THE GIFT BOX

Maybe it’s the chill in the air, the splashes of crimson in the trees, or the sound of a familiar melody you haven’t heard since, oh, about a year ago. Do hints of the impending holidays send you straight to the nearest mall, where you fight fellow frenzied shoppers for mass-produced presents?

This year, forgo the status quo. Instead, take a deep breath, peruse the following pages, and then do some shopping you can really feel good about.

Like an army of Santa’s helpers, many of your creatively gifted neighbors are busy in their workshops crafting one-of-a-kind items that are sure to garner many oohs, ahhs and heartfelt thanks from your loved ones this year.

Think Outside The Gift Box

Freelisa

“I’M A BIGFAN OFTHESLOW MOVEMENT. I DOITTHE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, AND I’M THEONLY ONE IN DALLAS WHO’SDOING THAT AS A BUSINESS RIGHTNOW.”

Paying the bills as a fine arts painter ain’t easy. Lisa Lindholm, who moved to Oak Cliff last year, sells her paintings of birds, butterflies and people for hundreds of dollars. But she needed a fallback for when sales got slow. So Julie McCullough Kim, owner of MAKE, suggested about four years ago that she learn how to screen print T-shirts.

“I quit my corporate job to become a fulltime painter,” she says. “And that’s when I picked up screen printing, at Julie’s suggestion, to pick up a little bit of money. And then I couldn’t really focus, so now I split my time between painting and screen-printing.”

Lindholm’s T-shirt line, Freelisa, includes super-soft T-shirts printed with themes that are similar to her paintings birds, “flying things” and “objects of simplicity,” as well as slogans such as “Keep Calm and Carry On” and “Trees Hug Back”. But what makes the line remarkable is that Lindholm does everything the old way. She uses water-based inks and no harsh chemicals. Her T-shirts are made of organic cotton, and she prints each one by hand.

“I’m a big fan of the slow movement,” she says. “I do it the old-fashioned way, and I’m the only one in Dallas who’s doing that as a business right now.”

Because of that, she’s picked up corporate clients who commission T-shirts for uniforms, giveaways and events. She’s the official screen printer for Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, and she designed all the groovy posters for Cyclesomatic in October.

WEBSITE: freelisa.com

PRICE RANGE: $27 for T-shirts

CONTACT: lisa@freelisa.com