For many, a passion for their business began at an early age. Irma Niekum is no exception. Her love of dolls began in elementary school in Indonesia. Her mom and aunt introduced her to the world of colors and creativity. They frequently made her wonderful dresses, bags and cute dolls. Their creations have inspired her to learn to sew and to draw, which eventually led to her making dolls for friends, teachers and the school bazaar. 

While in college, she combined her knack for business with her love of crafts by selling dolls and gift baskets with a friend. However, her studies took precedence over her company and she put the business on the back burner. This, however, was only a temporary rest for the business.  Irma moved to the US in 2001 to pursue her graduate studies. To help cure her homesickness, she occupied her time with her crafts.  She once again began making dolls for friends and Gifts Define was reborn.

Irma’s strong belief that special occasions deserve a unique gift fueled her desire to create ways to present personalized gifts for any occasion. Items that are personalized are more special and carry more meaning than a gift that is mass produced and average. Irma’s joy is found in designing each doll by creating them as unique, special and functional.  Using her computer skills, she brought her creations to market via her website at www.giftsdefine.com.

The Gifts Define team consists of Irma’s seamstress extraordinaire mother and recently works with local craft women in Indonesia to assist in creating the pieces. The marketing and final design aspects of the business reside with Irma in the United States, where she lives with her husband and mini schnauzer.  Gifts Define donates a portion of its profits to 'Suara Karya' (Voice of Art), an organization Irma recently founded in the West Java province of her native Indonesia.  The organization allocates these donations to low income women seeking better education and health care.