about

Monica O’Neil and Cindy Estes met at the playground. With 7 children between them and 15 years of birthday parties and holidays, Monica and Cindy came to recognize how much wrapping waste is created at every event. So they teamed up to do something about it - Rapt fabric gift wrap changes a small habit to make a big impact for our children’s future.

Monica and Cindy tried many different ways to wrap with fabric - adding velcro, snap tape, attached ribbons - and found the Japanese solved it best with the art of Furoshiki. The custom of wrapping with cloth dates as far back as the 7th century and was originally called "tsutsumi." During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the tsutsumi was regularly used at the great bathhouses built by the Shogun. Feudal lords who visited wrapped their clothing in family crest-printed tsutsumi to keep track of their belongings. (Today kids write their names on backpacks!) As bathhouses became popular in the Edo period (1603-1868), the word "furoshiki" meaning “bath spread,” was adopted. Over time the use became commercialized and merchants used furoshiki for goods and gifts.

We love the historic meaning of tsutsumi – “to protect a gift by wrapping it in something sacred and then offering it as a symbol of peace … There are tying procedures and knots for various occasions, from those that take place only once in a person’s lifetime (birth, death) to those that are more simply well-wishing.”

Rapt is producing locally and dedicated to finding deadstock, reclaimed and remnant fabrics, yarns and ribbons whenever possible. In sourcing our fabrics it is also important that our Rapt sheets have the right feel, the right hand, the right look and the right detailing. We want to make an heirloom gift wrap sheet you can pass on to family and friends. We are working to keep Rapt as sustainable as possible - above and beyond eliminating wasteful paper wrapping - by working with local production, using scrap fabric and remnant yarn for our one-of-a-kind Rapt accents and also picking up and dropping off whenever possible to reduce our carbon footprint. We believe a tiny change can make a big difference. It’s YOUR PRESENT and OUR FUTURE!

As a partnership, Monica and Cindy have found their different styles and backgrounds blend well as they started Rapt gift wrap. 

Monica O’Neil is a New England transplant with a youth spent in Chile, Venezuela and Morocco. Fluent in 3 languages with a Master’s in French Literature, Monica spent a decade teaching at several area high schools. Becoming a mother was a natural evolution - there is a lot of overlap in the skill set. Monica is still trying to educate but the subject is a little more straightforward - reducing waste with fabric gift wrap - and there’s a lot less homework.

A California native who married New England, Cindy Estes started seam, a children’s clothing line, with 4 children in tow. As a young graduate, Cindy became the first in-house graphic designer at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and worked with various artists and curators to create a consistent brand strategy. With a background in design and experience in clothing manufacturing, she brings her sense of style, design and implementation to Rapt gift wrap.