Case Study
Tayfus: a personalized engraved board store grillers actually gift
Tayfus turns wood grill boards, coasters, state maps and photo frames into engraved keepsakes, so the Shopify build had to carry personalization and occasion-driven gifting through every screen.
The brief
Tayfus sells the same physical product (a wooden board) across dozens of emotional contexts: a wedding, a housewarming, a real estate closing, a hunting trip, Christmas. The challenge was not selling a cutting board, it was helping a shopper find the right engraved gift for one specific person and occasion, then trust that personalization will land correctly on a made-to-order item before they pay.
- One board, many intents: the catalog spans Christmas, wedding and anniversary, housewarming, real estate closing, and outdoor and hunting gifts, so navigation had to sort by occasion and recipient, not just product type
- Personalization is the entire value proposition, yet a shopper buying a custom engraving needs reassurance about names, dates and designs before committing to a non-returnable made-to-order piece
- Beyond boards, the range includes coasters, state maps and photo frames that each needed their own merchandising without fragmenting the brand's warm, gift-led story
What I built
Gencer Karakaya built Tayfus as a fully custom Shopify theme organized around gifting rather than SKUs. Collections are cut by occasion (Christmas, wedding and anniversary, housewarming, real estate closing) and by recipient (father, mother, family, outdoor and hunting), with the homepage steering shoppers straight into the moment they are buying for. Product templates surface the personalization inputs and previews up front so the engraving feels concrete before checkout.
- Occasion-first and recipient-first collection architecture in Liquid, so the same board reads as a Christmas gift, a closing gift, or a hunting gift depending on how the shopper arrives
- Custom product templates that put the engraving inputs (names, dates, design choices) and a clear personalization preview at the center of the buying decision for made-to-order items
- Dedicated merchandising for the secondary lines (coasters, state maps, photo frames) so they sell as their own giftable products while staying inside one cohesive theme
- Shopify Markets-ready storefront with multi-currency support and Shop Pay and PayPal at checkout, keeping the lifestyle, gift-centric tone consistent across regions
FAQ
Why organize Tayfus by occasion and recipient instead of by product?
Because almost every Tayfus order is a gift. A shopper is not searching for a cutting board, they are searching for a wedding present or a housewarming gift, so the Shopify collections and homepage entry points are built around those moments rather than product categories.
How does the build handle personalized, made-to-order engraving?
The custom product templates bring the personalization fields and a clear preview of the engraving forward in the layout, so the shopper can confirm names, dates and design choices and feel confident about a non-returnable custom piece before paying.
Does Tayfus sell beyond cutting and grill boards?
Yes. Alongside the wood grill boards, the store carries engraved coasters, state maps and photo frames. Each has its own merchandising within the same custom Shopify theme so the catalog feels broad without losing the cohesive Tayfus brand.