Our brief is the same from year to year: package and deliver a pound of chocolate to 500 friends and clients, make it relevant, start in October, and have it in hands the week before Christmas. It’s a highly open-ended project with a high-pressure timeline, so the discussions are very high energy. The design team mines popular trends, sub cultures and counter cultures to find the perfect odd-but-accessible themes and inspiration, and this year magic and fortune telling proved a common thread throughout our favorite finds. What developed was Boissons de Madame Babineaux, a year-end pop culture cleansing dipped in the mystique of the French Quarter’s darker corners. With the help of this kit, recipients can relax with a mug of hot chocolate elixir, reflect on 12 amusing scourges that were visited upon us in 2013, and personally conjure a unique message from beyond to reveal what 2014 holds in store for them.