Orders are pouring in at Coast business after Walter Anderson art featured on HGTV show
A local art shop in Ocean Springs is shipping Walter Anderson prints across the U.S. and as far away as Canada and Germany after a piece was featured on “Hometown,” a popular HGTV show.
Erin Napier, along with husband Ben, helps homeowners renovate historic properties for sale in Laurel, and visited Realizations Ltd. with a camera crew last summer to learn how to make a silkscreen print with Anderson’s iconic designs, shop manager Mary Jo McCollins told the Sun Herald on Thursday.
Napier was taught by Carolyn Anderson, Walter Anderson’s daughter-in-law, who has been making block prints — and more recently silkscreen prints — with his designs for 50 years.
The finished piece, “Man o War,” was featured in the bathroom of the Rappleye-Ruiz house, the star of the Jan. 2 episode.
Since the show aired on HGTV, McCollins said business hasn’t stopped during what is traditionally a slow season at the store.
“The orders are just bananas,” McCollins said.
Realizations shipped 93 orders via UPS on Wednesday, and McCollins said that doesn’t include local orders.
The shop typically closes its storefront after Christmas for deep cleaning and inventory, but you can still buy a block print or silkscreen print online, McCollins said. Be patient, she said, as employees work to get orders shipped and filled.
This isn’t the first time Walter Anderson’s art has been featured on “Hometown,” but the extra air time with Erin Napier really helped business escalate.
“Instead of counting and cleaning, a lot of our efforts have gone to packing and shipping,” McCollins said. “We just keep plugging away.”
An iconic queen creation from Pass Christian artist Michelle Allee also was used in the kitchen of the Rappleye-Ruiz home.
“So honored to be included in this HGTV ‘Hometown’ makeover last night. Love this darling duo,” Allee said of the Napiers on Facebook.
Editor’s note: This story was updated from its original version to correctly identify Carolyn Anderson, who taught Erin Napier how to make a Walter Anderson block print at Realizations, Ltd.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 10:56 AM.
