Ask Her Friends

Ever received the worst Christmas present ever from your man? Tired of dropping subtle and none-too-subtle hints which aren’t taken? It may not surprise you to learn that you are not alone. But, finally, there is help at hand – from AskHerFriends, a brand new online gift-giving platform that helps guys finally get it right. 

The idea is simple: guys face two problems, in that they never know what to get (despite those hints!) and even if they do know, they don’t have the confidence to go for it, because they’re worried about their fragile egos and getting it wrong. So time and time again we end up with the same boring and unimaginative presents. 

So AskHerFriends helps with both of those problems. They scour the internet looking for the coolest, most beautiful or most unusual gifts – sometimes these are from big stores but it’s better when they’re from the smallest boutiques that you and I have never heard of. People like Flights of Nancy, with beautiful handbags, or Two Red Trees, a collection of fabulous and original creations, or even Pretty Dandy, a passionate online interiors boutique. Imagine a guy getting you a beautiful gift from a little boutique that you didn’t even know existed?! 

And then comes the second problem – confidence in the choice. And here’s the crux of the site – who else can help a guy out? Well, you could tell him exactly what you want, but where is the romance in that? He could listen to you, but how successful has that been to date? Who does that leave? Your friends, exactly! So a guy creates an ‘Advice List’ of ideas, sends that out to your friends, they vote and voilà, he’s got the confidence to get it just right. 

AskHerFriends stresses, too, that it’s not just about the gift itself – it’s about the whole experience. So there are blog posts from gifting experts on anything to making the perfect gift at home to planning a surprise or buying shoes. There’s also real life stories about the best (and worst!) gifts that other women have received. 

So, where did it all start? Founder, Ben Blomerley, always struggled to get his girlfriend a decent present. Yes, he once bought an ex a worm farm. You read that right. A worm farm. So he started asking his girlfriend’s mum and friends for their advice and they were really helpful. He says “I don’t mind putting a bit of effort in, I do want to get something great, but where do you start?!”. Well, AskHerFriends is definitely a step in the right direction…