Our Story
The Story Behind VIP Gifts
Hi everyone,
I'm Sinead the passionate owner & driving force behind VIP GIFTS. My sister Aine is also part of the team, she steps in to support me during our busiest times.
We first started out many many years ago making jewellery, firstly as a hobby making statement pieces for ourselves, friends and family. We soon got addicted and started selling at local craft fairs & hand made markets under the name Wee Gem. This grew to include baby shower gifts, nappy cakes and hampers. We realised our customers loved that our products were unique with many being one-off items. We seen a gap in the market for all things personalised. Who doesn't love a unique gift with their name on it? Especially with more unusual names being very popular. It was difficult to develop this venture while holding down a full time job, however all free hours both evenings and weekends were spent designing, sourcing & making all things personalised.
Then in 2013 after a life changing cancer diagnosis things were put on hold while I underwent surgery & 6 months of treatment. Thankfully I made a full recovery & I am proud to say I am cancer free today.
It was during my recovery that I focused on my business trying to build a loyal customer base in a very tough & fast moving market. Doing something I loved and was passionate about also helped to keep my mind active & positive. I was encouraged by customers making repeat purchases as they wanted something different, unique & handmade. I knew this was my future and VIP GIFTS was born. With a new name, new logo, new ideas and a new lease of life I set about attending local business courses to help me grow my business. I have most recently attended Digg for Success new business program, social media and shopify courses, attending these and meeting other local business owners similar to myself have helped me gain the confidence to set up this website & get my name out there.
Fast forward to 2024 & I am now working part time in retail so have had to scale down the business a little. Spending any spare time & weekends mainly doing Cake toppers, personalised cards for special occasions & lots of Baby gifts & Hampers.
It's a great feeling to receive something that you know has been made especially for you and I love that my customers trust me to create unique gifts for their loved ones. Thank you for choosing VIP GIFTS
With Love
Sinead xxx