Just like a book and its cover, a gift is first judged by its wrapping. And a gift clad in New South Pattern House’s wrapping paper makes a delightful first impression.

Picture a gift box wrapped in vibrant North Carolina-themed botanicals and wildlife — a pitcher plant, cardinal, and loblolly pine — or covered with the Durham skyline, complete with the Lucky Strike smokestack, or with Chapel Hill icons like the bell tower and Top of the Hill.

photograph by Art by Court Winter

Hillsborough-based printmaker and surface pattern designer Katie Hayes harnesses her love for Southern nature and culture to create her Art Nouveau-inspired “place-based design.” In her home studio, surrounded by the woods she walks every day, she creates hand-pulled block prints. Design elements from those prints reappear on stationery and gift wrap that are snatched up at regional markets and festivals, like the Durham Craft Market and Festival for the Eno. They are also sold at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, the Hillsborough Arts Council, and several other stores.

The gift wrap is made with premium newsprint and soy-based inks, which makes it 100 percent recyclable and compostable. But this is paper you’ll want to unwrap gently and save for later.

To learn more about New South Pattern House, visit newsouthpatternhouse.com.