GREENSBORO, N.C. — For Xavier and Brooke Carrington, wrapping Christmas gifts isn’t just done in December, but 365 days of the year.
“We print out our own postage from home,” Brooke said.
“We store all our own inventory at home as well. We work together to ship these packages.”
The couple owns Wrapper’s Delight.
Wrapper’s Delight is an online holiday stationery company with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
The two created their own brand of Black Santa wrapping paper in June of 2020 after the idea came to Brooke in a dream.
“Sales immediately took off,” Brooke said.
“We ordered a thousand rolls. Five hundred in the red design of Black Santa and Mrs. Claus and 500 in the green and at the end of the season we were left with just 100 rolls. So, I consider that a huge success!”
The main logo depicts an African American Mr. and Mrs. Claus in a warm embrace.
Xavier, a visual art and graphic design professor at North Carolina A&T State University, is the master behind the design.
“I’ve been in the graphic design business for over 20 years,” Xavier explained.
“I’m also a local muralist, visual artist here in Greensboro, North Carolina. Also, I’m a local tattoo artist, so I took all my talents and put it into this design.”
This year, the couple has a new wrapping paper depicting a black nutcracker and ballerina.
“You know currently when we go into the store, we have a small little section in the store with a small section with greeting cards. We don’t necessarily see wrapping paper very often,” Brooke said.
“Representation matters and our goal is to fill the gap.”
The couple said showing their children the importance of hard work and creativity has been the biggest gift of all.
“Understanding business at a young age and understanding that their ideas are important,” Xavier said.
“And that they can make them a reality. They don’t have to stay in your head,” Brooke agreed.
The couple has plans to expand beyond Christmas into other major holidays.
Some of their products can be found at Ben’s Boyz in Greensboro.