Hazel Tree Design Studio

09/01/2026

✨ LOCAL ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: JOELLE ZELLMAN ✨
Owner, Monochrome Canvas (Akron, OH)

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨?
"I consider myself a fine artist first, but I also own Monochrome Canvas, a fine art giclée print studio in Akron. We help artists, photographers, and other creatives turn their work into beautifully reproduced archival prints."

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝?
"I was formally trained in fine art with a concentration on painting, woodworking, and welding... Around 2020, after my second daughter was born, I began making fine art again and started exploring digital drawing through Procreate. It felt like a natural bridge between my traditional art background and the digital tools I had been using professionally."

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?
"Printing and framing naturally go hand in hand, so it's been a natural partnership... Early on after I launched the studio, so many people told me, 'You have to meet Karen Starr!' She sat down with me to talk through my aspirations for the studio and introduced me to other artists in the region."

𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧?
One standout: a signed archival print of artist Thao Nguyen's Lunar New Year poster artwork — printed by Monochrome Canvas, framed by Hazel Tree, and created for the Downtown Akron Partnership's Lunar New Year celebration.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭?
"I am completely immersed in preparing for a group exhibition with four other women artists debuting this September... illustrating each phrase through a visual interpretation of a fairy tale or piece of folklore."

Thank you, Joelle, for being such a wonderful creative partner! You can catch her next show on September 4 at Second April Studios. 🖼️

📍 Akron, OH | 🔗 monochromecanvas.com | 📸 @‌_monochromecanvas

08/29/2026

Can’t wait to check this place out! 🤩

Adam Hoover has a passion for selling and restoring vintage furniture. And he's showcasing prized pieces at Portfolio in downtown Canton. See link below ⬇️

📸 Ed Balint / Canton Repository

08/27/2026

MCM 101: Harmonious Materials 🪵

Continuing our Mid-Century Modern series! We've covered form follows function and the low-and-lean look; now let's talk materials.

MCM design lives and dies by contrast. And MCM design has a rule that's easy to miss: nothing beautiful should be made of just one material.

Walk through this Akron home, and you'll see the formula everywhere.

Warm walnut wood paired with cool navy lacquer and brushed brass hardware. Soft cognac leather set against black-and-white marble and a cast-iron fireplace tool set. Woven cane tabletops sit right next to exposed brick. Even the small details follow the rule: a black metal lamp with a brass stem, next to a hand-carved wood bird.

None of these pairings happen by accident. MCM designers believed that a natural material needed a structural one nearby to really read as special. Wood alone is just wood. Wood next to brass, or velvet next to marble, becomes something worth noticing.

That contrast, natural against structural, soft against hard, warm against cool, is what keeps a room from ever feeling flat or one note. It's also why a house full of different materials can still feel completely cohesive instead of chaotic.

08/19/2026

We are so excited and honored to bring resident ideas to life in another City of Akron park with Akron Parks Collaborative!

Waters Park Update!

The Waters Park team kicked off our work with Hazel Tree Design Studio yesterday with a meeting at the park. Hazel Tree will be helping design seating and art elements for several areas throughout Waters Park.

Our conversation explored ideas for seating, public art, picnic areas, wayfinding, accessibility, and ways to reflect the diverse community and history surrounding Waters Park. At the overlook, we also talked about taking advantage of the beautiful views toward downtown Akron.

These are still early conversations, and Hazel Tree will use the team's input to begin exploring design possibilities. We look forward to sharing more as the ideas take shape!

08/18/2026

When Summit County Land Bank asked us to curate the art for their new space, our team knew we had to honor the building's history through John S. Knight and his first wife, Katherine. Their history lives, in part, through original oil paintings still hanging in daughter-in-law Cynthia Knight's home. Moving them wasn't an option. So we found another way.

Photographer Tim Fitzwater captured each piece in the home in high resolution, preserving every brushstroke, shadow, and subtle shift in color.

We printed giclées on canvas, museum-quality prints made with archival inks to capture the detail and color of the original. They gave us the visual accuracy, so we could rebuild the texture by hand.

Then came the part that changed everything.

Our own Jon Haidet of Hazel Tree hand-applied layers of gesso to each print. Not as a primer, but as a sculptural tool. He studied the originals and rebuilt their surface: the raised brushstrokes, the uneven edges, the places where paint once held more weight.

Gesso works here because it gives the print dimension. Without it, a giclée is visually accurate but physically flat. With it, light catches the surface the way it does on real oil paint, creating depth, movement, and variation that your eye reads as original.

The result is a building that carries its history forward instead of just displaying it. Katherine and John Knight's presence isn't a plaque or a placeholder. It's on the walls, catching light the way it always has, keeping the space honest about where it came from.

08/14/2026

It’s almost complete!
Coming soon to West Market Street, in the former Bricco West spot across from Summit Mall, will be the new Tangier West, another fab location brought to you by The Tangier, with interior design by Hazel Tree.

Stay tuned!

08/12/2026

Sneak peek of our latest commercial project!

✨ One week until a new chapter begins.

We've had the privilege of seeing what Hazel Tree Design Studio can do firsthand at The Bank — breathing new life into a space while honoring the character that makes it special.

Now, we're excited to see that same creativity at work again at Tangier West.

With the Grand Opening just one week away, the finishing touches are coming together and we can't wait to welcome everyone in.

A new space, a new chapter, and a little Tangier magic returning to West Market Street. ❤️

🎟️ See what's coming up:
https://www.thetangier.com/events

08/05/2026

Cabinet hardware is often underestimated. Think of it like the jewelry on an outfit or the icing on the cake.

At Hazel Tree, we've learned that hardware isn't just functional; it's expressive. One of the biggest mistakes we see is choosing a single style and size, then repeating it everywhere.

What you're looking at here is actually one home, and that's our favorite detail to share. Each room has its own personality, its own story. Still, you'd know they belong to the same home and the same family.

A few things we always keep in mind:

K***s on doors, pulls on drawers. There are exceptions, but this guideline exists for good reason — doors and drawers have different ergonomics.

Hardware should scale with the cabinet it lives on. What works on a small spice drawer usually won't work on a pantry.

Two metals, not three. We love mixing metal finishes across appliances, lighting, and plumbing fixtures. A third starts to feel accidental.

If you look through these photos, you'll notice a mix of finishes, shapes, and styles from room to room. But our favorite details are the ones that actually speak to the space they're in.

Can you spot the wavy pulls in the pool bath? A quiet nod to water. Or the bubble-embossed pulls in the laundry room? Soap bubbles. Every choice is intentional.

What questions do you have about hardware?

07/28/2026

Our designs for Prentiss Park in Kenmore will soon go from rendering to reality! Stay tuned!

Do you remember this beautiful rendering of the future plaza space at Prentiss Park?

The previous shuffleboard area is being transformed into a vibrant gathering space for the community. It will feature colorful seating and co****le boards. ADA-accessible seating will also be installed under the pavilion, creating a welcoming place for people to gather and connect.

We’re excited to share that excavation of the area was completed this month. Next month, concrete will be poured, followed by the installation of the seating, bringing this vision to life.

We can’t wait to see this space become a new destination for neighbors, friends, and families to gather and enjoy. 🌳✨Hazel Tree Design Studio and Rustbelt Rebirth will be installing their community inspired design soon!