My favorite part of the Oscar gifting research is discovering self-employed folks whose handcrafted items are getting a chance in the spotlight. This year, I ran across a press release from DeLuce Design. Jill DeLuce left her graphic design career in California for Nevada to open her dream business creating letterpress greeting cards. A California day spa contacted by the Academy for inclusion in the bags asked Jill to create the invitation for their gift of services. I emailed her for more information and she responded with a description: “the card was letterpress printed by me using pink and green ink onto pearlescent/irridescent card stock and tucked into a square transparent vellum envelope.” The piece has an Asian-inspired botanical theme based on an existing design her clients had seen and liked. She also notes “the piece I made had to be approved by the Academy first, it was somewhat of a lengthy process.” Custom creations such as this are likely part of the presentation packaging for many gift bag items. It’s neat to get a behind the scenes look from Jill.