Inspired by nature and motived by sustainable principles
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I take great pride in the wrapping and presentation of Wren Bags. Each bag is wrapped in it’s own unique way making the receiving of one more exciting.
The Tulip Bag is wrapped in basic brown paper and tied with twine string. The label is made from recycled brown card. Overall, the wrapping for the Tulip Bag is simple and understated…leaving all the ‘wow’ for the bag.
Mother’s Day is a special day for all of us. It is time to say thank you for always being there as a shoulder to cry on and for a hug. Mom’s are simply the greatest – they never judge and are always ready to forgive any mistake. I think that must be the greatest mark of a mom – they always forgive (even if it was the most precious glass vase in the family you accidentally knocked off the mantle when you were three). So…how do you say thank you Mom for being so wonderful?
I’ve been giving this some thought and here’s what I’ve come up with: When you buy a Wren Bag you can request that it be personalized!
This is the perfect gift for your mom. She gets a personally selected and individual Wren bag with a lovely scented lavender pouch embroidered with a special message straight from your heart for her. If you use one of the two messages above (with your own name) it is an extra 4$ and if you create your own message (max 10 words) it is an extra 6$. Also remember that the bags come beautifully wrapped. This is a practical gift with a lot of heart and saves you so much time coming up with a fresh idea for a gift this year. She is sure to love it.
So don’t delay. Head off to my etsy shop to select the bag for your mom and email me the personal message you would like embroidered onto the lavender pouch.
The Japanese approach to wrapping is one that I draw a lot of inspiration from. To the Japanese the wrapping of the gift is an art and often more important than the actual gift itself. The function of wrapping in Japan is to refine the object and to add layers of meaning to the gift in its unwrapped form. In the Western world wrapping is merely to disguise and build anticipation of the gift. It does not add meaning and is often an after-thought to the gift. The Japanese emphasize that it is not the object itself but the act of giving a gift that matters. This ties in with the saying: ‘it’s the thought that counts’ -but how often do we actually put thought into the wrapping and the ‘giving’ of the gift. The receiving is the part emphasized in the modern world.
Not only is the way the Japanese wrap beautiful and interesting but it is sustainable. The art of using fabric squares to wrap packages is called Furoshiki and dates back as far as the Nara period. Furoshiki, made using a variety of cloths such as silk, cotton, rayon etc is regaining popularity in Japan because it is a way to reduce the waste produced by paper and plastic shopping bags. Maureen Shaughnessy’s blog and the Layers Of Meaning blog go into more detail about Furoshiki, it’s meaning, history and how to do it.
Here are some examples how Furoshiki has been applied in a modern context:
9brand has created sleek wrap cases for laptop/notebook computers. The size is adjustable so you can have any size laptop and this ‘wrap’ will fit. I want one of these!
I love this Furoshiki bag.
I also came across a really beautiful Furoshiki exhibition in Tokyo called “Preventing garbage with traditional wrapping”. Under the theme of ‘beauty of wrapping’ and ‘beauty of carrying’ 30 artists and celebrities wrapped what they considered most precious to them. Here are some pictures:
Left to Right: Dog wrapped in Furoshiki designed by Yukimasa Okumura, stylish Furoshiki design by artistic and art director Noriyuki Tanaka to encourage the use of Furoshiki amoungst the young and fashionable people.
My favourite exhibition piece is by Graphic designer Mitsuo Katsui (above). He designed a print that complimented the wrapping structure and the end result is both elegant and beautiful. I am putting this on my list of things to do: design a fabric that compliments the wrapping and gift. However, I think I will let this idea rest for a while as I have had my fair share of origami folding for the month with my simple map-paper-bag (below) project.
