We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mareshah Dickens a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mareshah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

As a person who understands the importance and value of gifting giving, I wanted that to be a core tenant of my business. I really believe we are blessed to bless others. As a woman, I know how expensive it can be to get the products that you need to be able to function in society. Over the summer I partnered with three other women-owned businesses (Ritual Wax Studio, Dogwater Grooming and Wisdom Waxing) to host a period product drive to support the girls in our community. In this day and age, it breaks my heart to know how many women and girls have to choose between which necessities they can afford every month. This shouldn’t even be a thing. Every month girls are missing school because they don’t have access to adequate period supplies and schools in our state are not funded or mandated to provide them. That is just totally unacceptable to me, so I decided to do something about it.
We were able to collect more than 8,000 period products in just a month. It was really amazing to see how so many other people felt the same way and to hear the stories that women shared of being in similar situations as girls and young women.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

After retiring from the military in 2021, I wanted to reinvent myself. I had been in the military since I was 19 years old and since that was no longer part of my identity, I needed to figure out who I was without it and what I really wanted to do in this world. I’ve always loved giving gifts — sometimes even more than receiving them. I wanted to do something that I enjoy and have a gift for and allows me to be creative.

I would talk to people about buying gifts for special occasions and learned it is not a fun experience for everyone for a variety of different reasons. I had never even stopped to think the process didn’t bring everyone the same joy and exhilaration that it does for me. And that’s when it hit me, I could do this for people — take away the stress and anxiety for them, free up their time to do other things that actually do bring them joy and make sure the recipient gets a gift that they will actually really love.

And that’s how the Asher Amarise Gifting Co. was born. I didn’t really see anything like this out there on the market, so everything was kind of from scratch. I had a coach who helped me come up with the title of gift curator. I could’ve used something like personal shopper, but the experience is much more than just shopping. It’s finding out who is the person I’m gifting and who is the client who hired me and what are they trying to convey with their gift. I feel like the skills I learned as a journalist really help me to find out who people are.

One of the most fulfilling parts of my work is helping people through bereavement gifts. The sad fact is that while we are on this planet, we will all suffer some kind of loss. But the beautiful part is that we have people in our lives who are there for us during those times. It’s hard to find the right thing to say when there are no words. But when we can give someone a gift that shows we really care and they can look back on that gift for years to come, especially when times get rough because grief is not linear, it is such an honor to be a part of that gifting process.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The thing I love most is when a client comes to me with an idea or a concept of how they want someone to feel when they receive their gift and I can translate that into an actual thing. When I get those texts from clients that the person loves their gift and it was PERFECT, those are the moments I live for. I just love that.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Being in a creative field, it’s hard at times to get people to understand your process. Of course there are skills, research, planning, learning and other quantifiable things that go into finding the perfect gift, but a lot of times what guides me is an inspiration. It can be anything from a song to a scent that guides me on what item or experience will resonate with a particular person. Some of those most random things I learn about the person I’m gifting are the most telling about who they are and what they like and how to shop for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.asheramarise.com
• Instagram: asheramarisegiftingco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AsherAmarise
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mareshahdickens

Image Credits
Jai Hasty