As it nears build out, Reno’s Plumgate Shopping Center at the corner of Plumb Lane and Arlington Avenue offers a number of upscale shopping opportunities, including Just Wrapped UP!, a distinctive shop established primarily for the purpose of wrapping gifts for discriminating givers.

Owner Valerie Rios says shoppers most certainly can purchase gifts from her in-store inventory and take them home wrapped or unwrapped, but the establishment was founded on the premise that a perfectly wrapped gift enhances the experience for both the receiver as well as the giver.

“When it’s packaged and looks stunning it makes it more meaningful,” says Rios during a recent visit. Handmade papers carefully hung from their towel bars like so many beautiful bed sheets drying in the wind can be purchased by the sheet for as much as $20 or as little as $3. They are crafted in faraway places like Thailand, India, Nepal or even Japan and some incorporate embroidery threads tracing designs from corner to corner as they wind their way into intricate works of art.

A large work station resides at the rear of the store to accommodate customers who would rather try their hand at wrapping rather than avail themselves of in-house services. According to Rios, expect to pay $20 to $25 for a store-wrapped gift or $7 to $10 for one you produce yourself.

Rios says her background — she’s a licensed social worker — is all about people and making them feel good. Her husband, Paul, kept his day job as a distribution coordinator for a local firm, but he often can be found in the store working as many as 20 additional hours weekly.

“We financed the business ourselves by refinancing our home. The money was enough to get us in and to order merchandise.” Rios explains that start-up cash totaled about $100,000; of that, she and Paul spent $75,000 to stock the store and outfit it with displays, a point-of-sale system, a computer, business cards and brochures. She figures that if need be, other options for additional capital are at hand.

“We’ve prepared ourselves for lean months during this startup period. Other than the cost of the rent, everything in our store is bought and paid for. That’s how I do business; when I order something, I pay for it right then and there.”

Rios says the quantity of merchandise in her store will see her through the immediate future. “I want to run the business and not have to worry about money. The way this product works is that you have two seasons — the first of the year and then August when you order for Christmas.”

Most vendors offer seasonal products, but she’s confident that her large initial inventory will be enough to carry her to the coming season. “Unlike clothing, you don’t have to worry about the style. As long as I’m bringing upscale quality, unique gift-wrapping solutions that can’t be found anywhere else, I’ve done my job.”

In business since late last year, the Rioses already have been approached to explore the world of franchising. “But we’re not sure we want to go there. We would like to be the next Starbucks” she laughs, “but of gift wrapping. We’re still new to this and don’t know if we will go that route. It makes us excited to think that someday we may be able to have more than one store. When we wrote our business plan, it included having four to five stores in the Reno, Sparks and Carson City areas with the second store to open within two years and then one store each year after that.”