Photo courtesy of Erin Melaney
Erin Melaney’s laser-cut metal ornaments include a series with the different neighborhoods of Homewood.
What started out as a personal venture for a yard decoration has turned into a business for Erin Melaney.
Melaney sells personally designed decorative ornaments with themes of various neighborhoods around Homewood and in the Birmingham area including Avondale, Crestwood and now cities from other states including Atlanta and Biloxi, Mississippi.
“It’s something that I enjoy doing,” Melaney said. “It definitely gives me a creative outlet.”
It all started when Melaney wanted a Crestwood sign to put in her yard with her own design. She found a local laser cutting company that could cut out the design she created. The company had a $100 minimum, though, which gave her the option of buying eight more pieces or just one piece still at the cost of $100. She decided on the eight pieces, giving the extras out as gifts to family, friends and neighbors.
“My husband laughs because people, when they come to the booth and they see their neighborhood, they get excited,” Melaney said. “Because they don’t often see branded stuff that is that ultra local, and I think that’s the appeal.”
As a self-taught graphic designer, Melaney was able to create the designs used on the ornaments and make them specifically for laser cutting herself. Many of the people who received her first gifts began encouraging Melaney to create and sell them.
Starting out at the Crestwood event, Crest Fest, Melaney gave selling her designs a try and was received well, with many requests for designs of other parts of the city.
“From there I started adding more and more designs, to the point that I now have like 50 different neighborhoods that I do,” Melaney said.
Melaney’s business has been ongoing since 2014 and has grown throughout the Southeast and even further. The ornament designs display the names of particular towns along with local icons, like a locomotive for Irondale or the Storyteller Fountain for Five Points South.
Her Homewood series includes Edgewood, West Homewood and Hollywood, each with shops or homes that residents can instantly recognize, as well as an Alabama-shaped ornament with the word “Homewood” and a heart over the city’s location.
Melaney said when creating the ornaments, she tries to pick designs that will resonate with that community, even asking around to make sure.
“I joke about it being the family business,” Melaney said. “I have a 2½-year-old and she, of course, loves to come to all the places where we sell. … She likes to help me prepare the ornaments. So she likes to help clean and put them in the bag and do little things like that. She says it’s her job.”
As something that started out as a hobby interest, Melaney finds enjoyment in her business and the work that goes into it. She also works with her mom and sometimes even her daughter in creating and managing the business.
“It’s something I do with my mom,” Melaney said. “So my mom is kind of my business partner. She helps a whole lot with that. It’s something fun that we get to do together. We go to a lot of craft fairs, and we’ll go spend a Saturday sitting in a park selling our stuff. It’s enjoyable.”
Melaney’s designs are sold at various stores around Birmingham, including Homewood Pharmacy in Edgewood and Urban Suburban Antiques.
Erin Melaney designs will also appear in The Summit Holiday Experience Shop from Black Friday to Christmas. This event allows local vendors to buy booths in a shop at The Summit to share and sell their merchandise during the holiday season. Melaney will have a booth at this event and will be selling her ornaments and other designs.
“So I will actually have a shop in The Holiday Experience this year, which I’m excited about [and] a little nervous about because just knowing kind of the volume of shopping that takes place over there,” Melaney said. “It’s a lot to prepare for, so that’s what I’m working on right now.”
Her designs, which are also featured on yard signs, towels, plaques and magnets, can also be found at her store on Etsy, Erin Melaney Designs, or her Facebook page.
