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Norwegian Jule Tre Fra Skogen (“Christmas trees from the forest”) believes that every tree is unique, and shouldn’t be sold anonymously. So, founders Anders and Bartosz trekked into the woods with a camera and took pictures of the trees they liked, and gave them names inspired by their appearance: Kjedelig Tre (boring tree), Jesus Gran (Jesus spruce), Voldsomt Ordinær Gran (Highly ordinary spruce), etc. The snapshots were posted online to let customers find a tree they like the look of. Trees are priced at NOK 300 (USD 54 / EUR 37.50) and reserved by emailing Jule Tre Fra Skogen. Anders and Bartosz then head back into the forest to carefully chop down the selected trees for delivery to Oslo. Customers can pick up their tree at a central meeting point or have it delivered for an extra NOK 100 (USD 18 / EUR 12.50). While your inner Grinch might find the concept overly whimsical, JTFS’s personal touch is entirely in line with a strong consumer trend—the desire for authenticity and story elements. Buyers don’t just like picking a tree with a name, they also enjoy sharing the whole story with friends and family. “The tree? Yeah, we bought it online, from these crazy guys who went out and took pictures of trees and gave them names. We picked this one, and they went back and got it for us.” Start preparing now to set up something similar locally in time for next year’s holiday season. And how about Easter eggs from a personable hen of your choice? Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen