Farewell Gift for a Colleague: The Figurine That Sticks
Someone on the team is leaving. New job, relocation, end of contract, move abroad. The group fund starts circulating on the team chat, someone suggests a gift card, someone else proposes a framed photo of the whole department, and you end up repeating last year's idea for lack of a better one. There is a far more memorable option: turn one of their photos into a custom 3D figurine, printed in HD resin in our French workshop.
Why it beats a gift card
A gift card is useful, but it is gone in three weeks and nobody remembers who chipped in. A figurine of the actual person stays. It ends up on a shelf or on the new desk, and it tells a story every time a colleague walks past it.
There is also the part most farewell gifts miss: real personalization. This is not a neutral object with a name printed on it. It is their face, detected from the photo you picked, on a character you dress however you want.
Pick an angle: their job, their hobby or the team joke
Three directions work well for a send-off.
Their job. Custom Mode lets you freely describe an outfit that is not in the library while keeping the face from the photo. Scrubs, apron, helmet, field gear: if the role had an unofficial uniform, this is your moment. We break the method down in our article on turning a job into a figurine.
Their hobby. The library holds 15+ human styles, from Football and Tennis to Knight, Mage, Cyberpunk and Super Hero. If the whole floor knows they play rugby on Sundays or never stop talking about tabletop campaigns, the style picks itself.
The team joke. The Chibi render, with its big round head and large eyes, gives the gift a warm and slightly cheeky tone. It is often the right call when the present has to make the whole room laugh during the goodbye drinks.
Two useful habits: keep the silhouette readable instead of piling on props, and do not rely on tiny details. To keep the print reliable, thin glasses, cords and small jewellery are simplified or removed, and very fine fabric patterns are replaced by the outfit of the chosen style.
One figurine per person, always
One rule to know before you open the group fund: each figurine features a single person. One photo, one figurine. No pairs or groups on the same base.
In practice, if two colleagues leave the same month, you order two figurines. If the team wants to stand around the person who is leaving, that means one figurine per person, lined up on the shelf afterwards. It usually looks stronger than a single shared piece, and everyone takes theirs home.
Sizes and budget when the team chips in
Every figurine arrives in raw unpainted resin, ready to display as is or to paint.
| Size | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 54mm | 18€ | gaming format, discreet on a desk |
| 110mm | 31€ | the most popular display size |
| 150mm | 38€ | real presence, clearly a group gift |
| 180mm | 45€ | centrepiece for a big send-off |
Shipping is calculated at checkout, on top of the figurine price. If the fund is generous and you want a piece ready to display with no painting involved, the hand-painted option exists in 150mm (129€) and 180mm (169€), with a classic finish: main tones and contrasts, plus a preview sent before painting starts.
Plan ahead for the farewell drinks
You usually know the leaving date well in advance, so use it. The 2D preview lands in under three minutes, the 3D model is prepared within 24 business hours after your validation, then an unpainted figurine ships within 10 business days. For a hand-painted one, allow 20 to 25 days.
In practice, order two to three weeks before the party for an unpainted figurine, and considerably earlier if you want the painted option. The slowest part is rarely production: it is getting a good photo without spoiling the surprise.
Ready to start the collection?
Pick a sharp photo, agree on the angle with the team and start creating. Create your figurine, from 18€ to 45€ depending on the size. You can compare formats on the Pricing page, see everything our custom figurine can do, or borrow ideas from our article on retirement gifts if you are marking the end of a career.