‘95 Gift Guide Engraved Gifts: Make Your Mark
Holiday greeting cards have a life expectancy of less than a fortnight. Fruitcakes have been known to hang around for a couple of years.
But if you want a gift that will last generations, you’re talking solid rock. And for $80, Ron Bohman at Genesis Granite (326-7013) will engrave that special stone with words, numbers, an emblem or logo … anything he can scan into his computer.
Bohman prefers to work with rock no bigger than 2 feet by 3 feet across, so he can heat it before engraving. But he can handle larger stones, too, and for $125 will come to your yard or garden to inscribe a message. He’ll even track down an appropriate rock, if necessary.
If you’re in a hurry, Joel in downtown Spokane (624-2354) carries smaller stones already engraved, priced at $25 to $74.
Watches and rings are traditional candidates for engraving. But Michael Bowman, manager of Things Remembered (482-0778), says there’s almost no limit to the metal items onto which he can stamp a name or message.
Golf clubs, hand tools, knives, money clips and clocks are just a few of the gifts people have brought into the NorthTown shop for same-day engraving.
The cost is $5 or 10 percent of the item’s replacement value - whichever’s greater - plus 50 cents a letter after the first four letters.
Kathi Meyer at The Quilting Bee (928-6037) will machine-sew names, birthdays, poems, even family stories onto a piece of fabric, which then can be incorporated into a quilt, comforter or garment. She charges $5 to $25, depending on the number of words.
Jennifer Salmi, owner of Galaxy Gallery and Design Center (second floor in the Liberty Building, Main and Washington), turns ordinary wooden furniture into unique artistic statements.
Whether you prefer English ivy, folk art or wild, whimsical creatures dancing beneath a celestial canopy, Salmi will paint to your specification.
The cost is $75 to $150, depending on the intricacy of your request. You provide the furniture, and Salmi (838-6693) does the rest.
Just down the hall from Galaxy Gallery is Paper Garden (838-0485), a new shop specializing in cards, stationery, pens, wrapping paper and book-related gifts.
But manager Lori Bertis also invites customers to create their own custom cards or gift bags for just $1.50 to $3. She provides the basic materials, including assorted papers, stamps, markers, glitter and glue. You add the inspiration and labor. No appointment is necessary.
Pinstriping artist Ken Fuher (922-2040) will paint your child’s name on his or her new bike, or “Drowning in Debt” on the back of your sloop. Past commissions include re-creating antique scroll on an old safe.
Prices start at $10, and go all the way to $150 for a complete pinstriping treatment. Allow 10 days for most requests.
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