Around the holidays, cards and paper make the man (or woman). So spend a little extra effort dressing up your gifts and greetings.
Whoever is on the receiving end is bound to notice.
“We live in such a shoot-the-e-mail, grab-the-gift, have-it-wrapped-by-the- store-and-send-it-off time,” laments Jill A. Karber, who manages the boutique at The Perfect Petal in West Highland. “But when you have the entire package wardrobe, it indicates you’ve taken the time to focus on your loved one. ”
These days, the wardrobe might include a fancy art paper, unusual ribbon and a special gift tag or ornament, all chosen to reflect the recipient’s personality.
Jesse Buckley, a salesman at Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, says he’ll wrap his mom’s Christmas gift in a sheet of paper printed with Chinese- and Korean-language characters, because it reflects her Korean heritage.
Doing it means he’ll take a pass on contemporary styles, inspired by life in today’s global village. That includes rich velveted papers from India in gold, red, pink, green, and sheets of paper in bold red, hand printed with golden leaves, and brightly colored Japanese paper with koi swimming across it, and a warm brown paper made in Nepal that he would loop in a length of silk ribbon tie dyed in gold, green and rust.
“It’s not all about the paper,” he says. “It’s also about the ribbon.”
At Paper Talk, on the Old South Pearl Street in Denver, you can find sheets of shiny solid-color paper and select from dozens of fabulous ribbon – polka dots and stripes, rickrack and ribbon that says “fa-la-la” – by the yard. “I like to use three or four types of ribbon. It adds texture and dimension to the package,” owner Debbie Bodian says.
Karber likes initials, covered in silver glitter, to dangle from the top of her packages. Bodian is partial to special gift tags, like letterpress printed mittens that can flutter in pairs from the top of the box.
Bodian says that although actually saying “Merry Christmas” aloud seems back in vogue, her customers are opting for cards that express a little deeper sentiment. “People are liking things that are more personal, a little more warm and intimate.”
Letterpress-printed holiday cards seem to be the hot seller of the moment, something Buckley attributes to buyers wanting to slow down a bit.
“Life is way too modern, especially around Christmas. A card like that kind of slows you down for a second – someone took the time to do this by hand, and used an old-timey technique to do it.
“It feels special to get something that’s unique,” he says.
– Dana Coffield
