It’s a great Idea – a website
dedicated to gifts, where shoppers
can sit in the comfort of their own
home or office (sorry boss) and
shop at any time of day or night.
the site, gift-library.com, was
launched five years ago by the
personal stylist, Caroline stanbury.
‘I built up a large, loyal clientele
with my styling business, as well as
an awareness of people’s shopping
habits and needs,’ Caroline reveals.
‘and throughout my travelling,
I developed contacts that ranged
from the most exclusive designers to
undiscovered artisans from all over
the world,’ she continues.
‘the idea for gift Library was
born from these factors – knowing
how people want to shop, and
having the knowledge to be able
to find what they want to buy.’
But gift Library is not just an
online service. In addition, Caroline
and her little helpers (16 of them at
the last count) maintain an exclusive
personal shopping service.
‘the site runs as an online
shopping portal offering gifts for
men, women, children, pets and the
home,’ Caroline explains.
‘But behind the scenes, we work
with clients to offer a one-to-one
personal shopping service, sourcing
unusual gifts, out-of-stock products
and creating bespoke items. gift
Library is about finding the perfect
item – and that often means we
have to go that extra mile.’
so what are the most unusual
items that gift Library has sourced?
‘Well, we do have some wealthy
clients who request some quite
extravagant items,’ Caroline tells us.
‘I once had to find a miniature
sports car for a boy to match his
father’s real one – and that cost
£40,000. another client asked for
a pinball machine with their image
inside, so the balls were flying all
around them. that was £30,000.
‘then there was the bespoke
Monopoly game that we created
for a customer. We made the
properties on the board to match
his houses, and the money had his
face on it. even the pieces were his
cars and his things – it was wholly
personal to him and totally unique.
It took a lot of work and it cost
£20,000 in total.’
Caroline’s clientele come to gift
Library because they know they will
find something exceptional. It’s not
about the cost, it’s about finding
something distinctive and different.
‘although gift Library looks
luxurious, it’s not about the amount
you might spend. the point of
my company is that it is accessible
luxury – everybody can afford
something on the site. It is about
the presentation and the thought
behind the gift, not the money.’
Shopping assistant
This year, let Caroline Stanbury soak up all your seasonal stress
l
For any personal shopping enquiries
email
or call Caroline’s team on 020 3080 0530
Above: a
Stevenson
Brothers
bespoke
rocking horse,
£3,600
Right: a pair of
William Sharp
Swarovski
and cashmere
crown slippers,
£195
Below right:
a Döttling
Bel-Air
customisable
safe, exclusive
to Gift Library,
£107,500
personal shopper
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