Local makers transform timeless objects into gifts

DECEMBER 11, 2023

- by

BRIENNE WALSH

Get personal with your gifting this holiday season by giving irresistible items customized by these talented artisans

MATCHBOX 912

Courtesy Matchbox 912

If you’ve been to Forsyth Park on a recent Saturday morning, you’ve likely run into Seth Bilkis, who sells his matchbox-inspired artwork amid the live oak trees. Bilkis, who graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2020 with a degree in interior design, started creating collages made from matchboxes earlier this year. 

He was inspired by a collection of matchboxes his aunt kept in a bowl on a shelf in her apartment on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he used to study during visits as a kid. The appeal, he says, was a sort of universal nostalgia. “Even if you’ve never been to the place advertising itself on the matchbox, the composition itself can bring you back to your own favorite place and what it felt like to be there,” he says.

Bilkis purchases the matchboxes from Facebook Marketplace or at antique fairs and arranges them based on colors and themes — Asian restaurants, Americana, steakhouses or the color pink, for example. After arranging the matchboxes in a shadow box, Bilkis scans and prints them out as high-quality photographs.

“Even if you’ve never been to the place advertising itself on the matchbox, the composition itself can bring you back to your own favorite place and what it felt like to be there.”

– Seth Bilkis

Under the moniker Matchbox 912, Bilkis sells both the original compositions and the prints. An 11” x 14” print costs $40; a larger poster-sized 18” x 24” print is $100+. Bespoke compositions are priced depending on the scope of the project.

By far, his most popular matchbox prints are the ones that feature local Savannah businesses — The Grey, The Pirate’s House, Johnny Ganem’s Wine & Package Shop and Vinnie Van GoGo’s, to name just a few examples. Not only does Bilkis love sending customers home with a slice of local nostalgia, but the conversations he has with potential buyers are just as appealing.

“I love the social aspect of being out in the park at 8 a.m., talking to people, seeing friends pass by and being with my artwork,” he says. 

Art is also available for sale via his Instagram page, @matchbox_912.