PERPETUAL CALENDAR

with art print on wood, in x in

FLOWER MUGS

with art print on the outside

WOODEN CLOCK

Art print on cardboard face under clear acrylic cover

THROW PILLOW

*Art print on cotton, 18x18 in*

LARGE SQUARE SCARF

Floral print on silk

FLORAL CANVAS TOTE

art print on the outside

ART CANVAS TOTE

art print on the outside

Free Gifts and THEIR storY

These gift items shown above are from the remainder inventory of HNChrysanthemum (HNC) pop up shop, which was set up at Taylor’s Collective (TC) market hall on Main Street in Ellicott City (EC), MD. TC was later renamed to Stone House Collective (SHC) when it was moved to another location on the same street. The HNC pop up was active between 2017 (shortly after my retirement) and 2022 (ended due to my relocation to DE). Some photos of the pop up display are shown here (at TC), and here (at SHC).

As seen in the photos of the shop, it offered original paintings, reproductions, art prints, greeting cards, blank notebooks, mugs, coasters, calendars, clocks, wood prints, wood keepsake boxes, silk scarves, silk kimonos, pouches, tote bags, pillows, and wooden necklaces (not all of these remainder items are shown here, on this Free Gifts page, but they may be found in the shop photos, and are all free gifts, if available and requested). Except for original paintings, and handmade art necklaces and perpetual calendars, these products were manufactured by online product-by-demand companies, which produce uniquely designed artwares and art wears from digital graphic files that artists created and sent to them. Some of my graphic files were based on my original paintings, while others were transformed by me from the original painting images to more abstract patterns, using available graphic software, such as those used in designing scarves, kimonos, pouches and tote bags.

It’s noteworthy to point out that HNC pop up weathered two major unexpected historic events, during its brief but memorable and learning-curve retail experience: the (second) so-called 100-year flood of Ellicott City in 2018 (during which the shop escaped the devastation by the virtue of its display location on the second floor of the building, whereas other sellers, with merchandises on the first floor and basement, weren’t so lucky), and then of course the Covid pandemic of 2020-2022 (during which sales and shopper traffics were slowed to almost a stand still, for a long while, before returning to normal as the pandemic waned).

HNC pop up was not forgettable, not only because it was a wholesome and fun retail experiment, but also because of where it made its home, in an eclectic culture and timeless setting of Ellicott City. This place was and still is a very picturesque and charming, but quaint and small town, formerly established as a mill and railroad community. It’s known for its slopy Main Street, lined with 18th- and 19th-century buildings made of granite, woven intimately with towering natural park surroundings, much undisturbed due to steep and rocky, wooded, rolling terrain. It offers a mix of specialty boutiques, unique gift stores, antique shops, galleries, home goods, apparel, sweets and modern coffee shops, in a walkable historic atmosphere. It is within proximity to Baltimore and Washington DC and “traces its roots to three Quaker brothers – the Ellicotts – who in 1772 owned 700 acres of land along the Patapsco River” (reference). The EC downtown is located at the lowest point of the valley center, but until 2016 (and again in 2018), it had peacefully enjoyed a good flow of tourists and artists every seasons, and had never witnessed any major disaster, such as its river overrunning its streets. Therefore, the 2016 and 2018 floods were totally unexpected, rapidly developed within hours, and twice caused widespread devastation. These floods were later attributed to the recent day overdevelopment of EC suburbs (and with it, the loss of most natural water infiltrating ground, which was replaced with excessive coverage of water runoff asphalt surfaces), on the higher grounds circling the downtown. Credit to its extreme resiliency, the town rebounded quickly, with the flood mitigation plans immediately implemented by the city and the state to prevent future repeats of flood, and any lasting adverse effects on its business community.

Whether you are those who enjoyed walking through EC’s dreamy and dramatic street- and park-scape, or shop owners who set up shops in one of the enchanting old stone houses, even just for a brief stay, and familiar with EC’s unpredictable, ever changing and reinventing history, you probably cannot help but share a deep kindred spirit from the start with this characterful earthy locale, like home away from home,