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The Wooden Effect
Though approximately it constitutes only 5 % of the gift market the wooden gift industry has shown a growth in the market than what it was in the last five years.
Tired of the usual dull plastic and acrylic products? Wooden gifts are the best answer to it. In a world of synthetic products and short lived fashions, wood offers something which is both natural and everlasting. As quoted by Mr.R.K.Goel, owner of Pratham Ideas (a company dealing in wooden Gifts) " The carpenter ask the wood, what I do with you? The wood said think of me as your nature, I'll take care of the rest". The wood indeed takes the shape of your desired wishes and one finds a variety of gift articles made from wood, be it desktop items, to clocks to personal utility items wooden products are slowly growing into the gift market. People not only in the niche class but also the medium class are drawing it's attention to the wooden gifts, be it in festivals or to be given as a corporate gifts.
Today the wooden gift industry constitutes only 5% of the gifts industry but has said to be growing up since what it was five-six years back.
Wood availability? How are wood product made and how can one choose the best quality of wood articles?
Wooden industry are said to mostly purchase huge foreign containers/cartons (made of wood) that come in port as their raw material (wood) as these are durable, longlasting and tough. These are mostly wood from Canada, Switzerland and other European countries. Also one wood which has gain importance today in the wooden gift industry is the sleeper wood which were earlier used in railway sleepers. As the steel sleepers in Indian Railways replaced wood in railway sleepers, the government sold this rugged and sturdy wood as scrap, many manufacturers of wooden industry bought this wood and are said to create beautiful carved and creative figurines and articles from it which can also be used as furniture and home decor products.
It is said that all type of wood are preferred to make wooden gifts but then it depends upon the article made out of it. Though genuine wood lovers prefer wood which have many grains and integrity in it, they say it brings out the natural look of the wood but then again their are people who love the visa versa so it's totally upon the customers desire. Pinewood is softer wood with good texture and so is use to make desktops, wall clocks and such articles, which requires less rigidness. On the contrary some wooden items like personal utility items or home appliances etc needs toughness and so for those tough wood like steam beach, rubber wood, teak wood, borotic etc which are costlier but are sturdy for the product are used which provide the kind of rigidness required and in return are durable too. Like for example a vegetable cutting board requires a lot of sturdiness as it is has to bear the cuts of knife and other such sharp articles so naturally it require a tough sturdy wood which can resists it's impact. Then there are many wooden gifts made from MDF or plywood but then these are not much preferred as the naturalness and style of the wood is lost.
Though the beauty in wooden gifts when handmade and carved shows an uniqueness in itself many wooden gift articles are machine made too and as the gifts come in different shapes and sizes there are cutters used of that shape to give that desired look. These are further given melamine finish for that smooth texture look and which protects the product from water etc thus extending the life of the products. So one feels that it becomes very flexible to make customised gifts in wood. Also with engraving coming into picture individual branding becomes very easy on wood gifts. Then there is this antique look which is seen to step into the market, the wood is purposely dipped into black oil or made to wrought or acid is thrown on it or is burnt to give that old look desired by many.
Market Demand and Accessibility
Mr.Deepak. Lulla - owner of Advents Gifts ( a company manufacturing gifts and business giveaways exclusively in wood) is of the view that no matter how much durable or eye catching a product is, in wooden gift industry it's acceptability is limited to that season only, people are looking for innovative products and want something new every time they want to gift be it in consumer market or in corporate gifting market.
Plastics and acrylic are outdated and more over one requires to make bulk orders for it only then the gift manufacturer prefers to customise it. Whereas it is not the case in the wooden gift market as you can go in for small quanties like two pieces too and gifts can be easily be customised as per the client's requirement as most of time they are made to order. These wooden articles are seen to be mostly produced in Indian states like Rajesthan, Maharashtra, Mysore, Andra Pradesh, Assam etc and from there they are brought to the metro cities where their demand is more. Though due to environmental issue the spirit to buy is dampening slowly. But many manufacturers are of the opinion that if the government restrict the use of wooden furniture and if wooden gifts are encouraged then it's market will not show the downfall and then the market may boom. Also the environment will be protected to an extent as it takes 10 - 20 times the amount of wood to make one furniture in comparison to the gift article made of wood.
This gift season innovative wooden products are seen in today's market, varieties are many from the new trend taken out in the market i.e the Kundan works on wood to wooden diyas and many gift sets like golf set or Diwali special set, clocks, picture frames, wooden candle stands, desktop accessories, Wooden Keepsake Boxes and Wooden Treasure Chests etc. Even in the advertising market many malls are seen with a display of wooden display stands which attract public attention in the mall.
Although majority of personal utility items, frames and clocks in wood rule the market. Wooden gifts is here to stay in different shapes and designs and that is what is shows as from the last two years it's market has said to be growing gradually. Not only it's local market but it's exports are also said to be growing slowly. It's export market is said to be about 10 to 15% roughly of it's turnover.
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