This holiday season, support fellow Milton Academy community members by browsing our Grads Gift Guide! We’re pleased to share gift ideas offered by Milton entrepreneurs, ranging from food and beverages to apparel and services.
Clover Art
Anna Weymouth Nicholas ’89
Hand-painted silk scarves in a variety of sizes, pocket squares, ties, and bow ties. Custom orders are welcome. Flower photographs in all sizes, hand-printed silkscreen prints.
Free Gift Boxing of Hand Painted Silk Scarves for Milton alums! Include a note with your order to let Anna know you are a Milton alum.
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Franconia Basecamp
Jill Brewer ’97
An independent, local, outdoor consignment and retail shop aiming to increase access to the outdoors, reduce our impact on the environment, and give back to our community.
“A labor of love to try and contribute some vibrancy to the main street of our small northern New England town. My partner and I work full-time jobs but have a wonderful staff that is helping us make a go with this shop. Please visit our website and/or swing by if you are in the White Mountains area!”
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Milton Academy Bookstore
While not founded by a Milton entrepreneur, we’d be remiss if we didn’t suggest giving the gift of Milton pride this holiday season! Shop Milton Academy’s Official Bookstore for men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, gifts, and more!
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Art by L.E.
Luisa Botero P ’24
A collection of paper cuts and drawings made into paper cut prints, cards, posters, laptop covers/sleeves, canvas bags, and other gift formats. The artist, Luisa Botero-Schwartz, was a lower school teacher at Milton Academy for several years in the early 2000s. She is also the wife of alumnus Lawrence Schwartz ’90 and parent of current student Jacob Schwartz ’24.
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Lily Johannsen Designs
Elizabeth “Lily” Johannsen ’99
Lily Johannsen of Lily Johannsen Designs creates custom, handmade jewelry, focusing on classic modern designs. Her work consists mostly of sterling silver, yellow gold, and rose gold, and often incorporates gemstones for accent and shine. Each piece is personally handcrafted with close attention to detail and balance, showcasing Lily’s signature mark of clean lines, geometric shapes, and repeating patterns.
After a career in interior design, Lily discovered silversmithing and enrolled in the North Bennet Street School’s two-year Jewelry Making & Repair program, graduating in 2010. Lily now spends her time in her Gloucester, Massachusetts, studio designing and fabricating custom jewelry.
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StickTogether
Sylvia Stein ’75
StickTogether Sticker Poster – Paint-by-numbers but with ‘pixel stickers,’ the image starts as a mystery and builds as everyone ‘sticks together.’ Engages all ages and abilities. Great for large gatherings. Also very popular in schools and libraries, so make your child’s teacher/librarian’s day by sending one to school. Just remember to hide the cover. Our Sticker Posters are more fun when you keep them guessing.
Use CODE MA23 at checkout. 15% off Individual Sticker Posters, excluding those on sale already and Eric Carle Images.
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Puzzle Face™
Sylvia Stein ’75
With Puzzle Face, one single set of 300 puzzle pieces can be assembled and reassembled again and again to make any face—your face, your friend’s face, and then a famous face from history! It’s as easy as scanning a QR code, taking a photo, or uploading a portrait, and then saving an image key that tells you which of the coded pieces goes where, and in which orientation. Then take it apart, and generate a new image key to assemble another Puzzle Face. 300 Pieces. Billions of Possibilities. Infinite Fun. Assembling Puzzle Faces is fun solo and as a group. Ages 8+
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Curio Spice Co.
Claire Cheney ’02
Curio Spice Co. is an independent company on a mission to improve the livelihoods of spice farmers by sourcing directly from small, sustainable farms and to inspire culinary creativity by crafting blends that celebrate unique flavors from around the world. Visit us online or in-person to explore our handmade products and learn with us through our classes and recipes. We offer gift sets, bulk, drink mixes, teas, tools, and books. We also offer classes, both in person and virtual.
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DeLuca’s Market
Caroline G. Aiello ’98
Victoria Aiello ’08
Our background is as an Italian specialty grocery store that preserves the Old World sensibility. DeLuca’s aims to be a place where we recognize your face and know your name, and there’s a sense of community. DeLuca’s is a community-driven market, with our “soul” purpose being to offer our community neighbors, team members, and visitors of Beacon Hill the best possible experience.
Milton Academy alumni who tell the cashier they’re from Milton will receive a free DeLuca’s Market tote bag.
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Mei Mei Dumplings
Irene Li ’08
Farm-Focused. Woman-Owned.
“We’re a dumpling business that strives to be a good company in every sense of the word. That’s why we source our ingredients carefully and put our community at the center of everything we do. Find our dumplings at farmer’s market locations throughout Massachusetts and at our new dumpling factory & cafe in South Boston!”
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the knack
Van Haidas ’97
Michael Haidas ’98
Brothers Michael Haidas ’98 and Van Haidas ’97 co-created, co-own, and manage the knack’s two locations on Cape Cod. Both brothers are Forbes House alums who took drastic career turns to create the knack a decade ago. “We created the knack to share the food we grew up with, the food that hits the spot after a day at the beach, the food that defines summers on Cape Cod. We’ve been offering our scratch-made, fresh, and locally sourced take on Cape classic beach food for nearly a decade and in recent years opened our second location.”
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Anna Weymouth Reiki
Anna Weymouth Nicholas ’89
Anna Weymouth is an intuitive Master Reiki practitioner who focuses on restoring the energy systems in the body to provide a sense of balance that extends across all planes of one’s life—harmonizing one’s physical health as well as one’s mental and emotional well-being. From a place of balance, healing is more accessible, rejuvenation, and restoration possible. Anna first got attuned to Reiki so she could provide pain relief for her beloved cat Oscar who had two forms of cancer. She went on to get her Reiki Master certification, training under Lourdes Gray of the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing in New Hampshire. Anna has always been fascinated with energy work of all kinds and believes in a holistic approach to health care. Reiki works on the body as a whole, clearing blocked energy and balancing the body’s chakra system. When energy flows freely within the body’s energy meridians, health is maintained. Receiving reiki is also a wonderful way to relax, destress, improve sleep, and reduce pain. Anna offers 60 and 90-minute sessions in her office in Norwell, MA.
10% discount off of a 90-Minute Initial Appointment for Milton alumni
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Boston Baby Photos
Jessica “Jess” McDaniel ’93
“I’m Jess McDaniel, and I started Boston Baby Photos 20 years ago so that I could spend my days telling family stories in photographs. I’m thrilled to document you snuggling your newborn at home, your kids giggling at a mini shoot in the Public Garden, your high school senior ready to go off into the world, or your whole family at a lifestyle session.”
If your gift recipient has a baby or children and lives within an hour’s drive of Boston, you could give them a gift certificate for a family photo shoot at home, or perhaps an empowering “Who I Am” Project for your child. Use code MILTON to buy a Who I Am Project gift card for $99 instead of the $175 regular price.
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Cove
Adam Segal ’98
“Since opening the doors of our first neighborhood co-working space in 2013, our vision has always been to create great spaces, provide great service, and use technology to make everything easier. With operations in our DNA, we have built a dynamic platform to connect the physical and digital worlds—turning real estate into a consumer-driven experience that brings people to the forefront. Our mission at Cove is to enable a modernized, tech-enabled experience for real estate. Our team is constantly reimagining what your daily experiences look like in the places you work and live, creating an online and personalized day.”
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Communication Matters Studio
Brenda “Bren” McElroy ’88
Whether you’re a corporate professional who needs practice with presentation skills, a foreign national in need of clearer English pronunciation, an actor seeking to perfect an audition, or your dreams are finally letting you do something about your voice-over career, these are all matters of communication.
C.M. Studio uses the acting techniques of a professionally trained actor and combines them with the skills of a professionally educated learning and development consultant. The combination of these two skill sets gives the participant a unique learning journey beginning with self-awareness and ending with professional poise.
Because communication matters.
Learn more about Bren here.
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DCliff Training
Dennis Clifford ’11
DCliff Training is revolutionizing the personal training experience and is defined by four core values: there is no singular way to achieve abundant health; health and mobility are multi-dimensional and intersectional; there is no cookie cutter plan; and training should evolve with your needs.
The goal of DCliff Training and all of our products is to train ourselves out of business. Unlike traditional trainers and gyms that keep clients dependent enough to always need perpetual training, we believe that you should become your trainer, to live sustainably after mastering DCliff training lessons.
“I left a 6-figure basketball job to start my own business because I believe that I can help people have better, healthier relationships with their bodies. Whether it is with weight loss, chronic pain, or sports performance, I use my years of experience and research to help people break free from their physical and mental burdens.”
Book a consult call through the website. Share your Milton story and get $300 off a package.
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Hawk Lake Lodge
Ted Putnam ’87
“We have created a first-class experience in the Canadian wilderness for people of all ages and skills to enjoy. Private lodging with personal hot tubs, 22 private fishing lakes with some of the best trophy walleye and bass fishing in the world, incredible dining, open bar, wine cellar, sauna, game room, and so much more. Every day, you will get to fish a private lake, the only boat on the water experiencing true remote Canadian wilderness. Come back and enjoy a drink on the deck, meet new friends, have a 6-course gourmet meal, and retreat to your private hot tub on your deck overlooking the lake as you enjoy a nightcap.”
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Quality Quotient Solutions Limited
Prudence W. Tsang ’98
“Our company was founded in 2011 by a group of passionate hospitality professionals. We provide and develop quality and creative solutions for hotels and restaurants in the Asia Pacific region. We share the same ideology—the need to strengthen the gap in standards for the industry as Asia has become a leader in international travel, retail, and hospitality. Our team comprises experienced hospitality professionals with backgrounds in working for 5-star hotels and Michelin-rated restaurants. One of the services we provide includes helping our clients open and manage restaurants in the region.
We also offer consultation services to start a coffee company, selling your own branded beans from Brazil.
Gift a restaurant, a coffee shop, or a franchise to your loved ones today, and we’ll help guide you through the process!”
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Whispertree Retreat Center
Jon Rubenstein ’87
Whispertree (formerly Bell Valley Retreat) is dedicated to the Earth and to supporting today’s transformational change-makers. “We embrace an emerging movement of humans seeking to connect more deeply with themselves, each other, and the more-than-human world in an effort to create a more reverent and regenerative future. We host retreats of all kinds: company off-sites, nonprofit retreats, staff retreats, board retreats, wellness retreats, etc.”
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AdaRose, Inc.
Lygeia M. Ricciardi ’89
AdaRose makes wellbeing and self-care easy and fun through engaging gift experiences that include physical products and digital expert guidance on how to use them. Give an elegant “Spa in a Box” (natural skincare products plus aromatherapy candle and accessories) or “Work Break in a Box” (resistance band, pressure point massage ball, aromatherapy, plus acrylic desk writing board) to show someone you care. Each gift includes unlimited digital access to immersive experiences by experts using the products in the boxes.
Use the code MILTON20% at check out for 20% off of everything.
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Amenities
Michelle Su ’09
Amenities was born from a sister-duo’s shared passion for wellness. Our mission is simple—to support women on their self-care journey by offering thoughtfully designed wellness tools that deliver on their promise.
“My sister and I launched Amenities earlier this year with our flagship product called The Daily. It’s a wellness journal combined with a planner that empowers you to not only set a positive mindset each morning but also turn those good intentions into a daily action plan. It’s the only journal out there today that makes manifesting your dreams an easy, everyday practice, and we’ve been told that it’s like having a therapist and personal assistant all in one!
Our goal is to help our customers discover wellness products to help them live a well-balanced life. In addition to creating our products, we partner with brands we trust to offer our customers a greater selection of goodies to support their self-care journeys. We also love connecting with our community on Instagram and share daily wellness inspiration on our account, @WeAreAmenities!”
We are happy to offer Milton alumni 15% off The Daily journal and the journal gift set. Use code MUSTANGS at checkout.
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Erika Malm Collective
Erika Malm Cooley ’91
Erika Malm Collective’s mission, with a focus on the individual and an eye towards the collective, is both simple and lofty: Heal yourself, heal the world.
“I became a therapist as a result of my healing, which began at Milton! I have been in practice for 20 years. Ten years ago I created a collective of practitioners to work together to provide personalized and innovative care in the service of helping people reconnect with their true selves. This work results in deep personal and collective transformation.”
The gift of therapy is a wonderful offering for yourself or a family member! We offer individual, couples, and family therapy, including couples intensives and retreats.
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