Elizabeth “Bug” Baker and Blake Rumage have turned their passion project of thrifting and collecting records into a business. They are eager to open Hyacinth House on April 27 at 201 East 18th Street.
For years, the pair have been finding new music together and collecting records.
“When COVID came around, we were just looking for things to do,” Baker said. “I always wanted to make jewelry, and Blake has always had an interest in art.”
Their avid record collecting led them to stumble on a handful of records that were all scratched up and not worth a penny. But Blake had the idea to paint on the old records and hang them on the wall.
Baker said Rumage paints a lot of album covers, portraits, and original designs. Rumage is working on expanding his graphic design skills along with his art and plans to run a screen printing shop to offer custom T-shirts.
Bug wire-wraps crystals and collects unique and antique items to repurpose into jewelry and wearable art.
The duo has also decided to venture into reselling clothes.
“We pretty much only buy the clothes we wear from a second-hand store, and knew it would only be a matter of time before we started shopping for other people too,” she said. “We are big travelers and we like to stop at thrift stores in every town we visit, which makes our supply of preloved and vintage clothes unique to any other stores.”
Baker said they are two artists who have a passion for music and art.
“We’ve spent the past 2-3 years creating art to sell for some of our favorite music festivals and shows, and we can’t wait to finally offer our products to our hometown at our new storefront,” she said.
Hours for the store will be 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
