By Susan Shinn
sshinn@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS ó You’ve got to admire ó or perhaps be envious of ó Erin Hinckley.
There’s not a craft at which this 31-year-old does not excel.
She makes jewelry. She makes felt fruits and veggies and dolls. She makes journals and sketch books.
She also makes fanciful felt creatures, loved by adults and children alike.
She likes the variety and she feels lucky to be making a living at her art. She’s formed two companies, Treehouse Jewelry for her jewelry, and Bluebird & Co. for her sewing.
“I recently went full-time,” she says. “So far, so good. I’ll see where it leads me.”
Creativity runs in her family. Her mother taught her to sew. Her studio was her grandmother’s beauty shop. Her other grandmother wove beautiful, tiny baskets. The storage barn where she makes jewelry was her grandfather’s shop.
“My whole entire life I have been crafty,” Erin says. “I feel really fortunate I have this talent.”
She was an interior design student at Appalachian State University, but later switched to the art department. She graduated with a degree in art, with concentrations in metalsmithing, jewelry design and fibers.
“I got to experience a lot,” she says of her time in college.
In Boone, she met her husband, Brad, an organic farmer who serves as mentor at the Cabarrus County Incubator Farm. They have a 3-year-old son, Corbin.
Erin, who was born and raised in Kannapolis, has her art for sale at the Asheville Museum of Art, and at Maddie’s Gallery, with locations in Birkdale Village and East Boulevard in Charlotte.
She’ll be a part of the Green Goat Gallery’s folk art exhibit on Saturday, July 25. The free opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m.
Erin found manager Anne Waters online and called her.
“I get more and more of that,” Anne says of such requests. “I was really floored by the breadth of her work. She’s exactly the sort of artist I’m looking to represent.”
Erin makes sterling silver jewelry with beads and stones.
“I like to hammer out my components,” Erin says. “I like high fashion but it doesn’t always fit in around here.”
She offers custom work.
Her creatures are a cross between a stuffed animal and a pillow. She has some patterns for her felt toys, but cuts the creatures freehand.
“I like making plush things,” she says. “I make all different sizes and colors.”
Each creature has two eyes ó well, sometimes just one ó and a mouth.
Some have horns. Some have feet.
“If I think of something new, I’ll do something new,” Erin says.
They’re all cute, and all colorful.
Erin’s mom is a retired teacher.
“I have the best day care ever,” says Erin, who works a full day in the studio. “I’d say I have it made.”