For just four quarters, anyone can visit Mystic, leaving with both an everlasting memory of the coastline, and a beautiful handmade piece of art, coming right from the hands of ELHS junior Emma Frisbie.
A creative and artistic student, Frisbie is a high-achiever, dabbling in poetry, art classes, surfing, and more.
Beginning in April, Frisbie launched a brand new idea– a vintage mini art vending machine, located in North Swell, Mystic, dispensing small prints of artwork, each carefully stamped and colored individually for $1 each. Following her creative idea, she came up with the name, Portside Prints.
“I’m always looking for ways to turn my bright passion for art into something beneficial, and Portside Prints is a great way to bring accessible art to the community,” Frisbie said. “It’s a little piece of Mystic – the most perfect souvenir.”
To create her work, Frisbie uses original linoleum stamps in which she carves by hand, and individually stamps each print, meaning none are the exact same. Each print, hand colored after stamped, from surfboards, to From the creative mind of junior Emma Frisbie, the CT coast is given a brand new artistic attraction at Northswell in Mystic seashells, and even the Mystic Drawbridge, every print shines a light on Mystic features.
Although her print business is successful, the process is still challenging for Frisbie. Managing the social media marketing to get the word out, restocking, getting materials, and carving out time in her day takes lots of time out of her day.
Frisbie hopes that her print business sets sail during the summer, especially in terms of the Mystic tourism. She currently has her original Mystic collection loaded into the machine, but hopes to create more in the future, in addition to having a franchise, possibly even displaying her prints at Coastal Crab.
Frisbie wants to reinforce the importance and message of her one-of-a-kind prints:
“It is my hope that each print is a small reminder to slow down, notice what’s around you, and care for the places that give us so much,” she said.
If you wish to support Emma and her new business, follow Portside Prints on Instagram!
These original prints are sold in downtown Mystic in Northswell for only $1!
