In the newest Artist Series we highlight Pennsylvania native and current Philadelphia creator, Eric Hinkley. We have worked with Eric on numerous graphics and accessories over the years, with our most recent being the Orchards design inspired by mid 20th century fruit crate labels and matchbook ephemera commonly found in the Northeast. A person of many interests and hobbies, Eric shares a bit more about himself, his work, and the process behind creating some memorable analog inspired graphics for today's digital age.
All photographs captured by Christian Orellana
View more work from Eric Hinkley
Only NY: Who are you, where are you from, and could you share a bit about yourself and your work?
EH: Eric Hinkley, B. 1989, Scranton PA. Northeast PA or NEPA as its often referred to is always going to be my HOME no matter where I live (Philadelphia). I think there is something in the water because The Lackawanna and Lehigh Valley has a deep history of producing these super scrappy, creative, get shit done kind of people with an unmatched work ethic. That “Working class? You bet your ass!" mentality has served me well in my career. I think having success is less about talent and more about just sticking with it and putting in the hours and grinding it out.
My work really developed around my hobbies and interests. Growing up I always felt really divided and like I was leading a double life. There was the version of me who spent his weekends musky fishing on the Susquehannah River or deer hunting with my dad and grandpa. As a middle schooler I tried to hide this "hick" side as best I could. It wasn't cool to be outdoorsy in that way. Then there was the other version of me who was heavy into the skateboarding and snowboarding scenes of the early 2000s.
This is where I got a my visual inspiration at the time. And that same scrappy DIY culture I just mentioned was present in these scenes too. There were so many small rider owned and operated companies in those scenes back then. They made awesome gear and had insane graphics and they were being run by like half a dozen tattooed, punk, skaters or snowbaorders without any business degrees. This was the representation I needed to see. I was like damn, if they can do that then I could do that.
The real stand out to me in particular was The Grenade Gloves team. They had it all. Only years later did I learn that it was the living legend, Aaron Draplin, that played a huge part in that brand's visual identity. Anyway, that really helped me to see that if I wanted to I could source my own production and design and print my own shirts and hardgoods, and photograph them myself and build a website and start selling.
It wasnt until I was in my late 20's that I decided to kind of merge these 2 sides of myself though. I had decided that I needed to get sober around age 27 and so to stay busy and stay out of trouble I started fishing again. A LOT! Honestly the fishing took on an addict level of intensity but it was much healthier. This was the biggest turning point. It was at this moment that I started making work about fishing and hunting and my appreciation for the outdoors. I found my voice. I started drawing more inspiration from all of the beautiful old illustrations and packaging from old fishing gear and shotgun shell boxes and stuff like that.
Old hunting and trapping digests and buttons and pins and patches, there was so much and I wasnt really seeing anyone else utilizing it. My grandfather had a room in his basement where he re-loaded his own bullets and it was chock full of beautiful design from the 40's up through the 90's. Before that moment I was glombing on to illustration trends and design trends that Id see on Dribbble or IG and I was trying to follow rather than find my own way. My work was good but it just looked the same as so many other peoples work.
Only NY: What are some of your biggest inspirations, and what inspires you to create the work you do?
EH: I love looking at Ephemera. Old matchbooks, newspaper ads, food labels, burlap bags, wooden crates, oyster cans, that kind of thing. The stuff that not only looked beautiful, but served a real purpose and wasnt meant to be saved or put on display as a work of art. Im going to give up one of my best resources here... I piggyback off my friend EJ's Newspapers.com subscription. If you go through the ad's from the late 19th century up until about the late 1960's its like a masterclass in 2-D design. The draftsmanship, the economy of line, the precision, its absurd. No matter what it was advertising, it had to work in black and white and it had to be only about 3" max. Ive learned a lot digging through these ads.
Only NY: Could you share a bit about the Orchard graphic idea and found material that helped make the artwork?
EH: The Orchard graphic was created out of all the inspiration I mentioned above. When I got the concept from Only NY I knew it was just a great fit for me. I looked at a lot of old labels that would appear on the side of wooden fruit crates. More often than not they would feature a picturesque landscape and a really idealized rendering of the fruit they wanted to sell you.
Only NY: Your work has a very nostalgic feel. What is it about classic designs that always appear to be timeless?
EH: That classic look really just comes out of the stuff im feeding my eyes. I am looking at so much inspiration from a bygone era that it just seeps in on its own. I kind of try to make the work purposely vague, like you cant really tell what decade it was made in...or i guess thats the "timeless-ness" you refer too I want it to have one foot in both camps. I want it to look and feel like those old pieces i keep referring to but at the end of the day its almost always showing up in a digital format and often portraying very modern places and products. I'm just looking for some middle ground there.
Only NY: What else can we expect from you in the Winter / Holiday season, and anything else you'd like to share?
EH: Keep your eyes peeled for some hand printed drinking glasses this holiday season. haha we didnt even get into that obsession of mine. I have devised a way to print my own "collectible drinking glasses" in my studio and am doing a collab with Only NY on a 3 glass set coming soon.
I'm always open to new projects if its a good fit, and if youre interested in the words and work im talking about here please take a look at my personal site erichinkleydesign.com. Theres a link on that site to my own shirts and patches and glasses and lighters and stuff.