Skip to content

The art of Langley names

Artist Anna Necka has put a local spin on a global home decor trend
Miranda GATHERCOLE 2015-11-19
ELk & Elm
Artist Anna Necka is selling her popular Langley prints at The Livingroom in Fort Langley.

Artist Anna Necka has put a local spin on a global home decor trend.

Using bold black-foiled letters, the names Murrayville, Derby Reach, Glen Valley and several other Langley communities are wound together in eye-catching — and trendy — wall art.

Although artistic typography is not a new concept — similar neighbourhood prints for larger cities like London or Los Angeles are often on shelves at big box stores — Necka, 27, says there is a desire from shoppers to bring home something local.

“It really touches my heart in the way that people go out of their way to (support),” said Necka, who is also a business student at Simon Fraser University.

“Right now there’s a big thing to shop with smaller stores and local stores and artists, so it’s really nice to be included in that.”

Operating under the name Elk and Elm Home, Necka’s prints — which range in design from typography to gold-foiled animal images — have been sold online on Etsy and in store at The Livingroom in Fort Langley.

Starting as a simple project for a friend on Vancouver Island last March, Necka never imagined her business would take off so quickly.

“I actually made it by hand at first,” she explained.

“I would draw out the picture — and I’m not that great at drawing so it’s really hard — and then glue on the foils to it. I made a huge atlas and that one took me a solid three days to do.”

She’s since learned how to use a computer program to help the process, allowing for more detail in her prints.

“I started making more designs and posting them on Instagram, learning how to take photos of them because they are very hard to photograph,” Necka said.

“The gold foils turn out black if you get the wrong angle, and they don’t look so great, so it was definitely a learning curve just to get the right angel for the pictures.”

Courtney Van Der Zalm, owner of The Livingroom, found Necka’s prints online and asked to sell them in her shop. It was Van Der Zalm’s idea to create the Langley-centric neighbourhood designs, after her Fort Langley pillows became a huge seller.

But Van Der Zalm is not the only one who has discovered Necka. Tori Wesszer, a well-known dietitian and blogger (and cousin of fashion blogger Jillian Harris), posted a photo online with Necka’s custom made cutting boards, boosting Necka’s business overnight.

“I’m so shocked by how great the feedback is,” Necka said.

“I’m flattered. I’ve had people even message me saying they saw prints at that store and they love it.

“And it was so sweet that Tori replied. And she even took the time to make some banana bread for the picture — that’s so nice.”

Although she makes a variety of designs, Necka, whose family is from Poland, feels most inspired by antiques and her European roots.

“I really love vintage stuff,” she said.

“Poland is a lot older than Canada, so the things we value as antique here, they have stashed all over in their sheds and grandparent’s houses.”

Recently, Necka created an old camera print, and plans to create more images with vintage themes.

To see more of Necka’s prints, visit her online shop at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/elkandelmhome or in person at The Livingroom, 9190 Church St. in Fort Langley.