New Ogden studio houses modern stained glass and revived vintage goods
Chelbie Hunger, left, and Jess and Jamie Harper inside their new studio at The Monarch at Open Studio Night on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Harper Made, inside Studio 14 at The Monarch, revitalizes vintage textiles and materials into clothing, jewelry and furniture.
Chelbie Hunger designs glassworks, such as this one in Studio 14 at The Monarch, in soft shapes and warm, amber hues inspired by Utah deserts.
A work in progress by stained glass artist Chelbie Hunger, inside her studio at The Monarch on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Revived Vintage goods displayed by Harper Made inside their new studio at The Monarch on Open Studio Night on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Chelbie Hunger Glassworks and Harper Made Revived Vintage Goods, previously seen at community markets, quaint boutiques and pizza joints across the Wasatch, recently expanded.
In June, the small business owners moved into a joint studio space at the Monarch, which they doused with a fresh coat of white paint, where they will create and showcase their nostalgia-inspired artworks year-round.
It was a natural next step for the artist friends who make new things out of old.
For Hunger, it was an old stained-glass window that caught her eye at a thrift shop that set her art career in motion. Enchanted, she bought a stained-glass kit on a whim and studied hours of YouTube tutorials, learning to use the tools and how to handle the glass. “It’s a fairly unforgiving art form,” Hunger said. “You have to learn by practicing and understanding how glass behaves when working with it.”
It’s hard to believe she’s only been handling glass since 2018 with her stylized work and success selling at locally run markets and Salt Lake shops Atelier and Salt and Honey. Sun catchers, planter stakes, mirrors and card holders are some of the products she designs in soft shapes and warm amber hues inspired by the Utah deserts.
The desert is also influential for Plain City-born Jamie and Jess Harper, who now reside in Ogden and sell at Atelier and Lucky Slice Pizza locations. Western culture, Utah deserts and the outdoor industry all play into the “revived vintage” clothing and goods they make, namely T-shirts, jeans, boots and bags.
Jamie Harper, who teaches in the photography department at Weber State University, repurposes vintage textiles and materials they find into clothing, jewelry and furniture, while Jess, a full-time student employed at Crossroads, makes the inventory and spaces picture perfect.
“I think the art of it all is just showing up,” Jamie Harper said. “We brake for yard sales.”
Growing up, their grandpa took them to “the DI,” Deseret Industries, every morning at 10 a.m., where they’d wait for the doors to open and find “treasures.” “Our skills have really just built on top of this foundation of cherishing old things,” Jamie Harper said, “especially if they have a story attached.”
Hunger finds satisfaction in making light-catching objects with new stories to create, “in hopes that they bring joy to the spaces we spend our precious time in and around.” She is excited for a space of her own to create and showcase her work and looks forward to hosting workshops this fall.
Find Chelbie Hunger Glassworks and Harper Made Revived Vintage Goods in Studio 14 at The Monarch, or visit chelbiehunger.com and harpermade.com.