A basketful of dollars: acquisition of two specialty shops turns profitable for gift basket maker.Some people say "thank you" with flowers. But Jill Patton has found a better way--with gift baskets A gift basket, or fruit basket is typically a gift that is delivered to the recipient at their home or workplace. There are different varieties of gift baskets, some which have fruit only, some with dry/canned goods only (such as tea, crackers and jam) although the standard . After acquiring separate specialty shops in 1992 and 1995, Patton combined the two to form a mail order business, Essentially Chocolate and the Basket Gallery. The company specializes in gourmet gift baskets full of fine imported chocolates, cheeses, smoked Pacific salmon, crackers, coffees, cookies and fresh fruit. Waterman pens The Waterman pen company is a major manufacturer of fountain pens. Established in 1883 in New York City by Lewis Edson Waterman, it is one of the few first-generation fountain pen companies that survives to this day, under the guise of Waterman S.A. and fine crystal such as Waterford and Mikasa are also sold. Clients, including the Marriott Corp., Hilton Hotels
Gift basket making was a hobby A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. Origin of term A hobby-horse was a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like the real hobby. From this came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favourite pastime", and in turn, Patton, 31, enjoyed while working as a computer consultant in real estate. But she soon realized she could turn her passion into a profitable full-time venture. "I went out and got industry trade publications, and found out the gift basket market totaled nearly $800 million in sales with food baskets  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. leading the way," she says. Initially, Patton made the baskets and sold them to family members and friends. In 1992, she noticed a Washington Post ad for the sale of a company called the Basket Gallery in Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda is an urbanized, but unincorporated, area in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, just Northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a church located there, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church, built in 1820 and rebuilt in 1850, which in turn took its name from . The previous owners wanted to bail out because sales did not meet their expectations. At the time, the company was earning about $5,000-$6,000 a month. Patton purchased the business for $12,000. She borrowed $5,000 from credit cards to buy inventory and to advertise. The majority of the sales were generated over the phone, so in 1994, Patton transformed the shop into a mail order business. "Most of our customers didn't have time to shop and found it more convenient to call and place the order rather than come in and pick up the gift," she says. In 1995, Patton purchased the second business, Essentially Chocolate, with a $40,000 loan from the Small Business Administration. She merged the two operations and moved to a 3,000-sq.-ft. office and warehouse in Rockville, Maryland Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. According to the 2006 census update, the city had a total population of 59,114, making it the second largest city in Maryland. , that same year. With the help of an extensive advertising campaign, including a 12-page brochure cataloguing the company's 42 products, Patton anticipates increasing her revenues to $5 million over the next five years. |
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