Beth Zarret
Scrambled! is not the new breakfast joint in town, so don’t look for bacon and eggs there. Imagine instead an art gallery that is as unexpected as its name suggests.
Just follow the large brightly colored arrows on the sidewalk that point visitors toward the New Hope shop’s propped-open door. Then pass under the eye-catching shop sign with the lime-green scribbling, through the pulled-back gauze curtains of the same color, and into the gallery that explodes with color and energy.
Visitors to Scrambled! are greeted by gallery owner and artist Erin Simmons with a welcome just as warm as the simmering cider she often offers on cold days. The shop, located behind the New Hope Arts Gallery on West Bridge Street, is filled with her energy and her art pops from the walls.
There are mirrors with brilliantly colored mosaic-style frames, paintings of flowers and cityscapes, and display cases of necklaces with eggshell mosaic pendants. Simmons’ paintings are all “brushless,” created by tools such as dental picks, cotton swabs and credit cards.
The flowers and cities have been reimagined and recreated by Simmons. The colors in the flowers defy their boundaries; their joyful hues spreading out over the canvas. High-rise buildings in the cityscapes are brought to life in lively shades of bright purples, greens and pinks. Buildings curve up to the sky at implausible angles, seeming to smile and dance.
The joy and energy in Simmons’ work is also apparent in the work of the other artists on display in her store. While most of the pieces are her own, Simmons has carefully cultivated art by local and regional artists to mirror the spirit and beauty of her own.
The art at Scrambled!, in fact, is meant to be just that: a mixed-up blend that works together. There are beautiful handknit baby sweaters in surprising shades including teal and magenta. And there are handmade bars of soap, crocheted loofah balls, necklaces and bracelets, and even painted wooden “internal organ” wall art.
To complement the one-of-a-kind pieces, Scrambled! offers an extensive collection of stunningly unique cards crafted by local artists. Wherever the eyes wander in Scrambled!, Simmons’ own energy and optimism seems to emanate from every object in her shop.
A healthy-sized serving of optimism and grit is needed to open an art gallery any time, but to open one during a pandemic requires a double-dose, and Simmons has just that.
With the lease on the space signed just a month before the lockdown, Simmons had a nagging sense that “something was going to happen.” While she couldn’t have predicted the pandemic, she also wasn’t surprised by hitting an obstacle.
She simply decided to appreciate the slower start and the time to work out “the kinks.”
“I’ve been lucky because I haven’t been stuck in the house. I always have someplace to go on the weekends,” Simmons said.
Perhaps what stands out most after spending a few minutes with Simmons is her frequent use of the word “happy” to describe how she wants customers to feel after buying a piece from her store.
Simmons hopes that her customers bring home an affordable piece of art to serve as a conversation piece in their own spaces. And, in that way, her mission of spreading joy through art will be achieved.
So, while this “little shop with the big heART” (as Simmons has nicknamed it), can only hold seven people at once, it can contain a seemingly endless amount of sunshine, laughter, and joy.
What Simmons has done with this slightly off-the-beaten path space is what she recalls her own mother doing for her as a child. “Whatever I dreamed up as a child, my mom would make it happen. When I wanted to sleep in the clouds, my mom built me a loft bed and painted clouds on the wall.”
Anyone who walks into the shop senses that Simmons has created just this kind of space in the clouds for visitors, the kind of happy place they have been dreaming of during these trying months.
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