Gift Wrapping
Welcome to my latest passion. Furoshiki– the art of gift wrapping with fabric, an ancient art form resurrected.
The everyday need for gift wrapping follows us doggedly through life. Consider the hours spent each year at holidays. Rushing out to buy endless rolls of paper, ribbon and labels. THEN. Burning through the night cutting, wrapping, taping and labeling. Hard work that often gets ripped to shreds in a frenzy and offloaded into large trash bags. And discarded. I get weary thinking about it.
There IS another way. However, it’s neither quick nor cheap. It’s a great learning experience. I’m in the middle of it and I love it. Dreaming up new prints for this new application ( folding and tying) is dramatically different than creating scarf images. (Youtube has another million). Furoshiki art has to look great when folded. This leads one to brighter images with hard edges and more contrast. Sharp borders are a nice touch. Each wrap is sold with directions on how to tie it.
If you’re tempted…I recommend starting small. Learn to tie a square knot well. This forms the basis for many wraps. The wrapping becomes part of the gift. It’s re-usable! All wraps are square and come in two sizes. Depends on the size of your gift. (I recommend the larger size for one of my scarves.)
Beautiful, re-usable wrappings telegraph the care with which you present your gifts -for a special occasion or to special people in your life. Furoshiki is intentional. It can be tedious to learn and takes practice. In the end, your wrapped gift is extended to include the gift of your time shared with another. What is more precious than time? It can be both satisfying and relaxing as you master the art of wrapping your gifts.
You’ll NEVER wave a magic wand and replace tiring gift wrapping behaviors brought on by holiday wrapping. However, Furoshiki offers you new space to get creative with your time. I find it very satisfying. I haven’t worked up images of the current prints to date but will soon. In the meantime, I’m bringing them out this season! See you soon at show!
