I became a mom and fell in love with tea towels.
Not that I never liked tea towels, but somehow I became more drawn to them after the birth of my first child. A bit unusual? Maybe, but as I think about it more, I understand why.
The conclusion I arrived at highlights the reason tea towels as client gifts make great, unique options for any business. Here’s what came to mind:
Motherhood changed the way I viewed our house; and more than anything, I wanted it to feel like a home. Warmth, character, charm, and beauty were words that surfaced whenever I thought of ‘home’ aesthetically. Little details that add interest. Items that pique curiosity and invite conversation. And as I shopped for our home, tea towels always seemed to capture my attention for the same reasons.
Those sentiments around home ring true for gifting as well. And tea towels are perfect for the task. They’re charming elements that offer assured ease, warmth, friendliness, and can spark dialogue.
Here are five ways to gift tea towels to your clients (and some of my favorite places to buy them).
gifting tea towels: idea 1
Spill The Tea
A little cheeky and cute but I love this idea for client referral gifts. Paired with tea, honey, or anything sweet, a tea towel adds a lovely visual element that brings the point home: “You spilled the tea about our business! You’re so sweet—thank you for referring us!”
Have the tea towel monogrammed or embroidered with a favorite quote. You can also personalize the tea towel by creating a pattern using your brand icon, as long as it makes sense to do so. However, for a more personal touch, avoid adding your logo unless you can add it to the tag.
gifting tea towels: idea 2
On Brand
With so many beautiful tea towels available for purchase (see my list at the end of this post), there’s no shortage of color combinations that fit a client’s brand colors for business-to-business (B2B) gifting, or a customer’s favorite color.
Paired with other gift items noted below, tea towels can add a nice pop of color that’s on brand and makes a gift more delightful. I’ve seen framed tea towels in home offices, and how about adding them to a slim vase for a lovely twist on a floral arrangement.
gifting tea towels: idea 3
Recipe For Success
I thought of this gift idea as an option for post-project engagement with clients; but it’s really cool as an onboarding gift too. If you gift at one of these two milestones in your customer journey, here’s a simple yet meaningful way you can use this tea towel gift idea.
Onboarding: Pair an on-brand tea towel with a personalized “Recipe For Success” card that includes how your client can make the most of their time with you and what they can look forward to. You can also include a ‘market list’ of items that your client needs to complete before getting started.
Offboarding: Pair an on-brand tea towel with a personalized “Recipe For Success” card with your suggestions for future growth or reminders on how to maximize the benefits from the product or service you provided them.
gifting tea towels: idea 4
For A Cause
Doing good and offering support will never go out of style. And this gift idea does double duty for you. Support a small business or artist that sells beautiful tea towels (don’t forget my list below), make a donation on behalf of the gift recipient to a local food bank or non-profit organization, and share details about both in a handwritten note that’s slipped into the tea towel.
Here are a few non-profit organizations in Atlanta to consider:
• Backpack Buddies Of Metro Atlanta
gifting tea towels: idea 5
Wrap It Up
Pun intended as I add this last idea :). If you have another gift in mind, you can always use a pretty tea towel to wrap the gift for a nice touch. Again, go with something on brand (the client’s brand colors or your brand colors) or a tea towel in your client’s favorite color(s).
Here are some companies on my list that sell lovely tea towels:
• Geometry
• Gingibar
• Minted
