Occasions

What people are actually marking when they have one of these made.

• An anniversary gift from all the grandchildren

  Two honorees, one photograph each generation remembers differently. Ask for the picture people have of them together, not the wedding photo everyone has seen.

• A last-minute anniversary gift from the family

  A short timeline removes the group ask, not the piece. One photograph of the two of them and one story is a complete anniversary gift.

• A graduation gift from the whole family

  The graduate has photographs of the day. What they do not have is the four years, which is what the family can actually supply.

• A remembrance piece from all of us

  Ask the family for the photograph rather than choosing one. It is the part people hesitate over and the part that makes the piece theirs rather than yours.

• A milestone birthday gift from all the grandchildren

  Ask each grandchild for one photograph and one sentence, not an open album. The single-photo ask is what gets answered, and it produces better material.

• A last-minute milestone birthday gift from a group

  Under a week, stop asking everyone. Ask the two or three most likely to reply, or make it from what one person already has on their phone.

• A new baby gift from the whole family

  The parents are drowning in photographs of the baby. What is scarce is the generation above, and pictures of them at the same age.

• A retiring teacher's gift from the whole class

  Children write the best lines and lose them fastest. Collect the words the same week you ask, and let parents send the photographs separately.

• A retirement gift from the whole team

  One person ends up organising it and chasing everyone. Ask for one photograph and one line each, with a real deadline attached.

• A last-minute retirement gift from colleagues

  The leaving do is Thursday. Ask four people directly rather than the whole department, and use the roster you already have to pick them.

• A family reunion gift from everyone who was there

  Everyone leaves with different pieces of the same weekend. Collect while the group chat is still live, before it goes quiet.

• A wedding gift from the whole family

  Two families are meeting who mostly have not met. A piece made from both sides is one of the few gifts that says something the day itself does not.