Corporate gifting has a well-known problem: almost everyone receives the same thing. A notebook, a tumbler, a branded backpack. It’s appreciated, used for two weeks, and ends up in a drawer.
Craftsmanship works differently, and not just because it’s prettier. It works because it comes with a story the person can retell. Here’s how to plan it properly.
What a company gains by gifting craftsmanship
Real differentiation. If the gift is hand-woven, nobody else in your industry handed out the same thing that year. That’s mathematically impossible.
A coherent message. For a company with a sustainability or local-impact story, an object made of natural fiber by Colombian artisans says what the annual report says — in 30 seconds, in someone’s hands.
A long useful life. A placemat or a bag stays in the recipient’s home for years. A branded tumbler lasts until the first dent.
Traceability worth telling. You can say where it came from, who wove it and how long it took. That’s content for your internal communications, not just a giveaway.
First things first: lead times
This is where most corporate orders go wrong, so it comes first.
A corporate order cannot be solved in a week. Every piece is hand-woven at the weaver’s home, and a volume of 30, 50 or 100 units is distributed among several people. Production is real, not a warehouse dispatch.
As a minimum reference:
| Order type | Recommended lead time |
|---|---|
| In-stock pieces, small volume | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Mid volume, single model and color | 3 to 4 weeks |
| High volume, or custom color/design | Ask — depends on volume and piece |
Holiday season: if the gift is for year-end, the conversation starts in September or October, not November. It’s the busiest time of year for the same pairs of hands.
Exact timelines are confirmed per order, since they depend on the model, the volume and fiber availability in the requested color.
Which pieces work best at each volume
High volume, contained per-unit budget Small, quick-weave pieces: napkin rings and smaller accessories. They’re produced in parallel and carry the lowest unit cost in the line.
Mid volume, a gift with more weight Table placemats in sets of two or four. It’s the gift most genuinely used at home, and the best ratio of cost to perceived value.
Low volume, executive-level gift A woven bag or a piece from the featured collection. These represent days of work, and they’re right when the gesture has to be unmistakable.
Customization: what’s possible and what isn’t
It’s worth being clear about the material’s limits.
Possible:
- Choosing fiber color from the available palette — including your brand colors, if they exist as dyes
- Defining two- or three-color combinations within a single piece
- Adjusting sizes and formats within what the technique allows
- Distinct packaging and a card carrying the company’s message
Not possible (or not advisable):
- Printing or stamping a logo onto the weave — the surface isn’t flat and the result looks poor
- Changing color mid-production: dye goes into the strand before weaving, as explained in how Iraca is dyed
- Requiring absolute uniformity across units: these are handmade pieces and will vary in tone and weave
That last point is worth handling with your internal team before delivery. The variations aren’t a quality defect; they’re proof the gift is genuinely artisanal. It’s worth saying so on the card that accompanies the piece.
What to have ready before asking for a quote
To give you a real number and a real date, we need four things:
- Approximate quantity of units
- Required delivery date (not the event date — the date you need it in hand)
- Destination city or cities
- Per-unit budget range
With that we’ll tell you which pieces fit that range and whether the timeline works. If it doesn’t, we say so up front rather than committing to a date that won’t hold.
A note on where the money goes
When a company places a volume order, it’s distributed among several weavers in Usiacurí and paid as artisanal work, not manufacturing. You can read more about the town and the craft in Usiacurí, the town that weaves Iraca.
For many companies that’s the argument that closes the decision. It seems fair to mention it.
Message us on WhatsApp with quantity, date and approximate budget and we’ll put together a proposal with real options and timelines.
Any questions? We're glad to help.
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