GRIFTED!

GRIFTED Gifts for Infants?!

2009-09-29T23:16:00.002+08:00

A good friend recently asked for a gift recommendation for a baby. I have to be honest-- I was a little stumped! All of you fans out there know that GRIFTED has a bit of an edge and shopping for an infant might prove to be a bit challenging. To make this process a little easier, I've listed 5 excellent gift ideas for babies.

I don't think any baby is complete without a set of socialist dolls. Not only will they be fun for years to come but they're educational too. Imagine the laughs our GRIFTED socialist boys will have getting dressed up for a tea party with Barbie and Minnie!
The Dragon Puppet (one of my personal favorites) is great for newborns. The colors and the movement will stimulate brain function to ensure a solid foundation in future psychedelic explorations. (Not recommended for toddlers as they've had a couple of years of being socialized and tend to be terrified of poor Mr. Dragon.)
Every child needs a teddy bear and Baaad Panda would be happy to fill the post. He's the perfect companion and not only is cute and cuddly, but will also guarantee that no one messes with little Tommy Jr.
Our Recycled Kandy Wrapper curtains will add color and charm to any nursery. These bright hangings are handmade from recycled plastic wrappers and will give babies a jump start in being environmentally and socially conscious.
Babies love rattles and our boxes of matches (not available online) make the perfect baby rattle. They're the perfect size to fit right into the palms of those teeny little hands! (Please oh please understand that this a joke... The fact that I even have to say this is a sad reflection of how silly society has become.)

I hope this makes buying GRIFTED gifts for your infant friends a piece of cake! Thanks for reading and please let us know if you have any other ideas or suggestions.

How did you come up with the name "GRIFTED" and what does it mean?

2009-09-19T23:38:00.017+08:00

One of the most common questions I get in interviews and by customers is: How did you come up with the name "GRIFTED" and what does it mean?

(WARNING: UNINTERESTING)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary online, the word "grift" doesn't even exist. (It's also coming up as a typo in this spell check.)

According to the Random House Dictionary however, to "grift" basically means to obtain money falsely through the use of swindles, frauds, dishonest gambling, etc... I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Grifters (one of my favorite movies by the way-- and that's actually just a coincidence!), but it gives you an idea of what it means to grift.

Now because of its actual meaning, I'm always a little reluctant to share this information with people as it can be read in several ways and not always in our favor.

How we actually got the name goes like this:

Originally, the store was going to be called "Gifted", for pretty obvious reasons. We sell gifts. We're gifted. You're gifted. You've been gifted... We're gifted to have created gifted gifts for you the gifted gift giver to gift to your gifted gift receivers (pant! pant!)...But there was a problem with that name. It was just a little too Hallmark-y for us; too Precious-Moments-y, not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's just not what we were trying to express. I think you can tell that from our products. We needed something a little grungier with a little bit more of an edge. We were pressed for time and we couldn't come up with anything we liked better so we decided to start with "Gifted" until we could come up with a more suitable name. We sent the assistant out to make our first batch of business cards, and when they came back, they read "GRIFTED". It felt just right! ("Grifted"... doing business in China.) SO... it was just a typo. No hidden meanings. No fancy word play. And as anti-climactic as this story is, don't say I didn't warn you! I've just been asked so many times that I felt I needed to write it.

: p

5 Creative New Ways to Use GRIFTED's Dolls

2009-09-18T01:57:00.004+08:00

Hi there GRIFTED fans!... if you're like most people and the only use you have for our dolls is to keep you warm at night, here are 5 creative new ways to use GRIFTED's dolls:

Practical Joke: Buy about 20 large Peking Guy dolls and position them in your bathroom after everyone's gone to bed. Then all you have to do is wait for the blood curdling scream you'll hear when your flatmates or loved ones get up in the middle of the night to use the toilet!
Oven Mitts: Ok, so this applies to the puppets and not dolls, but they do make excellent oven mitts! The Peking Guy/Grrrl Puppet set makes the perfect wedding gift if you ask me.
Chess Partner: The Confucius doll is a master chess player, given his wisdom and all. Like all great chess players, be aware that he might take a veeeeerry long time deciding his next move, just be patient... really...
Bicycle Seat Cushion: The Mao doll is the perfect size and shape to fasten to the passenger seat on the back of your bicycle as extra padding. If your friends feel strange about having Mao under their ass, you can pick someone a little more comfortable, maybe the Shanghai Girl?
Stress Control: Keep a pocket full of small dolls and the next time someone annoys or angers you, hurl a doll at them as hard as you can. You'll feel a hell of a lot better! I suggest the Monkey King, just because it would look funny, but a socialist doll would do the trick! Try it...

I hope this is useful. If you have any other suggestions for creative ways of using GRIFTED dolls, please share them with us!