Tucson Hop Shop
Over the years we have done several mural projects at Tucson Hop Shop. Hop Shop co-owner and overall wonderful human being Jessie has always been awesome to work with. She gives us complete creative freedom to bring her vision and ideas to fruition.
The expansion of Tucson Hop Shop was truly a dream project for us for so many reasons. Hop Shop was one of our first clients when they opened in 2015. We loved them immediately when they gave us the prompt “Grateful Dead Posters”. That meant groovy lettering and Art Nouveau style hop vines. A few months later we came back to paint a Mucha style scene under the stairs. The inspiration - what if Art Nouveau had started in the Sonoran desert?
Six years later, Hop Shop had outgrown their little space thanks to its loyal customers and consistent newcomers. Despite the scares of covid, they made the brave decision to lease the newly available space next door and triple their indoor/outdoor square footage. They kindly asked us to design new artwork for the expansion.
The new space lent itself perfectly for more Art Nouveau style designs. The walls are partitioned randomly by steel beams, mirroring the “panel” element common in many Art Nouveau works. This mural is the focal point of the expansion. A young woman has ridden her bicycle into the desert and found just the right spot under a saguaro to read her favorite novel and enjoy a cold beer. We wanted to reference the Hop Shop’s many customers who come by bike, given the close proximity to the bike path.
A winged bicycle can be seen in several art nouveau works. We designed our bike with native hawk wings. The seemingly random, but intentional sign on the right translates to the Hop Shop’s catch phrase, “Hop Shop My Heart”. The saguaro extends upwards towering into the loft space. Perched on its arm is a hawk, perplexed by the winged bicycle below.
We knew we wanted to include nouveau style lettering somewhere. This paneled wall ended up being the perfect spot. To the left of the lettering is Hop Shop’s icon. We added whimsical poppies throughout the wall and a fantastical peacock, because why not.
It was a fun puzzle deciding which panels to paint and which to leave blank. The space couldn’t feel overcrowded, but there should be plenty to look at. This living room area was designed as a place to hang for a bit, perhaps with friends or perhaps alone. We added a dreamy night sky with shimmering silver stars, a night blooming cactus visited by a nocturnal moth, and a towering ocotillo in true Art Nouveau style.
The expansion also created a private loft space for events or overflow during busy weekends. We created a wall of giant globemallows, an Arizona wildflower, of course illustrated in art nouveau style.
