The Stars & Stripes

A hand-sewn flag made in 1865 by Kit Hinrichs' great, great, great aunt Ida Pepperkorn kindled his interest in the Stars and Stripes 50 years ago. Since then, he has amassed some 5,000 Stars and Stripes objects that are more than just a variation on a theme. These artifacts explore the political, sociological and historical origins of the nation’s banner. 

    Nevada Museum of Art engaged Studio Hinrichs to curate and design an 8,500 square foot exhibition on Kit Hinrichs' flag collection. The exhibition included super graphic photos, flag memorabilia, Native American weavings, over 1,500 toy flag bearers, quilts, and other folk art. In addition, we created a catalog, newsletters, street banners, and billboards promoting the exhibition.

Ten-foot-tall blow-up photographs of pieces in the collection serve as a counterpoint to the actual artifacts in the vitrines.

Studio Hinrichs has created many posters featuring the stars and stripes over the years, ranging from exhibition promotion posters to posters for the AIGA “Get Out the Vote” campaign to inspire the American public to participate in the electoral process.

The studio has created several videos celebrating the flag and its history.

Kit Hinrichs has written and/or designed four books on the flag: Stars and Stripes, Long May She Wave, 100 American Icons, and The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. 

     Long May She Wave is a graphic history of the American flag showcasing the role that the flag has played in American culture. It highlights the celebration of the flag, the flag in war, the Native American flag, the flag in commerce, the flag at play, and the flag in art.

100 American Flags is a vibrant collection of 100 Stars and Stripes artifacts ranges from Civil War-era banners and Native American braided moccasins to an early 20th-century "friendship" kimono and original flag art by several of the world's leading designers. 

On flag day, June 14, 2016, we introduced a new book/box project Long May She Wave. Potter, a Random House Company, asked us to assemble 50 images from our collection of 5,000 objects and design this postcard boxed gift set. The box contains images of Navajo weavings, quilts, Americana fans, historic flags, folk art, fine art, and toys. Based on our Long May She Wave book and exhibition series, these unique Patriotic items, photographed by Terry Heffernan and written by Delphine Hirasuna, fill the box with dozens of surprises.

Martha Stewart featured Kit Hinrichs on her show to speak about collector American flags.

© 2021 Studio Hinrichs