Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Murray.
Hi Rebekah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been drawn to creating things that make people feel seen and cared for. Before starting Dare Gift Boxes, I spent over a decade as a destination wedding photographer, and later ran a dress company called Virginia Dare Dress Co. Through those years, I learned how much meaning can be carried through something tangible—whether it’s a photograph, a dress, or now, a gift.
Dare Gift Boxes began as a small side idea during that transition. I saw how many people and businesses wanted to express gratitude or connection, but didn’t have the time or resources to do it well. What started as a few boxes on my dining table grew into a full gifting studio where we now help individuals and companies create meaningful moments of connection through thoughtful, beautifully packaged gifts.
My business partner Colleen and I built the company around relationships, quality, and care—values that have shaped every step of the journey. Looking back, it feels like all the creative and business chapters before this one were quietly preparing me for what we do now.
Today we serve both individual and corporate clients nationwide, creating everything from one-off thank-you gifts to large-scale branded programs. We’ve built systems that let companies personalize gifts at scale, but we’ve never lost the personal touch that made those first boxes special.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road! 🙂 But I don’t think it’s supposed to be. Everything we have to work hard for we value more.
Every stage of growth has come with its own set of hurdles. In the early days, we were learning everything as we went—how to source products, ship efficiently, and manage custom requests while still keeping every detail thoughtful. It was a lot of trial and error, a lot of late nights surrounded by packing paper and products.
How to grow is always a bumpy road. There are a million different ways to market a company! And when you have a small budget and a small team, you have to be so selective.
There were also plenty of practical challenges—supply chain delays, packaging shortages, and the constant balancing act of staying creative while running a business that scales.
It takes a lot of time to consistently show up and build a strong reputation. So just a lot of years of work investing in the future we’re hoping for!
We’ve been impressed with Dare Gift Boxes, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Dare Gift Boxes is a gift box company based in Northern Virginia, and we specialize in thoughtful, beautifully packaged gifts for both personal and corporate clients. Our focus is on creating meaningful connections through gifting—helping people and businesses express gratitude, celebrate milestones, or strengthen relationships in a way that feels genuine and memorable.
We’re known for gifts that look as good as they feel. Every box is carefully curated with high-quality, small-batch products, and wrapped with elevated presentation but also the warmth of something personal. What sets us apart is how flexible we are. We work with individual customers ordering one gift, and with companies who need hundreds of fully branded boxes, or automated gifting programs. We ship nationally + internationally.
Our team handles every detail—from sourcing and packaging to handwritten notes and custom branded packaging—so that our clients can focus on the relationship side, not the logistics. We’d like to be “the easy button of gifting,” but what I’m most proud of is that every box still carries a sense of care and personality, no matter the scale.
At its heart, Dare is about connection. Whether it’s one thank-you box or a thousand branded gifts, we want every recipient to feel seen, valued, and appreciated. Relationships matter most, and we want to make it easier for people to invest in theirs.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
As an entrepreneur, I’ve been helped all along the way. I was able to launch the company that became this one thanks to a crowdfunding campaign and a few private financiers who gave loans to help me launch. We’ve had a very supportive customer base who helped carry us through COVID and other rough patches for the business.Today, our families are some of our biggest cheerleaders and helpers. We also have a small team who go above and beyond each day to be loyal and committed to our mission. They really work so hard! We also have some unofficial business mentors who have been generous with their knowledge. And every day, we get orders from people who have been referred to us by some client or another. We also just won the People’s Choice Award for our local Small Business Awards, which meant we got the most votes of any other business. So yes, we are helped daily by so many people!
Pricing:
- Usual range is $20-$200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.daregiftboxes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daregiftboxes.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daregiftboxes.com
