Articles: budget

Several small things given together usually make a better impression than one costlier but random item. There is a single condition: the set needs an idea holding it together, rather than being whatever happened to be left in the store cupboard.

Building a set from small items

Start with the situation in which somebody will use it. Every other decision then follows on its own.

• A shared theme - a desk set, a travel set, a set for a student.
• Three items - usually enough; more starts to look like padding.
• One genuinely useful thing - that is what keeps the set in daily use.
• Consistent branding - the same colour and mark on every piece.
• A simple container - a card box or a paper bag holds it together better than plastic wrap.

Where to save and where not to

Save on the number of items and the size of the order, not on what people see and touch. A crooked print or a pen that refuses to write is remembered far longer than the rest of the set. Fewer items that work properly beat more that do not, and a simple thing made well always looks better than a fancy one made badly.

It is also worth preparing two versions: a smaller one handed out widely at events, and a larger one for selected guests. The base can stay the same, with one extra item and different packaging making the difference. Everything still looks like one family, and you end up ordering fewer separate things at a time.