The gift basket that started it all... About six years ago, our president, Jennifer Scott, sought to buy a gift basket for her sister's graduation.  She wanted the basket to be unique and filled with items that her sister enjoys, but there were no gift basket companies that offered substitutions or custom baskets.  They only offered pre-made baskets that allowed no substitutions or room for creativity.  After numerous unsuccessful phone calls with the gift basket businesses, Jennifer decided that the only way to get a custom basket was to make it herself.   Her sister loved the basket so much that she suggested that Jennifer enter the gift basket business.  Here is where the wheels started turning.  Shortly afterward, Jennifer's son fell ill and needed frequent trips to the hospital.  Because she began taking so much time off from work to tend to her son, she grew fearful that she would not be able to work while her son was sick.  Her best option at that point was to work from home.  She remembered how much her sister loved her custom-made gift basket.  She remembered how people paid her as a child to wrap and decorate their gifts for them.  With this inspiration, she decided to start her own gift basket business. This is where Jasmine and Ivy was born.

New Opportunities... For its first two years of business, Jasmine and Ivy was exclusively out of Jennifer's house and was mainly used for corporate and personal gifts.  In order to expand the business and stay on top of developments, Jennifer began to attend gift basket shows and conventions.  There she learned of all sorts of supplies, products and techniques to create the unique and exciting baskets that we still sell today. For the 2005-2006 school year, Jasmine and Ivy began selling gifts wholesale to the University of Rhode Island and its students.  By the end of that school year, the university's administration was so pleased with Jennifer's business that they offered her a partnership.  With this partnership came space for a retail store in the university's student union.  Their main condition for this partnership was that Jasmine and Ivy provide a convenience for students and their parents.  Parents could now order a gift basket and have it delivered directly to their students' dorms.  Students could stop by the shop after class to pick up a gift.  To this day, Jasmine and Ivy thrives on facilitating the creation and delivery of a variety of gifts for anyone and any occasion.

Nowadays... Less than a year ago, in October 2007, the shop was moved entirely out of Jennifer's house and brought to a second new shop at the South County Commons in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.  Complete with both an office and a work studio, the new location offers a large and bright space for the storage and design of all our products.  Sales could now be handled at both the studio and the retail store.  Orders could be taken from the URI shop and then transferred easily to the South County Commons.  Since Jennifer cannot be in two places at once, she has hired a full line of staff to help her out.  For the school year, our staff consists of four girls that all attend the University of Rhode Island.  During busy times such as Valentine's Day, our staff expands to up to twelve employees.  Each of our staff is responsible for and fully capable of running the retail store, taking orders and designing custom gift baskets to be sold or delivered.