signature 48309 magazine – holiday 2006

April McCrumb’s whimsical gift gallery, Catching Fireflies (she opened her Rochester store last April and a Berkley location in 2000), features an eclectic mix of artsy trinkets and one-of-a-kind finds. McCrumb’s home in Beverly Hills is, not surprisingly, much the same. “I’ve loved making art ever since I was a child,” the self-taught artist says. And through trading her work with other artists, she has amassed a unique contemporary folk art collection.

In her TV room, on top of a well-worn turquoise chest of drawers, a charming wooden cat (with bottle caps for eyes) by Kansas City artist Anthony Pack shares space with a floralpatterned eyeglass-shaped picture frame and a red wooden dog, balancing on his two front legs and holding a yellow ball. A black-and-white photo of McCrumb’s grandparents nestles in a frame she created out of stained wood, handmade paper and grosgrain ribbon. “I love putting things together,” McCrumb says.

Signature 48309 Magazine  By: Judith Harris Solomon – Photo by: Daniel Lippitt