On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about we’re talking about the art of wrapping gifts with my guest Megumi Inouye.
Megumi is a gift-wrapping and packaging artist. Known for her sustainable wrap-ping designs and creative innovations, she encourages repurposing, utilizing everyday things around us, and using organic and recyclable items. She attributes her passion for gift wrapping to her Japanese heritage and the cultural values that underlie the meaning behind the art of giving.
This episode is sponsored by Linda’s.
Where quilting and family come together.
At Linda’s, you’ll find an extensive collection of fabrics in every color and print imaginable, as well as unique notions and embellishments to add that personal touch to your projects. They also carry quilt kits, ready to help you get started on your next masterpiece.
No matter if you are a seasoned quilter or just starting out, come join the family at Linda’s. There, you can stitch the fabric of your lives, one quilt at a time.
We begin this conversation by talking about Megumi’s theory about wrapping gifts beautifully. Her passion for creating a very special, thoughtful presentation of a present really comes through and explains why she has written a whole book on this topic.
Megumi talks about growing up in Los Angeles with parents who were immigrants to the US from Japan. She attended public school where there weren’t many Asian students, and an extra-curricular Japanese school that was run by her father where she was immersed in Japanese language and culture. Megumi recounts a story of her mother, who passed away, annually unwrapping a rewrapping kimonos she’d brought from Japan and how that memory of loving wrapping still influences her today.
We talk about an article in the American Craft Council’s magazine that profiled Megumi and how that lead to an opportunity to take a course on writing a book proposal. That proposal was what led to Megumi working with Storey Publishing on The Soul of Gift Wrapping.
Megumi’s new book is The Soul of Gift Wrapping
And, of course, I ask Megumi to recommend great stuff she’s enjoying right now. Megumi recommends:
Keep up with Megumi on Instagram and on her website.