Meet Julie Schabel | Screen printer, artist, and educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Schabel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It just kind of happened. I started learning the process of screen printing at an internship in high school. I kept printing in college and started printing for my friends businesses and bands. I worked at different shops in nyc and chicago to learn the business. When I moved back to cleveland I didn’t have access to a shop so I started setting up my own shop which became Wave Space.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Wave Space Studio is a community arts space above all. We offer classes so people can come in and use the space to create . I have had the privilege of working with so many artists from all over the country through my art. I love that it brings like minded people together.
My personal art practice is centered around my relationship to the environment. I get inspiration from the colors shapes and layers of nature all around me.

I think a thing that I have learned is to not stress out about art. I started doing this because it is fun, I try to keep that in mind when I want to get stressed about something not going right. There will always be random issues that come up, things that go wrong with something you are working on that needs to be done asap. I have learned that everything will work out even if it seems like it won’t at the time. Big picture everything. That has been the most challenging realization.

I took baby steps along the way to get to where I am at now. I started setting up my shop in my living room when I moved back from nyc in 2015. I would burn screens at a friends studio and print at my apt. Then I found an exposure unit on Craigslist so I could be more self sufficient. I slowly built up my shop with all the equipment I have now. It was hard when I didn’t have all the necessary tools at my disposal but it just made me work harder to get to the next goal of buying a wash out booth or a dip tank to clean my screens more effectively.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I just did this! Cleveland has a lot of cool spots now. I took my friend from chicago to this spot good company. They have burgers and boozy shakes and $10 pitchers of highlife on Mondays. We went to a Guardians game after. If you can get a bike here I recommend that. Cleveland has great bike paths and we are starting to get more bike lanes on roads as well. Traffic here is minimal compared to other cities so it’s easier to ride. I always take friends down to edgewater as well. We have the best sunsets. Astoria cafe is my go to for brunch here. They have really well thought out dishes and it’s always consistent.
My new favorite spot for a fancy night out is Amba. I went there for my birthday. It’s great for a group to get a bunch of things and share, creative high end Indian food and amazing cocktails.

Cleveland also has those hidden gem dive bars. I always go to parkview because it’s close to edgewater and they have a patio. ABC on 25th is a classic as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would say that would be Zach Fortune. He is no longer with us but I worked at his DIY basement print shop in NYC and learned so much. I learned how to print plastisol (a special kind of ink used for T-shirts) and how to plan live screen printing events.

Website: Www.wavespacestudio.com

Instagram: Wavespacestudio

Image Credits
Kaitlyn Overton