04/23/2026
A beautiful scene is emerging in a second floor commercial space in the heart of downtown Newburyport…
Sometimes the product you wish existed, just doesn’t, so you make it yourself. Three years ago, when I designed The South End Yarn Company’s retail space at street level, I sourced a black and white Hygge & West wallpaper to cover select walls. Years later, when the company expanded into a space upstairs, the owner reached out again for help with the interior design. The new space has one long wall, brightly lit in natural sunlight, that I thought would be perfect for a large scale mural. I wanted to keep on-brand by featuring the same wallpaper print that I used downstairs, but I wanted it blown up. To my knowledge, the paper cannot be printed large scale, so I custom designed a mural to be hand-painted.
This week, I am on-site painting the mural myself, and it has proven to be a humbling experience. This is a pretty ambitious undertaking, trying to duplicate a print. I am accepting my reproduction as perfectly imperfect. But, isn’t every creative expression just that? Perhaps only I will notice its quirks. ;)
Quirkiness embraced, this mural will be a true wow factor in the upstairs space. I hope it is something that South End Yarn co. patrons will enjoy staring at while they’re here, and will walk away remembering. The South End Yarn Company’s classroom & public event space will be officially opening its doors soon! When it does, come check it out!
I’m curious, how many if you started out as fine artists, like me, and migrated into new territory in your careers? Tell me your story!
