Business & Tech

The Retailer: Wrapping Up Christmas

Paper's still popular, despite what you may have heard, when it comes to holiday greetings and decor.


In a world of e-vites and e-cards, where the postal service is even struggling, how does a greeting card and wrapping paper boutique make it these days?

Just fine, thank you, if you add a little panache to the mix, as Jori Jackman does.

The owner of the Orange Avenue shop has been fielding holiday requests since October, when those who plan ahead start ordering cards – yes, real, physical paper cards – to send to friends and business associates in December.

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And it's not just older people who want them. Some of Jackman's customers this year were women in their 20s, recently married, who had holiday cards made using their wedding photos. 

Her shop also features gifts – two easy and popular stocking stuffers, she said, are flip-flop manicure sets for little girls and sparklers (legal, she promises!).

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But the big business between now and Dec. 24 will be gift wrapping. The wall behind her checkout counter is lined with rolls of decorative paper with ribbons on both sides. By next week she and her employees will use two counters to accommodate all the customers.

Jackman has developed a clean and architectural style – she doesn't lean toward flowing ribbons and curlicues, unless you ask her to – since she began wrapping her siblings' presents with her mother when she was 7 years old. 

And no matter what curveballs people throw her (she has wrapped a skateboard, without a box, and swears the recipient could not have guessed what it was), she's happy to go home and cut more paper and rip off more tape for the non-paying loved ones in her life.

“I enjoy wrapping gifts, even if I've been doing it all day long,” she said.

 

Jackman is one of Coronado Patch's 12 People of Christmas, business people and celebrants whose work and hobbies give them a unique perspective on the holidays. Watch in the coming days as we talk to more people who offer their take on the holidays and advice for how to make it through this busy time.


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