In an age of consumerism, creating something yourself can feel empowering. Whether home improvement or art, the avenues are endless. All you need is a little inspiration.
That’s where do-it-yourself influencers come in. From Instagram to in person, here are five regional DIY influencers making a statement on creation.
READ: 8 regional plant influencers to follow for gardening inspiration
ERIN GERLACH OF HAMILTON PARK HOME
Erin Gerlach is a Lancaster-based home improvement DIY influencer sharing quick DIY projects, detailed tutorials, approachable design and styling tips, full room makeovers and more.
Erin Gerlach of Lancaster-based Hamilton Park Home offers DIY home and garden inspiration.
“Whether it’s working with power tools or picking a paint color, I want my audience to feel motivated and confident to take on their own home projects,” Gerlach says.
Gerlach discovered her passion for DIY when she purchased her first home with her husband, Justin. “As first-time homeowners, we took on our own projects to update and furnish the house to save on costs,” she says.
Favorite project: Gerlach recently completed an outdoor kitchen, a large undertaking with a tight deadline due to a brand collaboration involved with the project. “I wanted to design an outdoor kitchen like no one has seen before and incorporate inspiration from current indoor kitchen trends,” she says. “I built it completely from scratch, did all the design and planning, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out.”
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Instagram: @hamiltonparkhome
Website: hamiltonparkhome.com
READ: From roses to ranunculus: Nostalgia blooming big in backyard gardens
Lancaster-based Beatrice Zorrilla shows her collaging process on YouTube and Instagram.
BEATRICE ZORRILLA
Beatrice Zorrilla is a graphic designer and artist in Lancaster with a knack for collaging. “Combining my love for photography and my need to unplug, I collage as a way to destress,” Zorrilla says. “I enjoy using collaging as a visual puzzle instead of thinking of it as a traditional fine art medium.”
Zorrilla is in the process of launching an art business that will serve as a way for people to send custom collage postcards to those in their lives as a little act of kindness. She shares her journey, including the process of collaging, on her YouTube channel and other social media accounts.
As for her interest in all things DIY, Zorrilla says, “The process of making something is just as important as the final product. Consumerism takes away from that maker’s journey.”
Favorite project: Zorrilla made a collage to reflect on the past year, using only photos from her own film photography. “I hope this piece speaks to dreamers like me who at times feel intimidated by social standards,” she says. “Despite the anxieties of the world we live in, we keep moving forward.”
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Instagram: @_zorrilladesign_
YouTube: @beatricezorrilla
Website: beatricezorrilla.com
READ: How DIY-er Amy Geib of Always Never Done repurposed an unused space in her home
CHARLOTTE HOUSE REVIVAL WITH JACK AND JIM
Charlotte House Revival With Jack and Jim chronicles a Lancaster city family's transformation of a former fraternity house.
One Lancaster city couple known simply as Jack and Jim are turning an 1890s former fraternity house into a family home — and they’re documenting the process.
“There are a lot of DIY influencers who break down specific projects and focus on how-to’s,” Jack says. “We have five kids, so our project pace can be a little slower, but it’s a reflection of the real-life balance that comes with raising a big family in an old house.”
Jack recognizes that the house precedes the family with its own unique history and lifetime, given that it was an active frat house for 60 years and holds its own reputation in the neighborhood. “It’s almost like Charlotte House is another member of the family, and we’re taking care of her needs and quirks right along with the rest of ours.”
Favorite project: “Our ongoing project right now is our living room makeover, which we won through a giveaway with Chris Loves Julia,” Jack says. “I’ve gotten to take over the reins, with support from Julia Marcum, and am looking forward to our big reveal in late spring.”
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Instagram: @charlottehouserevival
Facebook: Charlotte House Revival
Website: withjackandjim.com
READ: How Sheri Bare turned a tiny space in her Mount Joy home into a sitting room full of happy memories
JO DAVIS ART
Jo Davis of Jo Davis Art helps people discover their inner artist through coaching, workshops and other events.
Catch Jo Davis at her home or office in and around Lancaster and she’ll most likely be working on some kind of art. In 2021, a longtime practice became a lifeline and tool for personal growth during a monumental life transition. “I draw on art therapy practices and my own story to help people discover their inner artist so that they can find peace, solace and meaningful connection,” Davis says.
Davis offers creativity coaching sessions, judgment-free painting workshops and community creative events like Creative Release Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon at The Candy Factory in Lancaster. That’s in addition to selling her own paintings (plus whimsical home decor through her project Pancakes for Breakfast).
Every Wednesday at 9 a.m., Davis goes live on Instagram in her home studio and encourages others to grab art supplies and join her. “Making art is for everybody,” she says. “But sometimes we don’t know where to get started.” Her Monthly Medium demo videos on her website are a place for anyone to learn the ins and outs of different materials at their own pace.
More information about her next judgment-free painting workshop for adults on March 20 is available on her website.
Favorite project: “My watercolor demo was a lot of fun to make,” Davis says. “I use watercolor all the time, and love to share ways to fall in love with the medium. There is so much you can do with watercolor. It is virtually limitless. We played with it during Creative Release Saturdays in February and, due to popular demand, I’m keeping it going through March.”
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Instagram: @jodavis.art
Facebook: selfcare.art
Website: jodavis.art
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RAMON LOBO OF RECLAIMED WOLF
Reclaimed Wolf’s Ramon Lobo is a York-based furniture flipper with an eye for design. Fortunately for his followers, he shares his process for all to see. What started with just $20 in materials during the COVID-19 lockdowns became a massive endeavor that has no end in sight.
Ramon Lobo of York-based Reclaimed Wolf shares his furniture-flipping process.
Lobo gives tutorials on how to flip furniture, provides comedic relief in his videos and shares tips on how to earn extra money on the side by furniture flipping. He sells all of his creations through Facebook Marketplace or his Facebook feed and is preparing a step-by-step course that will teach others to do exactly what he does.
Favorite project: “I have an upcoming desk that I picked up in my neighborhood and I converted it to a set of nightstands,” Lobo says. “It is one of the biggest challenges that I took on and I’m proud of how the results will look. Within the next few weeks, I will post a step-by-step tutorial on how I did it.”
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Instagram: @reclaimedwolf
Facebook: Reclaimed Wolf
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ERIN NEGLEY | Staff Writer
MARY ELLEN WRIGHT | Staff Writer
