Kyle | Providence Flea
I grew up in Coventry. I live in Cranston. My studio’s in Central Falls. I spend a lot of time kayaking, travelling a little bit. Hiking a lot of the rivers around here, a lot of the trails.
I own Coastal Carve Engravings. I make 3D maps out of wood. It’s all done on a laser engraver. I download bathymetry data, and I trace that data in some software, and then I add all the rows and names and depths. And then I make ornaments, larger size charts, hexagon ones.
It all started because of this one ornament, the “Washington Bridge Detour.” I made it the day it happened, and it went a little viral online, so that I was able to start this whole business because of that unfortunate incident. But ever since then, I’ve been just doing a lot of custom orders and just kind of growing it that way. Started off with my favorite places, and then other people will reach out to me and ask for what they want, and then I’ll just create it from there.
My background is in video production, and I used to make 3D maps for scientists. I used to work at URI Oceanography School. I used to go out on research vessels and do documentaries. And then just an interest in having maps, loving maps, looking at maps. I saw this style, and was like, “God, never noticed anyone doing it around here.” I used to work at a maker space, which is where I learned how to laser engrave. I kind of liked it. And then I just landed into this medium.
Support local; it really helps. If you see a local item in a store, just know you’re helping that one store and also the artist behind that. Kind of a two for one deal.
Michelle Bi studies English and International & Public Affairs at Brown University. On campus, she writes for The Brown Daily Herald and is involved in social science research. She grew up in Ventura County, CA and enjoys playing guitar and crossword puzzles.
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