Madison Banegas tucks her 1-year-old daughter into her crib for an afternoon nap, then tiptoes downstairs to a wonderland of crinkle paper, beautiful gift boxes, and treasures from Birmingham’s independent shops and artisans. At her worktable, she carefully nestles a ceramic wineglass by Civil Stoneware, two sea salt caramel chocolate truffles from Christo’s Confections, and a red wine tea towel by Amanda Klein into each box. The theme is “Chocovin,” and the occasion is a corporate thank-you, one of hundreds of thoughtful gestures taking shape in her basement workshop.
For Madison, Byndel is the expression of a dream her father planted years ago. “He raised my siblings and me to think like entrepreneurs,” she says. “He wanted us to be able to build businesses of our own while still having the freedom to raise families.”
Born and raised in Birmingham, Madison has turned her lifelong love for the city into a business that celebrates its creative community. With a second daughter due in January 2027, she runs Byndel alongside her husband, Rigo, who coordinates ministry efforts for an organization serving vulnerable children in Honduras. When he’s home, his flexible schedule allows the couple to work together while raising their growing family.
Byndel grew out of the boutique grocery delivery service Madison started more than a decade ago. Through that business, she developed relationships with local farmers and artisans and began imagining a new way to share their work. A Christmas gift-box experiment led her to launch Byndel in 2018. Corporate orders soon followed. Today, companies work with Madison to dream up custom boxes for employees and clients, choosing locally made gifts that suit the occasion.
Each month, Byndel fills hundreds of gift boxes with finds from Birmingham businesses and a few other Alabama favorites. Madison might include chocolates from Chocolatá, a candle from Village Apothecary, or a commissioned ceramic piece from Civil Stoneware. She loves imagining the delight of the person opening a box, but she finds equal joy in sharing a large order with the small business owners who help fill it.
“One of the best parts of my job is getting a larger order and calling a local business owner to say, ‘I need 1,400 candles,’ or ‘I need 1,400 cookies,’” she says. “It makes my day to get the order, and then it’s so much fun to get to make someone else’s day too!”
For the Christmas season, Madison is drawing inspiration from classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and The Nutcracker, along with the bright, whimsical world of the 2018 film The Grinch. Each theme gives her a fresh canvas for pairing Birmingham-made treats and treasures, presented in beautiful boxes and often finished with personalized notes.
“To receive a tangible gift can make such an impact on a person. It means someone took the time to notice what you did for them and wanted you to know how much they appreciated it,” Madison says. “That’s always been the heart of all of this.”
To explore Byndel’s gift collections, visit byndel.com or follow @byndel on Instagram.