Morristown Woman Launches Online Gift Shop

Got a holiday or special occasion coming up? There's a local option for personalized gifts.  

Morristown's Colleen Sullivan recently launched The Paisley Box, which is a blog and online gift shop offering handcrafted gift baskets for a number of special occasions including birthdays, weddings and births.

"I launched Paisley as a blog in the summer of 2012 as a way to help people find the perfect gift and to share my love of all things DIY (Do-it-Yourself)," said Sullivan, adding that she started the company on June 28. 

"The blog includes an extensive selection of gift guides for all special occasions and covers etiquette topics such as ‘How to Write a Thank You Note’ and ‘Creative Ways to Gift Money.’ As the blog gained popularity and my readership grew, people began asking to buy some of the gifts I was making. So I saw a business opportunity and I decided to go for it."

Paisley offers a selection of gift baskets for baby, birthday and bridal, but "the hope and goal is to expand the line to include baskets for all special occasions.  All of items in the baskets are hand selected, presented in creative containers and shipped wrapped, ready to gift."

On her blog, she offers DIY tips that include creative gift wrapping and recipes to bird feeders, gift baskets and more. Paisley's Mission is to make gifting convenient and enjoyable. 

"I try to keep the theme of the baskets unique and fun," said Sullivan. "I want the gifts to be interesting and eye-catching and for the recipient to be surprised and entertained by the items inside."

• For bridal showers, Paisley offers the ‘Honeymoon Bag,’ which is filled with beach Honeymoon essentials like Mr. & Mrs. beach towels, a sun hat, his and her snorkel sets and ‘Just Married’ flip-flops.
• As a gift for bridesmaids, The ‘Bridesmaid Box’ includes wedding day accessories like a dressy clutch, Swarovski crystal flip-flops and ‘Meet Me At The Alter’ Essie nail color.
• For parents/ grandparents of a new baby, the ‘Bath Bucket’ is a colorful bath caddy filled with a hooded animal bath towel, book and toys.

"It was important to me that the business have a social mission, that the company was giving something back to the community from day one," said Sullivan. 

The Paisley Box partners with a local New Jersey charity called The Birthday Box (www.thebirthdaybox.org), which provides children in need with a birthday cake, party plates, decorations and a small gift on their birthday so that they have the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. 

"The Birthday Box a great program and I’m really pleased to be able to help them pursue their mission."