Crafting is enjoying tremendous growth at the moment thanks in part to a strong DIY movement. Websites like Etsy have sprung up, fair trade retail is surging, and the green movement is fueling the recycle, repurpose, and reuse trend.

Designer and UK resident, Juliette Goggin, co-author of Junk Genius, is at the forefront of this trend, expertly blending her marketing and crafting skills to create several successful product lines.  And she uses Rossi stationery products for many of her artisan ideas. Here Juliette explains how it all came about:

“I first discovered the amazing range and quality of the Rossi collection at the Top Drawer Show in London. I incorporated some of their beautiful botanical papers in a small selection of soaps for my Juliette at Home gift line, and they quickly became our very best sellers.”

She explains: “Locally made rectangular soaps were first wrapped in glassine paper to protect them. Next I wrapped them in a variety of Rossi paper designs. From a range of six shown at our first trade show, the collection grew rapidly to around 20 and to our delight, the sales kept going up as well. This idea is a simple project which anyone could copy to transform a plain soap into the perfect gift. The hardest part is deciding which paper to choose!”

Juliette claims: “It’s a well known saying that people buy with their eyes, but occasionally the quality of the product disappoints. However with Rossi one discovers that the quality of the papers matches the beauty of the designs, and this lifts any project way above the ordinary.”

Since those early beginnings Juliette has used Rossi papers to wrap many a gift and cover many boxes. “I also included Rossi papers in my craft book “Junk Genius” where they were used to embellish envelopes and decorate gift tags and labels. My latest discovery is the Letterpress collection with which I have only just begun to experiment. I am sure this journey will be as much fun as my very first Rossi experiments, ” she said.

Juliette concludes with these quick tips for wrapping soaps:

“Wrapping soap is just like wrapping a parcel. The important thing is to remember to cut the paper to the right size, so that it wraps around the width of the soap and overlaps at the back, but at the sides there is just enough to make a neat envelope closure. Too much paper will mean that the corners won’t be sharp and the soap will have a bulky look.”

“I always prefer to use opaque scotch type tape rather than clear sticky tape as it’s virtually invisible and looks so much more professional. Before wrapping with decorative paper, it’s a good idea to use baking parchment first, or other barrier type paper to prevent the soap discolouring the wrap.”

For more information about Juliette Goggin and her product line, please visit: http://www.juliettegoggin.co.uk/

For more information about Rossi1931, please visit http://rossi1931.com/