Diana Smedley is on a mission to make gifting more meaningful. As the owner and co-founder of Lancaster Gift Box, she has designed an elevated gift giving experience with a focus on shopping small and supporting local makers.
Walking into their new retail location on the 300 Block of N Queen Street in downtown Lancaster feels like entering a locally-made wonderland. A hand-poured candle is burning, filling the space with the scent of Hammond’s Old-Fashioned pretzels. Beautifully-wrapped packages and a wide variety of sweet and savory treats line the walls. From handmade soaps to coffee beans, from fresh cheese to adorable greeting cards—you can find it all at Lancaster Gift Box.
Every item sold by Lancaster Gift Box is made in Pennsylvania, with a focus on Lancaster County. They generally stock items from between 50 to 70 makers at any given time; for many of those makers, this is their first major wholesale account, Smedley shared.
“It takes a lot of effort to curate this many local brands, but, in the end, it’s really worth it for us and for our customers,” Smedley said.
The shop is very much a ‘choose your own adventure.’ You can select an item (or two, or three!) to purchase for yourself. You can also work with their team to design and package a custom gift box for the recipient of your choosing. If you’re looking for a quick present, they have a number of pre-designed gift boxes available, filled with many of their bestsellers. Businesses can even work with Smedley to put a locally-focused, hand-crafted spin on their corporate gifting. Once you’ve selected your goods, you can either leave with the gift box in hand or have their team ship your gift directly to its recipient. Voilà! Thoughtful gift-giving, made simple.
“People are really loving the gift boxes. This is something for people who want to support local brands, but also for businesses who want to support local,” Smedley shared. “For us, the more money that we can spend and support local businesses, the more money that stays in our community, and the better our community can grow together.”
She continued, “Our core value is really that a rising tide lifts all boats. We say that every day, and that’s at the core of our business. We want to support as many small batch food producers as we can, and what’s cool about our boxes is that you can support us by buying a gift box, but then you’re really supporting five to ten makers at a time.”
Smedley—who is originally from Lancaster County and attended Linden Hall School for Girls in Lititz—said that she “fell in love with food” while living in New York City, during and after college. However, even when she was living out of state, her Lancaster roots stayed true.
After earning a degree from the International Culinary Center, she launched her first food brand in 2018, selling low-sugar jams, chutneys, preserves, and pickles made with Lancaster County produce at markets throughout New York City and upstate New York. She met her husband, Gabriel Luber, while working at one of those markets.
When the pandemic hit, the pair decided to move back to Smedley’s hometown. In 2020, they launched a fresh grocery delivery company: Lancaster Local Provisions. From that business, they began to build the network that would eventually turn into Lancaster Gift Box.
“We were connected with like 250 different farms, and we were working with over a hundred regional food producers, not all in Pennsylvania,” Smedley explained. “It was really our mission to re-localize the food system here in Lancaster County and create a community around that.”
From the beginning, they have partnered with Lancaster Farmland Trust, pledging 1-percent of every sale to the trust’s efforts to preserve farmland in Lancaster County, according to Smedley.
“At the same time that we launched, we were going into the holiday season,” she shared. “I said to my husband that we have all of these beautiful, artisan-made food products. Let’s make some gift boxes and let’s see if people want to send gift boxes to their loved ones. They did!”
Using the money they had initially saved for a wedding, the pair instead focused on growing their business, eventually deciding to focus solely on gift boxes. Now, Smedley and her team at Lancaster Gift Box are moving full steam ahead, celebrating the opening of their retail location on the 300 Block of N Queen Street and constantly growing their offerings.
“We’re here to stay, and we’re really here to grow with the community,” Smedley shared. “I cannot wait to have a warehouse full of wonderful local employees making delicious things and tying beautiful bows.”
Lancaster Gift Box
317 N Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603
717-204-5198
