When you come across an artist who shamelessly admits, “Food is inspiring to me,” you must get to know that artist. And so, we did.
We first met Erica Regelin at her booth on West Street during July’s First Sunday Arts. We were immediately drawn to her table by the bright colors from crafts she had set up: neon colors, pastels, and the bold primary colors. As we got closer, the colors enlivened and we saw the collection of artsy goodies she had for sale: handmade wallets, handmade passport covers, mixed media silhouette art in white frames, and other recycled paper art. We’ll delve more into the art side of things later, but first, get to know the hands behind the products.
All of these handmade recycled artworks belong to Hull Street Studio, started by Erica, 24, and her fiance, Jeb, a year after their first date on Hull Street. Hull Street Studio came to life in 2010 when Jeb was deployed and Erica needed something to fill her time. She explained that thanks to her education at the Savanna College of Art and Design and the mixed media classes she took while pursuing a degree in illustration, art seemed like the natural choice. She crafted a wallet first, and from there, a business was born. Jeb, on the other hand, is a writer by day, but is currently working on a clock with paper strips for Hull Street. Functional and fun: we’ll stay tuned for that.
These young crafters consider themselves “indie artists.” The products the create certainly fit the bill: cool, interesting, and unconventional. Once the couple gets their materials–some store bought but mostly old magazines, dictionaries, and books from flea markets, recycle bins, and generous neighbors–they can make 3D cupcake picks in the shapes of butterflies, dinosaurs, and rabbits ($16 each). Out of old maps, Erica and Jeb craft star ornaments for Christmas trees or to hang on hooks ($50 for set of 3). We fancy the huge light fixtures made out of paper from books ($60-$90), and the wreaths made out of book paper ($45-$48). Erica and Jeb also have products ideal for weddings and parties, like the strings of garland made from maps and wedding banners ($15-$22). Some new products are the ones seen at First Sunday Arts, like the silhouette art made with thin strips from magazines in the background. Finally, Hull Street functions as a custom shop too, meaning you can send a picture or material to them and they will craft something for you. As Erica says, “We can re-imagine and give new life to books, dictionaries, and used things.” This is taking recycling to another level–a decorative one. If you want to see their products, head to www.hullstreetstudio.com. To purchase their products, head to http://www.etsy.com/shop/HullStreetGreen. The latter will yield the most satisfaction on your part and gratitude on Hull Street’s part.
So what’s their connection to Annapolis? Even though they live forty minutes outside the city in Ellicott City, Erica in particular has some roots here. Aside from crafting recycled goods, she freelance illustrates, predominantly with watercolors. In fact, in 2010, Erica’s designs were featured in a story for What’s Up? Annapolis. The story about a little boy who had found a shark tooth was published back in 2010 and Erica provided a humorous image to accompany it: a small boy proudly showing off his larger than life shark tooth (which is the comedy in it). Of course Erica and Jeb love downtown and that’s in part because of you. “The people downtown are so supportive and they love new artsy stuff!” Erica gushes. Some of Hull Street’s items are also Annapolis-inspired, like their wallet showing a map of the area.
The pair show up quite frequently in Annapolis, often with their recycled art you can see. Catch them next at First Sunday Arts in August (August 4 from noon to 5 p.m.). Though we’ve missed it for this year, peruse Hull Street Studio’s offerings at the Annapolis Arts & Crafts and Wine Festival in June of 2014. Or, if you like road-tripping, visit them at ArtScape on July 19-21 in Baltimore.
Perhaps you’ve seen Hull Street’s products in Annapolis or perhaps you’ve seen their crafty designs on national television. That’s right, Erica and Jeb were featured on Good Morning America this past April as one of the recycled product artisans on Etsy. Hull Street’s recycled paper wreath was the star of the segment; see it on the Etsy link provided above.
In the future, Erica and Jeb hope to sell their products wholesale in stores in downtown Annapolis. With all the cool and original items for sale downtown already, Hull Street Studio would fit in perfectly. Of course, the plans for the immediate future are to continue crafting and create new products. As far as personal plans go, Erica wants to finish planning her and Jeb’s wedding. “I have all these creative plans, but it’s just too many plans! I have to constantly edit my ideas back,” she said. Even further in the future, she and Jeb hope to write children’s books (naturally, you can imagine who will do the writing and who will do the illustrating).
So, in case you missed it, there are local artists who use old paper to make pieces of art. Truly, going green has never been so decorative.
Leave A Comment