about mkc photography
mkc photography is an eco-friendly, hand-made gift & home decor company that creates gorgeous art and wares using salvaged wood, paper from damaged library books, and original art by Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes. Customers love to purchase our artwork both for themselves and for gifts because they know each piece gives new life to otherwise discarded materials, especially wood products that are not normally recycled, reused, or salvaged. Our hands touch each piece we make countless times: we take pride in the handmade process and our exquisite attention to detail. We use only the highest quality archival prints, non-toxic sealant, and durable wood materials salvaged from a variety of sources, so each piece is (hand)made to last. We’ve been making beautiful things by hand in our Philadelphia-area studio since 2009.
Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes is the award-winning artist, creator, and story-teller behind mkc photography. Until the age of ten, Michelle was certain the secret passage into Narnia truly existed and if she just rifled through enough closets and cupboards, she would find it. Fables, fairy tales, and legends have always enchanted Michelle, her favorites being those where feisty and daring heroines like Lucy and Alice run off to have wild adventures. She graduated from the University of Oxford, where she would read in the same gardens that inspired C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll’s imaginations, and her whimsical, witty, & joyful {with just a hint of quirky} artwork is still influenced by this idea of magical worlds that mingle with our own. She’s a former librarian (hence, all those salvaged books) and she creates every piece of artwork featured on her handmade wares.
Michelle creates her artwork by photographing or illustrating each separate component: moon, cottage, flowers, or any other inspirations in her imagination. She then weaves these pieces into a digital collage, combining them into one magical scene.
Michelle is a member of the Artessa Alliance (an award-winning artist collective), received the Artist Cultural Exchange prize for “Alone With the Stars,” her mixed-media piece honoring Amelia Earhart, and was named Runner-Up Entrepreneur of the Year (2017) by Handmade Business Magazine. MKC Photography and has been a finalist for the Happening List’s Best of Montgomery County, PA in 2019 and 2020, and in 2021 won “Best in Show” at the American Handcrafted show.
Questions about our work?
Check out our FAQ below, read our customer reviews,
or contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Visit mkc photography on Instagram.
Here’s a peek inside the studio!
FAQ
Art Blocks
Handmade by Michelle from her archival art prints, reclaimed wood, and vintage book paper. Michelle seals each block with multiple layers of non-toxic matte varnish and signs them on the reverse. All blocks come with a keyhole opening in the back for ease of hanging.
Canvas Gallery Wraps
Professionally printed with archival inks on water resistant canvas that last over 100 years in direct sunlight. The canvas is stretched over 1.5 inch-deep handmade frames constructed of solid wood, and arrives signed and ready-to-hang. Michelle signs every piece by hand in the lower right corner.
Returns
We want you to love your art! If your items arrive damaged or you’re not happy in any way, please contact us within seven (7) calendar days of your order’s arrival to arrange an exchange or a return.
Fine Art Prints
Professionally printed on archival photo paper with light-safe inks. Prints last 100 years in home display and 200 years in dark storage. Michelle signs each print on the reverse with photo-safe ink. If selecting the matted 8×8 or 8×10 option, your print will arrive matted in classic white archival mat board and will be signed on the mat in pencil.
Keychains, Ornaments & Picture Holders
Beautiful and eco-friendly! Michelle creates each one from salvaged wood and book paper, and seals them with multiple coats of a high-quality, non-toxic finish. Our keychains aren’t fully waterproof (so please don’t leave them outside in a rain storm) but they are super durable and will withstand years of daily use.
Shipping
All items on this site ship free in the Continental United States. Please allow three (3) business days for prints, ornaments/keychains, photo holders, and 5×5 art blocks & seven (7) business days for canvas gallery wraps and large art blocks to ship once you’ve placed your order (expedited and international shipping is available for an additional fee: please contact us for a quote).
become an mkc retailer
Would you like to carry mkc photography art and gifts in your shop? We’d love to join you! Simply fill out our application to place your wholesale order with us today.
retail boutiques
mkc photography is available at these fine retailers in the USA and Canada:
Arizona
Carousel 18: Paradise Valley
California
Ami: Carmel
Good Morning Supply Company: Nevada City
Home Arts: Cambria
Soulscape: Encinitas
Colorado
Artisan Center: Denver
Colorado Cross Stitcher: Ft. Collins
Savvy on Pearl: Boulder
Willow: Crested Butte
Connecticut
Blue Moon By the Sea: Madison
Bruce Museum Store: Greenwich
Florida
Rare Earth Gift: Orlando
Georgia
Honey Dove Home: Canton
Illinois
Everyone’s Collective: Pontiac
Poopsie’s: Galena
Indiana
Morgenstern Books: Bloomington
Iowa
Agora Arts: Decorah
Louisiana
Revival Art House: Ponchatoula
Maine
Calluna Fine Flowers: Ogunquit
Hearth & Soul: Kennebunk
A Little Mad: Bar Harbor
On the Main: Ogunquit
Quench: Belfast
Maryland
jules + kate: Savage
Massachusetts
Beautiful Things: Westport
Green Road Refill: Brewster
Nantucket Looms: Nantucket
Ocean Dreams Market: Sherborn
Michigan
Relish: Traverse City
Two Fish Gallery: Leland
Missouri
Moonbeams: Glendale
New Jersey
Butter & Velvet: Denville
Flagg’s Garden Center: Moorestown
Good Scents: Cape May
Ocean Galleries: Avalon
Ocean Galleries: Stone Harbor
Raquel’s Home & Garden: Galloway
New York
Flowers By Nature: East Aurora
Handwork: Ithaca
Hudson Valley Vintage: Rhinebeck
Montauk Lighthouse Museum: Montauk
Peirce’s Gifts: Clifton Springs
The Eclectic Collector: Katonah
North Carolina
Fable: Charlotte
Firefly Craft Gallery: Flat Rock
H & L Modern Goods: Asheville
Local Boujee: Albemarle
Over the Moon: Ocracoke
Paper + Wood: Brevard
Ohio
Antica Modern: Lakewood
Oregon
K & E Inc: Sherwood
Pennsylvania
Bumbleberry Farms: Somerset
Earth & State: Media
City Books: Pittsburgh
Giunta’s Furniture & Accessories: Exton
Grace and Kate: Newtown Square
Pennsylvania General Store: Elkins Park
Pennsylvania General Store: Philadelphia
Swarthmore Campus Store: Swarthmore
Tadpole Crossing: Boalsburg
The Frame Game: Newtown
The Frame Game: Yardley
This Little Gallery: Jenkintown
Rhode Island
Paper Packaging & Panache: Bristol
The Photo Dog: Block Island
South Carolina
The Oyster & the Pearl: Pawleys Island
South Dakota
The Winner Pharmacy: Winner
Virginia
Reunions: Alexandria
The Sparrow’s Nest: Hot Springs
The Sparrow’s Nest: Staunton
Strawberry Fields Flowers + Gift: Richmond
Washington
Crow: Edmonds
The Handmade Showroom: Seattle
Wisconsin
AriensCo Museum: Brillion
Canada
Simplique Mode: Vancouver
Online
Bas Bleu
Tree Free Greetings
Selected Interviews and Features
Top Shop on Faire Wholesale: January-June 2022
American Handcrafted Show: Best in Show 2021
The Story Exchange “She’s Repurposing Old Library Books” January 2021
Interview with Bas Bleu Booksellers December 2020
The Story Exchange Home for the Holidays Gift Guide December 2020 The Happening List Best in Montgomery County 2020 Finalist “Rebirth” with Kate Brenton on Apple Podcasts May 2019
The Happening List Best in Montgomery County 2019 Finalist
“Tastemakers” on Sirius XM July 2018
Giftware News Designer Spotlight Jan 2018 (PDF)
Handmade Business Magazine 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year: Runner Up
NBC10 News
The Story Exchange: “The Independent Life”
