Julie and Kevin founded Yee haw Industries in 1997. Letterpress Art, a nearly extinct art form, has been revived
by Yee Haw Industries. Julie is a West Virginia native and
graduated from the University of Tennessee and the New York School
of Visual Art. After working for Seventeen Magazine and
Blue Note Records, Julie returned South and teamed up with
Kevin, a pop folk artist. Kevin worked for Hatch Show Print, a
120 year-old company known for its Grand Ole Opry posters.
It all began with the realization that Kevin’s
folk art style was a perfect match with old time press equipment
and that reprints of Kevin’s creations could be easily made.
Julie and Kevin began traveling throughout Tennessee, Kentucky,
West Virginia and New York to find old, cast off letterpress
equipment abandoned in old buildings. Their relentless search has
produced a collection of thousands of antique blocks and is
complemented by the continuous addition of new hand carved block
designs.
The nationally acclaimed award winning
collection, which started with Kevin’s folk art reproduced as
posters, now includes hand made greeting cards, one of a kind hand
bags, journals and other assorted art-like products. Some of Yee
Haw’s clients include such notables as Mary Chapin Carpenter,
Lucinda Williams, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Southern Culture on
the Skids and the Kentucky Derby.
Yee Haw’s popularity is growing rapidly.
