Annemarie Mullet poses with her award-winning wrapping paper, titled “Snowman Friends.” Photo provided by Annemarie Mullet.

Linfield University student Annemarie Mullet won a design contest from Premier Press, a Portland-based creative production firm. The company gives holiday-themed wrapping paper to its clients each year, using a contest for college students to submit original designs. In total, Premier Press received more than 30 submissions from throughout the region. Mullet’s design was selected among the top four designs and printed for distribution.

The wrapping paper pattern, titled “Snowman Friends,” features snowflakes on one side and sketched snowmen on the other.

“The making of the design was a complex process, and a lot of fun to work on,” she said. “I first sketched and carved the designs into linoleum blocks. I inked the blocks with black ink, then ran them through the press. Then, I scanned the prints into Photoshop, where I digitally altered the designs to have color.  I chose blues for colors because I think blues are great colors for the holidays.”

A close-up look at Annemarie Mullet’s award-winning design titled “Snowman Friends”

Mullet is currently a senior at Linfield majoring in digital arts and minoring in creative writing, visual studies and studio art. She is the managing editor and digital art coordinator for The Linfield Review, a student-run media organization. She also works in the Digital Art Lab and at the Writing Center. Mullet is from Kirkland, Washington. 

“I have been learning printmaking through an independent study with art professor Thea Gahr this semester, and I wanted to use the skills I learned in the design for the wrapping paper,” she said. “I had mostly entered the contest because I wanted a chance to try mixing printmaking with Photoshop as I love mixing art mediums, but I also felt very encouraged by my professors and classmates to have a go at it.” 

The three other winners are Andre Saez of the University of Arkansas, Audrey Walch of California Polytechnic State University and Harper Pearce-Mitchell of the University of Oregon. 

Last year, two Linfield students – Emma Inge ’23 and Meghan Mullaly ’23 – were winners in Premier Press’s 2022 holiday wrapping paper contest.  

“I feel very appreciative when other creative people see the effort and thought I put into my work and are willing to reward it,” Mullet said. “I was also very excited when I received the printed wrapping paper in the mail from Premier Press. All my family’s gifts were wrapped in it, and everyone was excited to open gifts with wrapping paper made by me!” 

See all the 2023 designs at https://www.premierpress.com/project/premiers-2023-holiday-wrapping-paper/.