Daughter Inherits Mother’s Love For Pretty Packages

Think back to a cherished gift. Did the wrapping paper dazzle with its color and texture, and maybe include an ornament reflecting your personality?

Did the thoughtfulness move you to tears?

That’s the aim when Anita Ivancevic gets busy for customers of her growing company, Dallas Gift Wrap Creations, now in its fifth year.

Packages wrapped by her with lavish paper, ribbons, and bows are sent throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Ivancevic adds personalized ornamentation like a cascading arrangement of the recipients’ favorite flowers or a beloved motif. Whether it’s bumblebees or golf balls, she’ll find the right “toppers.”

“Put it on the gift and watch the response,” she said. “It’ll really make an impact, trust me.”

Zac Wilson, a client, said Ivancevic is unusual, because she’ll pick up your gifts, then wrap and deliver them. “This service is a dream,” he said.

Another client, Meredith Wallace of Dallas, recalled how Ivancevic wrapped a massive case of diapers for a baby boy, decorating it with little-man suspenders.

“I guess the term ‘concierge’ gets thrown around a lot, but she takes it to the next level,” Meredith said. “She just takes the stress out of it and makes it fun.”

Ivancevic came to Chicago at age 6 in 1992 with parents Goran and Nermina Ivancevic—her “heroes”—from war-torn Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia.

Despite the turmoil, her mother always made things “pretty and nice,” especially gifts – a lesson Anita Ivancevic made the most of after moving to Dallas in 2008 to pursue real estate.

At the end of each sale, she showed her appreciation to clients with unique gifts, such as a wine decanter and two glasses engraved with their names, new address, and the closing date.

“The women would tear up,” she said.

One client loved the gift-wrap and asked Ivancevic to dress packages for her. Word spread of Anita’s “concierge” approach; referrals followed.

“I did market research in Dallas, and there was nothing like it,” she recalled. “So, I incorporated and started doing all kinds of stuff—corporate clients, weddings, birthdays, and everything in between.”

One of her designs went to Kameron Westcott of Highland Park, a regular on the Bravo series, Real Housewives of Dallas.

Ivancevic learned of Kameron’s love for pink and glitter and wrapped the present accordingly.

“I didn’t even want to open it, so I slit the sides, and I tried to lift the gift (a pillow) out because it was so beautiful,” Kameron said. “I put it back together and left it under my Christmas tree, and it wasn’t even a holiday present!”

For Ivancevic, that was mission accomplished.

“The art of gifting comes down to slowing down and making an impact,” she said. “It’s important to make people feel special.”