Lia Griffith from Portland, Ore. Wins $10,000 Grand Prize

Lia Griffith of Portland, Ore., creative director at Ellinée, an online stationery store, was crowned the 2012 “Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper” in a national gift wrapping contest sponsored by 3M, the maker of Scotch Brand Tape. Griffith out-wrapped seven other amateur and professional gift wrappers to win the ultimate holiday present—a $10,000 cash prize— at Celsius at Bryant Park in New York City.

About the contest:

• Finalists wrapped odd-shaped gifts in three rounds during the contest:
  • Round 1: oversized rubber duck and a board game
  • Round 2: tuba
  • Round 3: giant model airplane with an eight-foot wingspan
• The contestants were judged on two criteria: appearance of the wrapped gifts and the technique used to wrap the gifts; in the event of a tie, speed was the tie-breaker.
• Griffith, along with seven other gifted wrappers, was selected to participate in the contest based on a brief entry video that illustrated her talent and experience in the art of gift wrapping.

About the first runner-up and other contestants:

• The first runner-up, Shelly Dozier-McKee, an interior designer at ConfettiStyle Interiors in Atlanta, Ga. received a $2,500 cash prize.
• The following six contestants also received smaller cash prizes:
  • Michelle Beshaw from Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Shasta Garcia from San Francisco, Calif.
  • Brenda Guerrero, manager at Papyrus, from Winnetka, Calif.
  • Carol Masiclat, owner of Jolie Colis gift wrapping, from Fayetteville, N.Y.
  • Michelle Noe, co-owner of Playthings Toy Shoppe, from Louisville, Ky.
  • Sheryl Oberman, owner of Stationery Station, from Highland Park, Ill.

About the judging panel:

• The judging panel consisted of three gift wrapping experts:
  • Mark Ski, former producer for Martha Stewart Living.
  • Evette Rios, craft and design expert, as well as former co-host and designer for Freestyle on HGTV. (Bi-lingual in English and Spanish).
  • Laurin Sydney, lifestyle expert and author of the gift wrapping book Why Bother? Why Not?

Visit MostGiftedWrapper.com/media for photos and video from the contest.

Twittercue: Gifted wrapper @LiaGriffith wins $10k in @ScotchProducts #MostGiftedWrapper Contest! http://bit.ly/hSSgho #giftwrap #tape

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit http://www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

3M, Scotch and the Plaid Design are trademarks of 3M. ©3M 2012

Quotes:

• Quote 1: Lia Griffith, 2012 Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper winner, offers this quick tip for gift wrapping: “Use materials for gift wrapping in an unexpected way. Look around you and you’ll find inspiration everywhere!”
• Quote 2: Mark Ski, 2012 Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper Contest judge, “The large model airplane in the final round of the contest posed to be quite a challenge, but the contestants really brought their creativity to the table and wowed us with their technique, originality and enthusiasm.”

Links:

• Scotch Brand Website
• Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper Contest
• Newsroom for Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper Contest
• Scotch Brand on Facebook
• Scotch Brand on Twitter
• Scotch Brand on Pinterest
• Scotch Brand on YouTube

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20121130005959/en/

For 3MLiz Mitolo, 212-679-6600 ext. 242Hunter Public Relationsemitolo@hunterpr.comc: 330-774-8484HunterPR.comor3MRobert Brittain, 651-733-70343M Public Relations and Corporate Communicationsrbrittain@mmm.com