Happy New Year, everyone!

Whew, we made it. We here at Secretly Gifting are feeling rested and re-energized, having spent our holiday breaks looking back on The Year That Was with both gratitude and pride.

Read below for a 2020 recap and a look ahead to what we’re excited about in 2021.

As always, thanks for being along for this wild wide – you’re great company and we couldn’t do it without you.

xoxo Ashley and Candace

January

Secretlygifting.com skipped botox and fillers and went straight for a full-blown facelift. We remain profoundly grateful to Southaus, our incredibly talented design and e-commerce firm, for the tremendous re-brand and website re-launch.
We also attended what would turn out to be our last in-person gifts shows of the year in New York, as well as moved into our new office!
We were honored to be asked to participate in the “Pinterest 100” marketplace at downtown-D.C.’s Eaton hotel.

Mignonne! Gavigan! A highlight of the gift shows for sure.

February

We snagged a few minutes of fame when we went live on NBC’s local affiliate with our favorite Valentine's Day gift picks.
The Gift Vault launched! Debuting our e-commerce site was the result of months of our clients and followers asking where they could purchase all of the treasures we find for our concierge clients. Ask and ye shall receive!

March

Nothing. (I.e.: quarantine hit.)
Wait, no, something! We perfected our banana bread recipes and obsessed over Tiger King like the rest of the deeply bored country.

April

Our Spring Pop-Up pivoted to a virtual format (obv), and despite our disappointment at not being able to hold it in person, it was a terrific success. (Thank you!)
Some of those items are still available to shop at our Gift Vault!

May

We scored a few MORE minutes of fame, this time virtually, when we appeared with Angie Goff on her Oh My Goff show on Fox 5.

June

We had a blast collaborating with entertaining company Social Studies and local boutique Tuckernuck on our Summer Pop-Up. Check out our Instagram, @secretlygifting, for more details, including the gorgeous tablescapes Social Studies put together and outfit highlights courtesy of Tuckernuck.
And hats off to @dan.criswell for such a fab photoshoot!

July

We debuted our own take on 2020’s Hottest Accessory with our first mask collection, in collaboration with Corrado NYC. As part of this launch, we organized a philanthropic “buy a mask, give a mask” partnership with N Street Village, a local charity near and dear to our hearts.
In another “philanthropic” effort, we also launched our kids’ mask chains in an effort to improve the sanity of frazzled parents everywhere.

August

It was a privilege to start selling Homebody products, becoming one of the first U.S. retailers to carry the amazing iridescent bath soaks that would quickly sell out nationwide. Homebody is a Black female-owned company with fans such as, you know, BEYONCE. NBD.

September

Happy birthday Ashley! We snuck away for a fun getaway at the Maryland Eastern Shore’s Inn at Perry Cabin.
We sold masks, masks and more masks, including our fan-favorite “cool girl” two-tone denim number.

October

The rainbow floral Brightly Ever After installation went up outside our headquarters, delighting us (and our neighbors) every single day.
We also debuted our first hybrid Pop-Up, with small-group in-person appointments as well as virtual shopping events. Our HQ’s insides got a transformation along with its outsides, becoming a colorful showroom that featured our various trinkets and treats.

November

Thank you to all who have commented on our gift-wrapping! We’ll just go right ahead and brag that it’s OURS! We had the best time designing our own exclusive holiday wrapping paper this year, which we launched with Lucy Grymes.

December

Our Holiday Pop-Up got a lot but not all of our attention, much of which we saved for our incredible corporate clients, which this year included Pinterest, Viacom and others.
We also helped dozens of longtime individual clients with their holiday gift-lists.
When all was said and done, we wrapped over 1,000 gifts, shipped over 200 boxes, and slept a grand total of negative-19 hours!
And last but far from least, our Instagram followers hit 10K!!! Cheers to organic growth and our extraordinary SG family. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our supporters – especially all of you!
!!!!!!!!!

And Into 2021!!!

Whew again. All this gratitude has made us extra-energized for the future.

We’ve got some exciting things up our sleeves with some new brand partnerships, event series and (hopefully in-person!) shopping parties in the works.

We’re thrilled about continuing to grow our community through Instagram and this newsletter, The Wrap.

Onward and upward!