Wrapping up Christmas: why be boring when you can be more Big Issue?!

Last Christmas The Big Issue launched a groundbreaking new initiative – designer wrapping paper, created by top artists, only available through The Big Issue Shop.

We were literally bowled over by the rush from readers to snap them up. “When will you do it again?” you begged us.

Well at long last the wait is over! We are delighted to unveil this year’s unique collection of exclusive Big Issue designer wrapping papers, and we know you’ll love them.

Leading the way with his ‘SCARY’ wrap is Ben Eine, one of the most celebrated street artists in the world and a pioneer of graffiti letterforms. Already an iconic figure amongst graffiti artists, Eine crossed into the mainstream in 2010 when David Cameron presented Barack Obama with one of his works as a gift.

Ben designed our exclusive ‘CELEBRATE’ cover to mark the sale of the 200 millionth copy of The Big Issue in 2016, and has been a friend and supporter of the magazine ever since. Now we’re honoured that he has chosen to share this limited edition ‘SCARY’ wrap, in bold black on festive red.

And contemporary artist Sara Pope is well known for her bold, seductive paintings of voluptuous lips. Taking inspiration from her experience working for several years in the fashion industry as a shoe designer, and in magazines as a designer and art director, Sara aims to capture the glamour and power conveyed by the lips and mouth – and gives it a seasonal, snowflake twist. Raising questions of beauty, consumerism, and the rise of image perfectionism Sara imitates the slickness of advertising, whilst provocatively subverting its themes.

Both of these are available in a very special, signed limited edition of 250 single-image sheets – and they look so good, you might want to frame it rather than wrap with it! If you do wrap a loved one’s gifts with it, just imagine how impressed by the good taste you have lavished upon them. (This is one occasion where you might just want them to be more interested in the packaging than the gift). These limited edition sheets are priced £30 .

But you can also buy a pack of five sheets of regular wrapping paper designed by Ben or Sara for £9.99, to ensure your gifts look super-cool and exclusive under the tree.

That’s not all! We have another three fantastic exclusive designs to reveal. Two are creations that we have commissioned from two of our most popular contributors to The Big Issue’s weekly Street Art section. Rene Robbins has designed big, bold, bright baubles, while John Sheehy has given us a brilliant stars and donkeys motif. And Big Issue founder and editor-in-chief, Lord John Bird, who showcased his artworks in a special edition of the magazine earlier in 2017 to great acclaim, has also offered one of his iconic paintings, titled ‘I never knew Walt Disney’, a truly unique wrapping paper.

You can buy all five of these designs in one multi-pack priced £9.99. All are available at bigissueshop.com now (see website for p&p details) – and they are sure to sell out fast, so don’t hang about.