Ship your gifts in style with these local artist–designed boxes

The pressure of ensuring packages arrive in time for holiday celebrations and virtual gift exchanges is ever looming, especially when we consider the influx of deliveries that will be taking place in the coming weeks.

This season, Purolator alone anticipates it will pick up and deliver roughly 46 million packages — an increase of nearly 20% from last year.

While we can do our part to shop and ship earlier to ensure gifts make it under the tree, the company has also gone to lengths to increase its pick-up and drop-off locations to make it easier to stay connected with loved ones.

During the holidays the outside of packages can be important, but this year you can skip wrapping paper altogether. The courier of the North is working with 13 emerging local artists from coast to coast to design their own limited-edition seasonal boxes.

The artists have created personal renderings of winter in each of their regions. Collectively, the interpretations make for a rich tapestry of our country’s landscape in its most characteristic season.

Purolator

Available now, Canadians will find these uniquely designed boxes at their local Purolator Shipping Centre and Michaels stores to use for sending packages with Purolator Express service.

“We are so excited to work with these amazing Canadian artists from different backgrounds and regions. Since so many of us cannot travel, our hope is that you find a design that inspires you to share something special with a loved one, no matter where they are,” says Laurie Weston, Director, Retail at Purolator.

She continues, “Our goal is to make it safer, simpler, and even more convenient for you to send and receive packages. And with this initiative, we also want to encourage you to celebrate moments of joy and creativity together. So create something thoughtful — or buy it from a local retailer — personalize a card, and then ship it to a loved one in one of these beautiful boxes. And don’t worry, we deliver to every postal code in the country.”

Mateusz Napieralski, an illustrator, art director, and animator based in Victoria, took inspiration from British Columbia’s sprawling nature and ample wildlife. The multi-medium artist’s signature style involves using bold shapes, colour, and playful compositions — all of which are on display on his vibrant artist box.

Mateusz Napieralski, artist box/Purolator

“This holiday season will be a unique one for so many of us, who won’t be able to join their family at the Christmas table. When working on this box, I tried to capture the spirit and energy of winter I feel in BC, when surrounded by wildlife and nature. My hope is that whoever receives this box, will be able to connect to this special feeling,” says Napieralski.

Other featured artists include Nhesa Patoy, an illustrator working in the Yukon, Karine Deschênes, an artist from the Charlevoix region of Quebec, and Patrick Hunter, an Ojibwe painter from Red Lake, Ontario. 

Thanks to a partnership with Michaels, Canadians are being encouraged to get creative and share their own interpretation of the holidays. People from coast to coast are invited to visit michaels.ca/en/boxdesignsweeps to learn more about the 13 artists, download a box template, and enter their own design to win some great prizes.