Also this issue: Holiday Gift Guide -Debra Auspitz Shiny & New -Nancy Armstrong, Debra Auspitz, Deborah Bolling, Daniel Brook, Juliet Fletcher, Lori Hill, Frank Lewis, Ted Mann, Patrick Rapa and David Warner Birthday Presents The gift-giving big leagues are on display at the Art Museum. -Debra Auspitz Home on the Range Discs for Your List DVDs that won't disappoint. -Sam Adams Box It Up Why buy one cd when you can have a whole set? -A.D. Amorosi, Nate Chinen, Jesse Delaney and Patrick Rapa Get Game Five picks for video game gift-giving. -Frank Lewis and Chris Newborg Technically Speaking -Ted Mann, Chris Newborg and Patrick Rapa

November 21-27, 2002

cover story

Wrappers Delight

It's all about the presentation.

by Juliet Fletcher

Before you start chasing an as-yet-undiscovered perfect gift, bear this in mind: Its not always whats inside that counts.

In many cultures, most notably in Japan, the success of a gift is customarily dictated by the beauty of its packaging: Wrap the smallest trinket in dashing card, artfully adorned with ribbon or fresh flowers, and you're set. Nearer to home, perhaps it's our constant fascination with surface that has transformed the suspense of gift-giving into an art form.

Before you embark on a safari after paper tigers, listen to a field guide: Lisa Heller, paper buyer for Blue Tulip, a speciality paper and gift company whose Paoli store opens this month, enthuses about the quality of handmade paper while pointing out the obvious: "You can pick up a sheet of wonderfully textured Japanese wrap for three dollars, or settle for a roll of commercially printed stuff that costs four."

Blue Tulip currently stocks reams of papers from around the globe, from heavy-duty printing stock from Germany to delicate sheets from India, made from recycled cotton threads, woven with marigolds or iris. This crafted process, says Heller, was a genuine innovation: "It provides jobs for many women who can learn the skills, as well as dealing with the enormous surplus of cotton from the country's industry." All of which proves that the craft of making paper isn't just about "wasting trees."

"Nowadays, people notice the care put into the craft: It creates, we hope, a personal connection."

While Heller, an artist who has spent 11 years in the paper trade, has branched out into book-making and invitation design, she still observes that paper doesn't have to be written on. "It's a unique product, and can attain a level of artistry when it's used creatively." So, as the sprint to the holiday finish-line begins, make time for a paper chase.

Blue Tulip, Paoli Shopping Center, 19 Leopard Rd., Paoli, 610-407-2880.