About Cinderpoint Studios

The Cinderpoint Creed: Grease, Grit, and the Atomic-Age Outcast

Cinderpoint Studios wasn’t born in a corporate boardroom or a trendy "lifestyle" incubator. It was born in the passenger seat of a '55 Chevy, steering while sitting on my dad’s lap before I was even old enough for kindergarten.

I grew up in the salvage yards and fleet garages of small-town New York. While other kids were playing house, I was hunting for "good bones"—rebuilding classics with a wrench in one hand and a book in the other. That duality defined me: a gearhead with a writer’s soul and a heavy dose of 90s-era "weirdo" armor.

From the Shop Floor to the Drawing Board

Before I was "Auntie Mel," the artist, I was the manager of a multi-million dollar repair shop. I’m a certified Goodyear Tire Expert and a seven-time AAA Top Shop Award winner. I’ve lived the "Psychobilly Dream," but I’ve also lived the grind. I’ve managed the road service dispatch, handled the "catty broads" of beauty school (the aqua hair stuck, the salon work didn't), and turned grease into growth for twenty years.

Then life threw a rod. Brain surgery and a long, hard recovery changed the "how," but it didn't change the "who."

Authenticity Over Aesthetics

Cinderpoint is my way of talking without having to step into the limelight. I’ve always thrived behind the scenes—the outcast girl who found her voice in Seattle’s grunge-rockabilly hybrid scene, designing websites on Notepad when the internet was still a wild frontier.

For me, the "Atomic Era" isn't about some sanitized, bigoted "Good Ol' Days" patriarchy. It’s about the visuals—the pinstripes, the chrome, the vibrant saturated colors—while exposing the rot at the root. We take the gilded style of the 1950s and mix it with the real, the weird, and the marginalized. It’s not a performative aesthetic; it’s a discerning rebellion.

The Cinderpoint Family

  • Auntie Mel: The loner who didn’t mind the COVID lockdowns because the quiet felt like home. The one who is "right as rain" as long as there’s a big block rumbling under her seat and the music is loud enough to drown out the world.

  • Lyle: The snark-filled "catification" of my Siamese obsession. He’s the sass I usually keep hidden—the discerning judge of everything we create.

  • The Mission: When you support Cinderpoint, you aren't just buying a cool tee. You’re standing against the watered-down, mainstream corporate versions of "counter-culture." You’re supporting the pioneers, the artists, and the rebels who refuse to be "cookie-cutter."

We create wearable art for the retro rebels, the maximalist mavens, and the atomic-age outcasts. We’re glad you’re here. 


Auntie Mel: The Human Behind the Kitsch & Chaos.