All Wrapped Up with Bethany
- Woman Up Cleveland
- 3 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Bethany First - Founder of Revere Gift Wrapping
When we talk about love languages, we often overlook one particular category that many feel can be insincere or even selfish. Although it is the least popular of the five, the love language of gifts is not one to overlook. Despite its ability to feel materialistic, gift giving and receiving can be deeply personalized and meaningful, and for many people, it is the perfect way to express their love, especially when it comes to special occasions.
Like it or not, gift-giving season is here, and for many, what starts as a time of thoughtfulness and kindness becomes stressful and panicked as they try to find the perfect gift for everyone on their list. Luckily, at the end of the day, it truly is the thought that counts and Bethany First has found the perfect way to make sure that fact always shines through in every exchange.
Since 2023, Revere Gift Wrapping has offered luxury gift wrapping and styling services for personal needs, corporate gifting, and even events. Bethany knows the importance of presentation and helps clients connect with their recipients through her stunning array of paperie and embellishments.
Her story is not only unique but vastly multifaceted, and Bethany shared with us many of her interests and careers over the years that have all subtly led to her current endeavors. After going to school for speech and hearing and earning her degree, she started working with children and families. This work quickly taught her many lessons and showed her the true loving nature of others.
Her time working in early childhood taught her that “People are so intertwined, loving, and giving,” and Bethany realized this was something she wanted to carry with her in any and all work she was doing. Even speaking about it with us, she got a bit emotional sharing how this realization, and the hope that her work gives her, truly inspires an understanding and respect for others.
It was immediately clear from the very beginning of our chat that Bethany is an empathetic and thoughtful person who really values the depth of what she does beyond the transactional nature of owning a business. She told us, “I am usually in the business headspace, so when I start talking about what I do here, it hits me– the work I’m doing is so endearing. The people who’ve come to me through this experience mean everything.” Her love for service continued to shine when she became a nanny and then eventually started working for a literacy enrichment startup. This experience gave her a more business-oriented sense of self and ultimately set her up for success when it came to the entrepreneurship she took on in the last few years.
Finally, after getting pregnant with her first child, Bethany, with the encouragement of her husband, decided that she wanted to pursue the art of gift wrapping as more than just something she enjoyed doing for her own loved ones. She turned it into a thriving side gig. Beginning with people outside of her immediate circle asking for her wrapping services, she eventually expanded to creating a website and social media presence to help others find her more easily and connect with their gift-wrapping needs.
In addition to her gift wrapping business, Revere, Bethany serves as the head of growth and engagement for Yogapalooza out of New York and is also a freelance photographer, further showing her multi-passionate mindset and how it has created an ideal mix of creativity, flexibility, and productivity in her life.
Bethany went on to tell us how her naturally creative skillset, her business skillset gained during her time working for a startup, and her multifaceted interpersonal relationship skillset from working closely with children and families all came together to form a perfect storm of entrepreneurial spirit and thoughtful design.
Through starting Revere, Bethany has discovered so much about what it means to give a gift and how impactful her work can truly be. She also knows that her niche is something special one does not come across very often saying, “It has been a joy to bring this to the community, especially because it didn’t exist before. There is not a gift-wrapping business here on a larger scale. All year long I get the opportunity to connect with our community.”
Most people come across Revere on Google while searching for gift wrapping services near them and often travel from all over Northeast Ohio to work with Bethany. As a lifelong Clevelander, she feels deeply connected to the community and has found the perfect audience for her services right here at home. “There are people out there who really value the art of gift wrapping and want their recipients to feel loved and held by them. I am always surprised that they found me and cared enough to drive to my home and sit with me. At the beginning, they don’t know me and I don’t know them. It’s a very trusting process,” she said.
We asked more about the kinds of clients she has encountered over the years to gain a better insight into the world of luxury gift wrapping and how people are utilizing these services in their everyday lives. She often sees many corporate clients who need large quantities of gifts wrapped using branded materials or matching themes. Bethany gave us an example of the process, saying, “Someone in the corporate space might say, ‘I have 500 gifts I need wrapped. These are our brand colors and the gifts in the box,’ and they come to my home studio.”
As for anyone looking to utilize her talents, “They may come with the materials that they want, or they might say, ‘I want an earthy feel, or masculine, or flowery with pastels.’ So then I take the style and run with it based on either materials I have here or go to my suppliers to pick out materials that speak to me based on what they shared,” she said. Noting that her sweet spot of creativity is when someone fully trusts in her abilities and hands over creative freedom, Bethany knows that her role is essential to executing the perfect presentation for not only each gift giver but each gift recipient.
She went on to say that trust has become a major pillar of her business and the gifting process. Trust on the client’s behalf, as well as her own, can set a partnership up for absolute success, and she has found it to be a common denominator in those who seek out her services. Bethany told us a story from a time when she really felt the effects of deep trust in her work, saying, “One time someone came in with 2,100 singles for their child’s 21st birthday and wanted it wrapped up in boxes. I’m so shocked to be trusted with such major things. It’s so telling. The fact that this person trusted me is such a beautiful testament that there are good people in the world. And the fact that I trust them too, to come into my home? It’s incredible.”
There is so much that goes into the process of reaching out to Bethany, sharing the client’s vision, trusting her with the gift itself and the art of decorating it, and then the care and attention that goes into creating a perfect package to deliver to a loved one. No one understands this truth better than Bethany, and she so clearly is not taking this immense faith people have in her for granted.
“I trust that the people who find me are good people, and they always are. It keeps me motivated throughout this process because it’s such an intimate thing to give someone a gift and to then put thought in beyond the gift itself,” she told us. The industry of gifting as a whole is a very loving place to be. Even when it’s a simple gift of money, there is still the initial thought of giving someone a gift — and at the end of the day, even if it was done out of a feeling of obligation, giving someone something is a big deal.
When it comes down to it, our world constantly changes and grows with trends, values, and interests so quickly that it can be hard to keep up, stay relevant, and put in the effort. Luckily for Bethany, she has found herself offering a service that will always be in style. She said, “As the world changes and as the new generation comes up, there is less value being put on gift giving. But I’m still finding it, and people are still finding me.”
People often equate the love language of gift giving with being materialistic and desiring “stuff,” but Bethany knows that the meaning goes far deeper than meets the eye. She told us, “I can’t say that I didn’t think a few years ago that it was so shallow or surface level. But now, it’s totally shifted my perspective because there is a deeper level of reverence that goes into giving and receiving gifts.”
Beyond the thought of giving, there is, of course, the receiving as well. It is often thought of as even more shallow to enjoy receiving gifts, but the reality is that those receiving thoughtful or meaningful gifts are also receiving a message of love and understanding. A thoughtful gift can make someone feel seen and understood in a way that words sometimes can’t, or when words don’t feel like the right fit for the situation.
Pushing past the deeper meanings and emotional ties, the art of wrapping comes with many creative and truly fun benefits. Bethany told us about one of her favorite projects: “There was a fun gift I got to do — someone was having their fifth child and wanted to gift their OBGYN with the long-lasting roses and asked for Parisian wrapping. She had no budget and told me to go crazy, so I used eggshell cotton paper and pressed flowers, and tied it with this hand-dyed silk blue ribbon. I had so much fun doing it because she gave me total autonomy over the process and I was able to use our joint vision and run with it.”
Bethany often finds herself using naturally inspired materials and handmade elements to bring warmth and meaning to her creations. Many of her papers are imported from Nepal and other countries where they are handmade and hand-dyed. She has a soft spot for delicate cotton papers and hand-dyed silk ribbons, as well as themes that lean earthy and botanical. The materials usually include natural elements within them, but Bethany also takes pride in incorporating additional elements of nature into the packaging herself with embellishments and imprints.
Above all, she sees the value in anything handmade and wants to give her clients a fully custom experience from beginning to end. “Someone took the time to handmake the paper with cotton embedded with leaves and florals. I love the intentionality that goes in, even beyond the wrapping part,” Bethany said.
Using handmade materials ensures that the entire process is filled with thought from beginning to end. From the giver deciding to buy the gift and get it wrapped for a loved one, to Bethany caring so deeply about the gift’s presentation and how she can enhance the experience, to using thoughtfully made and intentional items to embellish and present the gift back to the client. There is love and dedication seeping through every step of the way.
She also shouted out her repeat clients who have come back for the services over and over again. Bethany said, “They are just lovely people. I feel so inspired by the community of people who have found me and I have found. It has instilled a sense of hope in our world for me.”
The idea of establishing repeat clientele in an industry such as gift personalization is a meaningful connection that further proves this process to be touching not only to the receiver but to the giver of the gift as well.
Like most things, thinking deeper about the idea of gift giving reveals a more powerful message than simply “I wanted to give you this” or “Happy Holidays.” It has always been said that actions speak louder than words, and the act of gift giving is no exception. The time and effort required to acquire a great gift, as well as wrapping and presenting it, is nothing to scoff at, and things are taken to another level when the gift is deeply personal and shows a reflection of someone’s understanding of their loved one.
Bethany encourages anyone with doubts about the powerful nature of sentimentality to give gift giving a try, saying, “There are so many ways to feel inspired by the gift-giving process, even if it’s not your M.O.” Never underestimate the ability to make someone’s day with a well thought out and beautifully presented gift.
As for how the holidays affect her workflow, unsurprisingly, things tend to soar for Bethany and her business as this time of year rolls around. She told us that the frequency of clients and projects is usually steady all year long, and then after Thanksgiving, people start reaching out for their holiday gifting needs and things begin to move faster.
Her “regulars” have nothing to worry about since they are usually already in the calendar by this time, but with people sometimes calling and reaching out all the way until 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Bethany gives a warning against procrastination and its lack of guarantee that you will reach her annual cut-off. “People forget about the work that has to go into wrapping all of the things you’re purchasing, and it gets really crazy. I love the creativity and thought that goes into it, so when those types of jobs come my way, I eat it up,” she told us.
For Bethany, it is truly all about intention and creativity. Anytime she is able to create something meaningful or flex her creative muscles to make something one of a kind is when she shines most. We asked about some of her largest projects as well and how overwhelming it can be to keep up with a seasonal rush — especially when what your business offers goes hand in hand with one of the biggest holidays in the world.
She told us that 300 gifts is the largest quantity she has ever taken on and mentioned that she recently accepted an order of 250 shoe boxes for corporate holiday gifting this year. She also said that some of her largest orders have been parents looking to wrap children’s gifts for the holidays, often arriving with many bins full of items for each individual child.
In the giving months, Bethany often brings on some friends, family, and employees to help during the busy season and loves being able to connect with them while doing this work that is so enjoyable at its core. And believe it or not, the holiday craziness doesn’t stop there. Bethany also leads wrapping classes and events around Northeast Ohio, usually approaching the holidays, and this year will be teaching an instructional class at Lakewood Country Club later this month.
With her myriad of passions and talents, we asked Bethany about her dreams for the future of both Revere and her own personal journey. She perfectly summed up the feeling of being at peace, saying, “I’m in a season of my life where I deeply appreciate the slowness. I love having Revere and being able to tap into my creativity. I do someday see myself opening a boutique, but right now we are so in the thick of wonder and joy with our kids, and I am hanging on to it.”
In keeping with the reason for the season, Bethany touched on her gratefulness for where she finds herself and her family at this stage of life and how she feels thankful for the freedom to explore her passions and give herself to so many different aspects of life, really bringing things full circle by reminding us to slow down and embrace the magic in the small things.
Underneath the flawless wrapping and glittering embellishments of gift giving lies a deeply meaningful gesture that conveys love and care in ways we often find hard to express. Gift giving will never go out of style, and as long as there are birthdays, anniversaries, corporate parties, holidays, and all the other celebrations life brings, there will always be room for a thoughtful and meaningful gift.
No one understands and embodies these values better than Bethany First with her wrapping and styling business, Revere Gift Wrapping. It was truly a gift (pun intended) to speak with her about her work, her passions, and her love for love. Bethany is intentional, detail-oriented, and leads with so much kindness in all she does. We loved connecting with her and can’t wait to see where the gift of giving leads her next.
