When I was studying for my Masters in London years ago, a really good friend sent me a parcel to the RCA and I was called to come down and collect it from the post room. The box was large wrapped in amazing hand block-printed flowery paper and had been much battered in transit. I was having a particularly hard time with my work at that point - and not alone in that - and so when I lugged the parcel back to my studio, I was quickly surrounded by intrigued friends. The box contained all sorts of things from second hand clothes to Russian sweets in garish floral boxes. All of it wrapped with care and love. The box spread a bit of joy to us all in that studio that day and really brought home the fact that you can spread quite a lot of good feeling via the mail.
That same friend and I met on a German exchange at the age of 14 and since the first day we've written copious letters to one another, always spending inordinate amounts of time creating individual handmade envelopes for one another. For a while I even thought I might set up a stationery business.
Wrapping stuff now seems to take as much consideration and time as the things the paper and ribbon contain. I like that the packaging is fleeting but I've started to wonder whether I ought to keep some sort of record, not because they're all really marvelous, but because they represent a volume of love.
I'm even thinking that come the holidays I might try to update my website again and have a page where you can download wrapping paper designs that I've made. Another good intention…
