In Jake Rose’s “Color Shelter Island,” set to hit shelves on May 25, you not only get the opportunity to fill in all the inspiring colors of the local island landscape, but learn a bit about its history, too.
For the last decade, Jake has been creating hyper-local East End coloring books, based on his love of history and the place his parents introduced him to — a side gig that started as a way to channel his emotions after one exquisite evening natural spectacle.
“During a sunset dinner, I was inspired by Clarke’s Garden [in Greenport], and I said that it looked like it came out of a coloring book,” says Jake.
Soon after that 2016 dinner, he released “Color Greenport,” a coloring book with photographs and history of the staples around his second home.
Jake and his parents, Cynthia and Ron Rose, lived in Manhattan and would spend summers on the North Fork. They recently moved to Greenport full-time.
He launched the Greenport guide and book at an American Beech event where they fundraised $2,750 for Center for Advocacy, Transformation and Support in Southold.
After graduating from Drew University in Madison, N.J., Jake decided to turn this one-off endeavor into a business with his father, Jake handling the creative components, and Ron, the pre and post-production
Their first book, as the company, Color Our Town was “Color Sag Harbor.”
They went on to create over 30 more coloring books and products, showcasing specific spots in cities around and outside of the United States. A few of their creative guides highlight other New York towns, and cities like Miami, Florida. They now sell greeting cards, pencils, puzzles and stickers.
The Rose family made trips out of Jake’s book research, following his running list of cities to check off – and the spontaneous ones that arose, too.
At each highlighted location, Jake spoke with locals to learn more.
Each coloring book depicts 20 to 30 picturesque settings, each with an illustration to fill in, photographs for artistic inspiration and text with the history and story of the space, written by Jake.
“Jake is a brilliant wordsmith,” says Ron. “There’s an emotional connection between Jake and the people involved.”
The father-son duo also expanded into hospitality, creating a separate sector of the company that Cynthia runs the marketing for. The three make custom books for hotels and resorts.
Jake and Ron’s most recent project, “Color Shelter Island,” which was primarily illustrated by Joni McKown, arrives on Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend.
They included Crescent Beach, The Pridwin and the Shelter Island Windmill, among 17 other locations.
“People are so passionately involved and appreciative to celebrate this island that they love,” says Ron. For him and Cynthia, this was a special one, as they had spent plenty of time on the Island early on in their relationship.
“When we first met, we used to go to Shelter Island all the time,” Cynthia says. “That was like 34 years ago.”
The company released a “Color Shelter Island” years ago for the Shelter Island History Museum, but this edition will feature work from new illustrators and new locations.
Now, Jake and Ron are working on an endangered species book in collaboration with Gabe Cogan, a former Bronx Zoo employee. All proceeds from that book will go to fundraising for these vulnerable animal groups.
They also plan to open a coloring book shop out of their 310 Front St., Greenport, office this summer.
Until then, customers can purchase their coloring books at select locations featured inside, and online at their website.
