Unwrapping Motherhood, Entrepreneurship & The Art of Elegant Gifting
As a founder, designer, and mom of two, Anna Ballard is on a mission to make elegant gifting easy—and meaningful.
Through her company Ballard & Prescott, Anna designs luxury double-sided wrapping paper. She makes it simple for you to send thoughtful, unique and beautiful gifts to your clients, employees, and those you love. No matter how far apart you are.
I recently spent several months working with Anna to help her document her creative process and share more about the inspiration behind her brand and custom gift selections. I was struck not only by her wild talent but by the depth of purpose behind her brand.
She didn’t just build a gifting company—she channeled her story, love for family, and creative soul into something that feels like a gift itself, while creating a legacy along the way.
In this episode of the Frame of Life Podcast, we unwrap more of the stories behind Anna’s journey.
We chat about:
her design inspirations
how pivots have all helped her get to where she is in her career
life lessons she leans on as she intentionally blends motherhood into her business
how “Profit First” and finding community are her 2 most powerful pieces of business advice
Reframing a layoff into a chance to celebrate creativity & connection.
One of the most powerful turns in Anna’s story came when she was unexpectedly laid off from a corporate role. While raising little kids, paying for childcare, and holding down the fort at home when her husband travelled for work, Anna had been on the verge of mental and physical burnout.
Rather than crumble, she pivoted into entrepreneurship – building a career that could support both her creative energy and desire to be present with her children during the thick of their childhood.
Her marketing experience in magazines and editorial work taught her presentation, storytelling, and how to pitch ideas that look and feel premium.
She channeled these previous experiences and love of art into what has now become Ballard & Prescott.
Dyslexia as her creative superpower
I am so inspired by how Anna also reframes her experience of living with Dyslexia into her super power. She shares examples of how she has channeled her creativity into her company and the work arounds she has used to continuously deliver elegant gifts with ease.
Most inspiring is how she is amplifying voices of local entrepreneurs who support raising awareness of Dyslexia. She introduced me to Max’IS Creations – a company created by an 8 year old local boy with Dyslexia. He now owns a patent and has sold over a half a million dollars worth of his interactive sports mugs! These mugs pair so well with many of Anna’s hand designed gift wrapping paper!
You can browse Anna’s sports themed wraps and Max’s Mugs here
The Gift Behind the Brand
Anna’s vision for Ballard & Prescott is simple, yet sentimental.
Making it easy to send how much you care to those you appreciate.
She hand-designs double-sided, luxury wrapping paper, customizes gift boxes, and can even wrap, personalize a card, and ship your gift for you.
Inspiration & Design
One of my most favorite thing to document with Ballard & Prescott was Anna’s process from inspiration, to design creation, to final curation of an elegant gift perfectly wrapped in luxurious wrapping paper hand designed by Anna herself.
Anna’s designs are inspired by her kids, nature, and the changing seasons in New England.
She grew up in a home where birthdays, holidays, and small gestures of gratitude were celebrated through gifting. Her father taught her about presentation and how to beautifully wrap gifts.
Selling not just gifts, but moments of connection.
“We’re one of the only gifting company that wraps the gifts. I want that feeling back—when a package arriving meant something special.”
Branded versus recipient-first gifting
While Anna does create custom branded wrapping paper designs, her philosophy is that a gift shouldn’t feel like a billboard for your business—it should feel like something you chose for them.
Anna suggests that for holidays and celebrations – companies select a wrapping paper that helps celebrate the client or gifting season, and stick to branded wrapping paper for customer onboarding or appreciation gifts.
Get Ballard & Prescott’s Corporate Gift Guide here
Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship is impossible, but juggling it with supportive peers by your side makes it a heck of a lot more fun.
Anna and I share the story behind the making of her Corporate Process Video where the paradox of motherhood and business ownership was on full display. We rallied and produced a great video that helps showcase Anna’s designs, but dang — the moments behind the scenes were ones that helped us earn new stripes as moms & entrepreneurs.
We chatted about my favorite example of witnessing Anna’s inspiration process come to life through giving a gift to her daughter at our Holiday shoot. Here are a few videos we captured from behind the scenes and of the moment I witnessed the inspiration for the ballerina paper dance to life.
She’s currently busy setting up her new studio/warehouse/co-working space at Rowe Street Commerce and is sharing behind the scenes of her adventures as she grows Ballard & Prescott this upcoming year. You can follow along in Anna’s stories on Instagram.
I shared one of my favorite content organization and memory-keeping tips with her
Create an album on your phone for BTS of your business.
Swipe up on individual photos/videos and “Add a caption” with the story about what is happening in the background. You’ll be able to search these words later and find what you’re looking for more quickly down the road.
✨ Anna’s story is a reminder to find your community early and to gift those you value and support often.
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