{"id":11414,"date":"2021-05-28T15:58:25","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T22:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11414"},"modified":"2021-05-28T15:58:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T22:58:25","slug":"sheltifying-santa-barbara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11414","title":{"rendered":"Sheltifying Santa Barbara"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Architect Jeff Shelton Delights in the Details, photo by Erick Madrid. Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent on May 20, 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

Joy oozes through the walls of every\u00a0Jeff Shelton<\/a> project \u2014 the delight is in\u00a0the details. From the Moroccan tile carpets\u00a0of Pistachio House<\/a> to the Escher-like\u00a0staircase of El Jardin<\/a>, the Suessian\u00a0shapes of Ablitt House<\/a>, and the quirky art-covered\u00a0Vera Cruz<\/a> building, touches of his fairy dust are\u00a0sprinkled around town. The artistry and zest for\u00a0life infused in Jeff Shelton\u2019s buildings are hard to\u00a0miss.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s some debate about whether Pearl\u00a0Chase<\/a>, Bernhard Hoffmann<\/a>, James Osborne\u00a0Craig<\/a>, and the other founding fellows of Santa\u00a0Barbara\u2019s aesthetic would be toasting Shelton\u2019s\u00a0evolution of the town\u2019s traditional style or tearing\u00a0out their hair out by its Spanish-Mediterranean-Moorish roots, there\u2019s no doubt that this native son\u00a0has made his mark on our town. After almost 30\u00a0years of \u201cSheltifying\u201d Santa Barbara\u2019s cityscape, he
\nshows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Current projects in the works include residences\u00a0in Mission Canyon, Carpinteria, and on
\nCota Street, as well as the State Street undercrossing\u00a0project<\/a> (expect to see vibrantly tiled columns \u00a0and fancifully loopy iron fences guiding pedestrians\u00a0from the beach to downtown), and a tequila\u00a0bar at the corner of Ortega and State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just try to find good clients,\u201d said Shelton.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s no fun with clients that don\u2019t understand the\u00a0process. I\u2019ve been pretty lucky. Clients are the ones\u00a0who make it work. They pay for everything, but\u00a0they also have to have faith in this crazy bunch of\u00a0people they\u2019re getting into working with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Beth Myers<\/a>, whose Tower\u00a0House<\/a> was the first to be rebuilt\u00a0in Montecito after the 2018 mudslides,\u00a0had nothing but raves about\u00a0Shelton and his team. \u201cJeff\u2019s just a\u00a0peach \u2014 he\u2019s so creative, he has such\u00a0minimal ego, and is so cooperative,”\u00a0she said. \u201cAfter all is said and done,\u00a0the building process was an absolute\u00a0joy. They\u2019re just like a group of happy elves.\u201d<\/p>\n

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From “Sheltifying Santa Barbara,” photos by Erick Madrid and sketches by Jeff Shelton. Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent on May 20, 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chief among the Shelton collaborative\u00a0team \u2014 they call themselves a \u201cguild\u201d but have no
\nfinancial connection \u2014 is Dan Upton<\/a>, the contractor\u00a0who (with Leon Olson) offered Shelton a project\u00a0at 1021 Laguna Street in 1994. They\u2019ve worked\u00a0together ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are problem solvers,\u201d said Upton. \u201cJeff\u00a0comes up with these optimistic, fun ways of thinking\u00a0and fun ways of building and \u2026 we are just\u00a0happy to do the fun things. He sketches, and we\u00a0say, \u2018Make it as fun and interesting as you want,\u00a0and we\u2019ll figure out how to build it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For a man who specializes in the curvy and colorful,\u00a0Shelton\u2019s a pretty straight shooter. He loves his town, his\u00a0team, and his work\u2014and it shows. As for his method of staying\u00a0true to his artistic vision and navigating his way through\u00a0Santa Barbara\u2019s notoriously complicated approval process, \u201cI\u00a0just do what I think is best for each building and each lot,\u201d he\u00a0explained. \u201cMy palette is the code and the\u00a0site and the city and the people around the
\nneighborhood. It\u2019s an art, but ultimately\u00a0nobody cares about all those details in the\u00a0end. They just want to be able to have a\u00a0glass of wine comfortably and happily in\u00a0their house.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GUIDE TO THE GUILD<\/strong>
\n\u201cFirst the tractors come in, and they grade\u00a0the site,\u201d explained Shelton of how one client
\ndescribed the work of his guild, \u201cand\u00a0then this merry band of artisans show up,\u00a0and they laugh and they enjoy the work,\u00a0and it\u2019s like that until they leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

It certainly sounds like a joyful process.\u00a0The Upton Construction<\/a> team\u00a0has played a huge part in Shelton\u2019s work,\u00a0with Matt Metcalfe recently taking over\u00a0the day-to-day business as founder Dan\u00a0Upton is mostly retired.<\/p>\n

Jeff\u2019s brother\u2019s architectural ironwork,\u00a0lamps, and other elements from David Shelton Studios<\/a> are\u00a0an integral part of Jeff\u2019s buildings. \u201cI just say, \u2018Dave, I\u2019m going\u00a0to do a balcony.\u2019 I don\u2019t even need to draw, and he knows what\u00a0to do,\u201d laughed Shelton.<\/p>\n

Jeff\u2019s wife, Karin Shelton<\/a>,\u00a0an accomplished fine artist\u00a0in her own right, wields her\u00a0brush on various architectural\u00a0projects and also helps with\u00a0the Shelton line of fabrics,\u00a0tiles, and books. Their daughter\u00a0Mattie Shelton<\/a> is part of\u00a0the team as well, working on\u00a0the fabrics, tiles, and her own\u00a0line of unique shelters called\u00a0Shelton Huts<\/a>. (Their other\u00a0daughter, Elena Shelton<\/a>, works as a doula.)<\/p>\n

The \u201cmerry band\u201d also includes sculptor\/mason Andy\u00a0Johnson<\/a>; woodworker David Moseley<\/a>; window and door\u00a0specialist Royce Woodbury<\/a>; lamp shades by Saul Alcaraz of
\nSanta Barbara Art Glass<\/a>; ceramicist Linda Hail Godlis;\u00a0California Pottery & Tile Works<\/a>; Villa Lagoon Tile<\/a>;\u00a0Specialty Team Plastering<\/a>; and artists Richard Wilke<\/a>,\u00a0Court Johnson, Katie Upton<\/a>, and Ben Ciccati<\/a>, among\u00a0others.<\/p>\n

For about the past 15 years, the group has been meeting at\u00a0the James Joyce<\/a> on Tuesday afternoons. \u201cJeff keeps a really\u00a0accurate tally of who shows up at James Joyce and when they\u00a0come,\u201d said Upton. \u201cAnd at the end of the year, you get a medal if you were there the most frequently or least frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in pubs,\u201d said Shelton. \u201cThey should be\u00a0every half mile, like a community living room that\u2019s a place\u00a0where people of all ages can meet and hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Upton, \u201cIt\u2019s been one of the great pleasures of my life\u00a0to have this collaboration with Jeff to build the buildings that\u00a0we have built.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent<\/a> on May 20, 2021. To see the story as it originally appeared, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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