Madovar Vice-President Bilal Madwar lights up when you ask him about the luxury boxes that his family’s company customizes for their clients. “We are not just making boxes--we are making packaging that is perfect for whatever it is holding. There is a specialness to that. It shows whomever is opening it that you are taking care, you are honoring both them and the object you created.”
The Madwar family is the authority on luxury box making in North America. Bilal’s father, Bashar, made ceremonial wooden boxes in his native Syria that were used to display lavish, one-of-a-kind gifts. Intricate and beautiful, these boxes required expert technical skill and artistry. In founding Madovar, the father and son team envisioned creating paper boxes with the same care and craftsmanship. They quickly found their niche. With clients spanning across industries--from beauty to public relations to sports--Madovar is providing businesses with a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted packaging that impeccably presents their products.
Bilal likens the giving and receiving of their custom boxes to the cultivation of deep interpersonal relations that is standard business practice in many cultures. “When you are in other parts of the world and exchanging business cards, the person handing you the card does so with both hands, bowing down to you. That’s because this exchange is an extension of themselves. They’re showing self-respect and mutual respect. The same could be said of our boxes--you’re showcasing your product because you really respect your product, and you respect the people who are buying it. That is the sort of experience we are trying to create and provide.”
It takes a lot of innovation and ingenuity to create this experience. In conceptualizing unique luxury packaging for each client, Madovar applies its patented design process that combines simplicity and style to produce small runs of its specialty boxes. A team of six or more people oversees the process from start to finish, and, throughout that process, they envision the box as the way to elevate the product that it will contain. “Say, for instance, that you are a construction company that is about to unveil a new residential building,” Bilal explains. “And you have a key, and you want that key to be presented in a nice box to your investors. You could just hand them a key, but if you give them a box that has been designed with the project in mind, with a key that fits perfectly inside, they are going to know how incredible the project is.”
This design ethos at Madovar integrates the gravitas of traditional gift giving with the business passion behind a product launch. Bilal enjoys the challenge and reward of designing custom boxes for individual proprietors and corporations alike, and he has a special affinity for working with small and new businesses because “we are building the confidence of these clients in their products.” At the end of every production process, Bilal feels the significance and value that their packaging adds to each client’s brand. “You tell us the story,” Bilal insists, “And we create the perfect way to display all of your hard work and vision.”
- By Daphne Muller -
