✦ OUR STORY ✦
EVOLUTION OF AN ART STORE
SERVING NEW HAVEN'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY SINCE 1947
What began as a neighborhood hobby shop on Chapel Street evolved alongside New Haven's creative community into the art supply and custom framing store you know today.
1947
IT STARTED WITH A HOBBY SHOP
In post-war New Haven, iconic hobby brands Erector Set and American Flyer were being manufactured in a building that today houses dozens of art studios.
Nearby on upper Chapel Street, Harry Hull opened Hull's Hobbies, offering the kind of personal attention and service only an independent store can provide.
Under Harry's stewardship, Hull's flourished and became a regional icon.
1950s & 1960s
NEW HAVEN CHANGED. HULL'S CHANGED WITH IT.
Television, discount stores, suburban shopping and changing interests brought enormous challenges to traditional downtown hobby shops. Many disappeared.
Hull's had something working in its favor: its location just two blocks from the Yale Schools of Art, Architecture and Drama.
Materials hobbyists used to build airplanes and train layouts were also essential tools for architecture students and professional architects building physical study models. The completion of Yale's Art and Architecture Building in 1963, together with New Haven's growing architectural community, created demand for an increasingly diverse selection of creative materials.
1970s – 1990s
THE VISION TO BECOME AN ART STORE
During this era, Hull's was owned by Art “Butch” DiAdamo, who recognized that the world around the traditional hobby shop was changing — and saw an opportunity for Hull's to change with it.
With Yale's art and architecture programs nearby and a growing community of students, professional artists, architects and creative customers coming through the doors, Butch had the vision to transition Hull's from its hobby-store roots toward a much broader selection of professional and student art supplies.
Over the following decades, paints, brushes, papers, drawing materials and other art supplies increasingly filled the space once occupied by trains, planes, rockets and slot cars. Hull's was becoming the art store generations of New Haven artists would come to know.
As Hull's became increasingly popular with art students, casual creators and professional artists, another customer need emerged: picture framing. There was only so much room in the original 900-square-foot shop, so framing, cards, prints and art novelties expanded into an adjacent storefront.
1999
HULL'S ART SUPPLY & FRAMING
In 1999, Hull's was purchased by Steve Kovel. To better reflect what the store had become, he renamed the business Hull's Art Supply & Framing.
Later that year, Steve moved Hull's one block east into a formerly derelict building that he purchased and thoroughly renovated, effectively tripling the store's original selling space.
✦ HULL'S TODAY ✦
THE STORE EVOLVED. THE PERSONAL SERVICE DIDN'T.
Today, Hull's is owned by Shawn Szirbik, whose connection to the store began long before he owned it — he first shopped at Hull's as a kid in the 1970s.
Decades later, Shawn and the Hull's crew continue the store's long tradition of serving New Haven's creative community while carrying forward a simple mission:
IGNITING IMAGINATION.
Hull's isn't just for art students and professional artists. We're here for creative minds of every age, experience level and ability.
Stop in, explore, ask questions, and discover something new. We'd love to give you the same kind of personal service Harry Hull believed in when he opened his doors in 1947.
