hello 2025
Hi there!
I’m Helen — a block print artist born & raised in lovely, hellish NYC. This is my first ever blog post I’m writing here, and now that we’re coming up on year 3 of kintsugi print studio I felt it would be good to take an opportunity to reflect.
2025 for me feels like turning a new page, onto the next chapter with the focus being on intention. To exercise more intention in the major areas of my life, and shed any excess. For my energy only to be invested in the places and people that bring me joy, fulfillment, and growth.
But how did we get here?
A question I get often is what made me start kintsugi print studio, and truthfully — the story is a lot more common, and more New York than you might expect. In January of 2022, I got a notice that my rent was going up 10% — at the time, I was stressed about this and thought maybe it would be a good excuse to actually look into selling prints. (a daydream I often had dancing in the back of my mind)
I decided to take a serious effort at pursuing this — with the goal of being able to sell my art at a street market.
Fast forward to June 2022, after completing several applications and filing paperwork I was able to register for my first ever street fair!
Amsterdam Ave. Market 6/25/2022
my first ever street market! I was nervous out of my mind and had stayed up until 3AM the night before prepping for the event, I barely had 4 hours of sleep
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I never realized how many materials street vendors are responsible for, until I became one. It was overwhelming at first once I learned that my permit only gave me a 10’x10’ blank space on the street, and that I would need to buy everything else.
There’s a lot more that goes into it than you might think (like, what? you need to buy the tent walls separate from the actual tent frame itself? And each tent leg has to be weighed down with 25lbs?? that’s literally 100 POUNDS I need to carry outside of my tables, chairs, and inventory!!) — but I’ll save that for another post.
I set up on the street and told myself that if a single person walking by saw my art and liked it enough to buy it to decorate their home or gift to a loved one I would consider it a success.
2 hours into the fair, I met my first customer (a moment I’ll never forget!)
In the end I made 13 sales in those 8 hours. By all means, it was a huge win.
fast forward to 2024
after that first fair, I vowed to keep creating block prints and continued to put myself out there with more vendor events. That very first fair I did, I had 10 print designs — and by the end of 2024 the print family had grown to over 40.
If you told me when I originally started, that 2 years later I could sell as many prints within an hour as I did on that entire first day — I don’t know how I would react. Probably be in a state of disbelief, shock, and likely with happy crocodile tears streaming down my face.
MAUM Holiday Market - NYC 12/14/24
2025 intentions?
This year, I intend to keep creating and sharing art through kintsugi print studio. Some milestones I look forward to working towards include:
having a first solo art exhibit
organizing a local makers market in NYC
experimenting for the first time with a reduction print
creating a mega-print (2ft x 3ft)
It’s scary to put a list out there, as this is the closest I’ve come to establishing a record for accountability. But regardless of what does or doesn’t get done, I’m happy to be on this journey and for all the kind support and love I’ve gotten thus far.
It’s been an absolute gift to share art with amazing people and I’m grateful for the ongoing collection of stories I’ve been able to experience and express through this medium.
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❤️
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Thank you for reading ❤️ wishing you nothing but health and wealth in 2025!
more to follow
