its flexible mix of the ‘build-your-own-gift-basket’ and regular retail gift store concepts,” said shop owner Emily Mondon. “Most of the items make very good stand-alone purchases but are also modular and can be easily combined into compatible sets or groups that can be wrapped in a gift bag, complimentary gift wrap, or as a gift basket, all with a personal touch.”

The Water Street shop specializes in high-quality specialty gifts and gift baskets for any occasion – a bridal or baby shower, birthday, graduation, house warming, wedding, realtor closing, a holiday, or other special event.

The wide array of tastefully displayed gifts ranges from fun and practical baby care and designer clothing and accessories to specialty gourmet condiments, grilling gear, ready-to-eat sweet and savory treats, tea, and coffee.

“It’s like treasure after treasure after treasure here,” one satisfied customer said as she made her way around the shop. The setting is simple yet visually interesting.

Mondon’s customer base is growing as word gets around about the unique service she offers. Because she is operating a small business, Mondon is able to provide an unusually high level of personal attention and creativity to each shopper in addition to hundreds of unique products.

There are also 3-D postcards, traditional greeting cards and ones that light up, luxury home care and scent products, spa accessories, pet lover items, and seasonal gifts such as gardening tools, supplies, natural insecticides, gloves, and hand care.

All that’s needed to complete the ice cream sundae gift basket — which contains a no-freeze ice cream scoop, hazelnut cabernet chocolate, butterscotch and raspberry sauces, old-fashioned sundae glasses, and Vermont maple-sugared walnuts packed inside a pastel-striped wooden planter — is the ice cream. There’s even a “Happy Home” basket featuring luxury home care products.

In addition to ready-made gift baskets, customers can ask Mondon or another staff member to create the perfect combination suited to a particular occasion, theme, recipient, and budget — even on short notice — or put together their own gift basket.

“Shoppers can, if they want, go around and choose all the elements of their gift basket and rely on me to add the creative touch with fill, ribbon, cellophane, or whatever wrap works best for the basket and occasion,” Mondon said. “When you build a basket here, you get a one-of-a-kind gift that you picked out and I designed especially for the occasion. There’s also the flexibility to design baskets for different budgets.” Gift-wrapping, nationwide shipping, and local delivery within Hingham are also available.

The list of gifts and specialty items is almost endless — sailor bags, gourmet snacks, premium shaving products, locally and New England-made treats, natural, organic and eco-friendly products, beach items such as sea glass and sunscreen, dog bandanas, mugs and other items for dog and cat lovers, and much more.

The shop is comprised of the main showroom and a “design center” featuring a work area flanked by many different types of containers. The gifts can be combined inside a basket, tote bag, brightly colored colander, a decorative watering can painted in Portugal, enamel wallpaper-covered planter, beaded container decorated with sea shells, or a gift bag.

As if that weren’t enough, Mondon plans to launch a few other lines of business as well, including children’s party favors, baskets for out-of-town wedding guests, and possibly care packages for college students.

Mondon took time off last summer from her last job as a senior management team director to travel and focus on some personal projects. In the process she gave much thought to different entrepreneurial possibilities. “The idea that stuck is the gift basket business, focusing at that time on gifts for wedding guests and real estate closings,” she said. “However, once I rented the space and began selecting my inventory, the concept grew into more of a regular retail and gift basket hybrid. So I leased some additional space to create the existing gift shop and gift basket design center.”

Mondon decided to start her business in Hingham because living just over the Hingham/Hull town line, she does much of her personal shopping in downtown Hingham and is therefore familiar with the area. “Hingham is a beautiful, sizeable, affluent town and a great location for any retail gift store,” she said. “I thought my novel build-your-own-gift-basket retail concept would be something new and different for the area.”

For more information, visit www.hinghamgiftcompany.com or call 1-888-GIFTS-01. The shop is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.