Meet Turn-of-the-Centuries
Meet the maker
Turn-of-the-Centuries
Tacoma, WA · Hand-drawn watercolor maps
Kirsten Sparenborg trained as an architect and spent years as an urban designer before the drawing took over. Turn-of-the-Centuries is her one-woman studio, started in 2007 in Savannah, Georgia and now settled in Tacoma, where she has drawn dozens of maps of the city and its neighborhoods.
Every map is drawn and painted by hand. She works in watercolor, ink, and collage, and describes her maps at three scales: aerial, distant, and intimate. The colors are natural and muted so the lines and forms carry the composition. A Tacoma map by Kirsten is not a reference map; it is a portrait of the place.
"Place holds so much meaning for me."
Why we carry them
A map of your own city, drawn by hand by someone who lives in it, is a different object than a map. People pick these up and find their block. We carry the Tacoma prints and a rotating stack of postcards for Washington places.
How it's made
From Kirsten's own product notes:
- Art prints: Printed on Epson archival coated paper with archival inks on an Epson professional inkjet printer; signed and dated by the artist on the back
- Postcards: 4.72 by 4.72 inches, 32 pt thick luxe matte card
Check out these products
- Tacoma Art Print ($28). The urban fabric of the city, in watercolor.
- Puget Sound Map Postcard ($5). The whole Sound on one card.
- Washington State Map Postcard ($5). For anyone who needs a reminder of home.
Shop everything by Turn-of-the-Centuries
See what they are up to...
Instagram: @turnofthecenturies
Turn-of-the-Centuries is one of the Pacific Northwest makers on our shelves. There's something lovely that happens when you can find your goods locally.