Ever wondered what it’s like to design Christmas? We spoke to
Julia Berthelemy, who works for International Greetings, to find out who is
behind the festive wrap and sparkle.
Julia Berthelemy, designer and design manager at International Greetings.
“We start Christmas in February and don’t finish it until January.
It’s really all year round for us as we start researching trends for the
following Christmas in February. So next February, we’ll be working on
Christmas 2015.
“We’re at the peak of deg wrapping paper in July. We need to
be in the mood for Christmas in the height of summer.”
Julia explains what her daily work as a designer and a design
manager entails: “My job involves seeing customers and then deg wrapping
paper to suit their requirements. We build a range of Christmas-themed designs
for them and I take them to the buyer and we make any changes to the design. I
also design myself.
“Whatever you do, it’s related to
Christmas and fun. Even if you’re very busy you can look at what you’re making and realise that it’s fun.
Christmas crackers from International Greetings.
“We have a reasonably big team, but it’s a relaxing atmosphere
because of the nature of the work – doing things geared towards greetings and
Christmas keeps everyone smiling.
The time taken on the creative process depends on the complexity
of the project. For wrapping paper, Julia explains, “If it’s ornate or
particularly ‘trendy’ it takes longer than kids’ wrapping paper. Usually it’s
six to nine months from the design to production to the shelves.”
The big trends for this year for gift wrap include chalkboard
wrapping paper.
What happens at Christmas time when you work on Christmas all year
round? Julia says, “When it is finally Christmas, we go all out. We have
started Christmas songs in October in previous years - we’re so desperate to
get there! We put festive lights up and decorate our desks.
Products from the International Greetings range.
“Even though we work on Christmas all year round, we try to make a point
of celebrating. It’s hard to design Christmas when it’s August so we really
need to push the boat out when it’s actually Christmas to keep the feeling
going through the year!”
