YNST Magazine

JP Baker’s Unraveled collection is the catch of the season 🎣

Growing up in small town Chester, South Carolina, JP never really pictured himself becoming a fashion designer. But after learning to sew in high school, things started to come together. Now a recent SCAD graduate, JP is pulling inspiration from fishing trips with his dad, his Southern upbringing and the landscape he grew up around. His five piece senior collection, Unraveled, mixes workwear with handmade details and biodegradable materials created from things like agave, ferns, bark, coffee and tea.

At its heart, Unraveled is about home, family and finding inspiration in the places you might not appreciate until you’re older. From handwoven fabrics to memories of days spent fishing, JP turned pieces of his childhood into a collection that feels completely his own.

Learn more about JP, the story behind Unraveled and where he’s headed next in the latest issue of YNST! 📘

✍️: Payton Mandell

Meet the visionary: Abby Masel 🎨🔬

Somewhere between science and art, Abby has created a world all her own, believing the two go hand in hand. As both a multidisciplinary artist and a spatial analyst specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Abby finds inspiration in everything from thousands of data points on a map to the birds, plants and wildlife of Appalachia. Her paintings blend geometric patterns, surreal imagery and vibrant colors, often exploring darker themes through a playful and colorful lens. Whether she’s layering shapes across a canvas or finding beauty in complex data, Abby has a way of turning the unexpected into something worth looking at.

But Abby’s creativity goes beyond the canvas. From her involvement with the Huntington Artists Collective and Studios (HACKS) to public art projects in Charleston, she’s helping build a stronger creative community in the place she calls home. With deep roots in West Virginia and a growing appreciation for the region’s traditions, landscapes and people, Abby continues to find new ways to bring her worlds together. As she puts it, “West Virginia is severely underrated. We are cooler than we’re given credit for.” And through her art, she’s making a pretty good case for it!

✍️: Kasey Lettrich
📸: Hunter Way
✂️: Hannah Asbury

What does it look like when the water a community depends on becomes the very thing putting it at risk? For photographer and filmmaker Jared Hamilton, it’s a reality worth documenting. 📸

Since April, Jared has traveled from Eastern Kentucky into southern West Virginia, photographing communities dealing with contaminated water, the lasting effects of mining pollution and the everyday challenges that come with it. From a dying rosebush in Wyoming County to a coal miner holding a jar of orange water, Jared’s photographs reveal the realities many Appalachian families are facing.

But Jared’s work goes beyond the environmental damage. Through his lens, he hopes to capture the strength, pride and resilience of the people living through these conditions while bringing attention to a crisis that deserves more recognition. By sharing his photographs with local organizations and the communities themselves, he’s making sure these stories reach beyond the frame.

✍️: Olivia Haught

Read more about Jared’s work and the people behind his photographs in ISSUE 13 of YNST!

Appalachia, according to the internet, is the spookiest destination in the world. 👻

Long before and TikTok story-times filled our feeds with overdramatized tales of witches, haints, ghosts and strange voices in the woods, these mountains were already home to a rich tradition of folklore and storytelling. Passed down through generations, these tales aren’t just meant to scare us. They hold pieces of history, community and the experiences of the people who call this region home.

But Appalachian folklore goes a lot deeper than what goes bump in the night. From ghosts acting as “angels of the underdog” to stories shaped by fears around land, family and outside exploitation, these tales can tell us a lot about the anxieties, values and experiences that have shaped Appalachian communities for generations.

Forget the algorithm’s version of haunted Appalachia for a minute and settle in for a real mountain tale only in ISSUE 13!

✍️ : Ryleigh Nucilli
📸: Tiffy Barringer

Some stories are too important to leave untold, and Zak Foster is stitching them back together, one quilt at a time. 🪡

Growing up in rural North Carolina, Zak Foster always had a creative side, but it wasn’t until his late 20s that he found his passion for quilting. Now based in Sewanee, Tennessee, Zak uses repurposed fabrics, visible stitching and unconventional designs to create pieces that carry stories of their own. His ongoing series, Southern White Amnesia, takes a deeper look at his family’s history after genealogical research revealed that his ancestors had enslaved people. Through his quilts, Zak explores the uncomfortable truths of the past and how privilege, memory and history continue to shape the present.

But Zak’s work goes beyond telling stories. He’s donated every dollar earned from Southern White Amnesia to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, helping students at historically Black colleges and universities focus on their education. With more than 20 quilts in the series and exhibitions planned for 2027, Zak is proving that art can open the door to conversations that aren’t always easy to have.

Read more about Zak Foster and the powerful stories behind his work in Issue 13 of YNST!

✍️ : Zack Harold

This spooky season, step into the dark and moody world of Charlotte Puttock, whose oil paintings blend Old Master realism with eerie, otherworldly, and spiritual elements. 🦴🍷

Drawing inspiration from Tibetan Buddhism, literature and history, the West Virginia artist’s work explores the haunting beauty of impermanence and the mysterious complexities of the human experience.

See her work in Issue 13!