If the birthday is days away, you have two good handmade options: a gift card delivered by email the moment you buy it, or a ready-made piece from the shop that ships within days. Either one can feel every bit as thoughtful as something you planned months ago, as long as you add a little of yourself to it.
The Potter’s Hands Studio makes personalized birthday gifts carved by hand with a name and birth-month flower, and those take 4 to 6 weeks. When you do not have 4 to 6 weeks, here is what to do instead.
Option one: a gift card, sent today
A gift card from the studio is delivered by email the moment you buy it. That makes it the one gift that works even if the birthday is tomorrow morning.
It also solves a second problem. With a gift card, they can browse the shop and pick a ready-made piece, or start their own commission with April Dupuis and have their name and birth flower carved into a mug or cup. You still gave them something handmade. They just get to choose it.
A gift card only feels last-minute if it shows up with nothing around it. A few ways to give it some weight:
- Tell them what you had in mind. Write a note that says, “I wanted to get you a mug with your name and your birth flower carved in it. This is so you can design it yourself.”
- Name their flower. Look up their month on our list of birth month flowers and their meanings and write what it stands for in the card. It shows you thought about them specifically.
- Print it and wrap it. Tuck the printed gift card into a real card with a few dried flowers or a coffee you know they love. Anything they can hold on the day.
- Offer to go together. If they live near Oxford or Hernando, make it a plan instead of a purchase.
Option two: a ready-made piece that ships within days
Everything in the shop is already made, glazed and fired, so it is ready to go. In-stock orders are typically dispatched within 3 to 5 business days, and the studio does not ship on weekends or holidays, so count your days with that in mind.
Every ready-made piece is one of a kind, decorated by April by hand, and the piece in the photo is the exact one you will receive. A few that make easy birthday gifts:
- Bouquet Collection Large Mug, $50. A generously sized stoneware mug with carved florals. The everyday gift that gets used every day.
- Bouquet Collection Stemless Cup, $40. Equally at home with wine, water or coffee, so it suits almost anyone.
- Bouquet Sweet Butterfly Vase, $50. Pair it with a handful of their birth-month flowers from the grocery store and you have two gifts in one.
- Bloom Earrings or Joyful Flower Earrings, $25. Small, light and easy to ship, for the friend who already has every mug she needs.
None of these will have their name on it. What they do have is the same hand-carved, Southern-garden feel as April’s commissioned work, made by a real person in Oxford, Mississippi.
Option three: give an afternoon instead of a thing
For someone near Oxford, a private pottery class can be the most memorable birthday gift of all. You choose a 1-hour or 2-hour session. Everyone gets a lesson, hand-builds a piece, and April glazes and fires it so it is ready to pick up later. All materials, tools and firing are included, and no experience is needed.
Private classes start at $125 for one person for an hour, with pricing for groups on the class page. Birthdays are one of the occasions the studio names for them, along with girls’ nights and church groups.
The best part for a last-minute gift: you can give the class now and enjoy it together later. Put the plan in the card and pick the date with them.
How to never be here again
No judgment. Birthdays sneak up on everybody. But if you would like next year’s gift to be the carved one, here is the timing:
- Personalized pieces take 4 to 6 weeks from order to delivery.
- Each one is thrown, carved and kiln-fired twice, and that part cannot be rushed.
- Order about two months ahead of the birthday to be safe.
Put a reminder on your calendar eight weeks out for the people you care most about. If your mother’s birthday is one of those, we wrote a whole post on handmade birthday gifts for mom.
Questions people ask
Can I send a gift card the same day?
Yes. Gift cards are delivered by email the moment you buy, so you can send one even if the birthday is today. They can use it on a ready-made piece or toward their own personalized commission.
How quickly do ready-made pieces ship?
In-stock orders are typically dispatched within 3 to 5 business days. The studio ships nationwide but does not ship on weekends or holidays.
Can I get a personalized piece in time for a birthday next week?
Personalized pieces take 4 to 6 weeks, so a carved name will not make it in a week. A gift card lets them start their own commission, and you can give it on the day.
Short on time today? Send a gift card or browse the shop for a ready-made piece, and save the carved name for next year.