The ‘ART’ of gift wrapping with Alton DuLaney

After winning the Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper competition back in 2008, UH Katherine G. McGovern College of the Arts graduate student Alton DuLaney has become the

#worldsmostfamousgiftwrapartist.

DuLaney, a part of the Interdisciplinary Practices and Emerging Forms program, MFA candidate and teaching fellow, entered the competition after the paper craft company he was working for at the time encouraged him to. He won, and that same day he was flown out to Los Angeles to be on a talk show. Since then, DuLaney (whose artwork is centered around the word “ART” as a motif) has made numerous media appearances to show off his gift wrapping skills on shows such as the Rachel Ray Show and the CBS Sunday Morning Show.

When deciding how to wrap a gift, DuLaney’s mantra is to “put the present in presentation.” He believes in the power of adding custom touches to gifts, such as ornaments in place of a bow, a bookmark to go along with a book and creating customized gift wrapping to really create a cohesive theme for a gift.

Down below is a listed step-by-step guide for wrapping the perfect “traditional” Christmas gift.

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Next, Dulaney will show you how he likes to wrap books, by adding personal, decorative touches such as bookmarks to go along with the gift.

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Finally, here is a step-by-step guide on how to wrap a tubular gift, such as a poster. DuLaney suggests keeping it simple, and keeping the wrapping technique very similar to the way that the wrapping paper already is on the roll.

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