Chicago, Illinois · Est. 2020 · Founded by Allison Poplett
Allison Poplett studied art history and drawing at Bradley University, then graphic design at Chicago Portfolio School, and spent two years as the in-house designer at Third Man Records -- Jack White's Nashville label -- before the pandemic sent her back to herself. With the encouragement of her therapist, she made the leap and started her own studio in Chicago in 2020. She creates original paintings and archival art prints inspired by Matisse, vintage poster design, and the cultural richness of Italy and France -- romanticizing the quiet beauties of everyday life: a serene cup of tea, a vibrant meal, a delicate bouquet. Her first international order came from a shop in Paris. She was over the moon.
Allison Poplett has always been drawn to beauty -- not in a shallow sense, but in the way it shows up quietly in the world: a color palette, a historic building, a warm cup of coffee in good light. She grew up wanting to be an artist, was inspired as a teenager by the fashion illustrator Garance Doré, and pursued that path with specificity -- art history and drawing at Bradley University, then graphic design at Chicago Portfolio School. She built her career first in-house at Third Man Records, Jack White's Nashville-based label, where she spent two years designing for one of the most visually distinctive brands in music.
When the pandemic disrupted everything, she found herself in an uncertain job search and a long conversation with her therapist about what she actually wanted. The answer was her own studio. She moved back to Chicago, started Allison Poplett Studio in 2020, and built it one piece at a time -- original acrylic paintings, archival art prints made to order on museum-grade paper, greeting cards, stationery, and home goods, all designed in her one-woman studio and shipped in compostable packaging with no wasteful back stock.
The work is rooted in Matisse -- his bold, confident color, his refusal to make beauty complicated -- and in the cultural richness of Italy and France that has always drawn her. She romanticizes the simplicities of everyday life: a glass of wine, a vibrant meal, a bouquet of flowers just beginning to open. When her first order arrived from a shop in Paris, she was over the moon. Her work now sells internationally, in shops across the US and around the world.
On a registry, an Allison Poplett print is the piece that makes a wall feel finished -- color and warmth and a deep love of everyday beauty, made by one person who means every brushstroke.
