If Andy Warhol was to make a wallpaper company, Flavor Paper would be his new factory. Flavor Paper offers the most unique designs in wall paper and I just had to get a closer look at the place. I contacted Jon Sherman, the humble owner and designer and he was super generous with his time. The Cobble Hill business is in a modernized 4 story building that was once a parking garage. We met in the showroom on the second floor where you can view very large samples on a hanging system similar to how large rugs hang in some stores. Jon told me that years ago a wallpaper company was going under and the owner was literally burning all his machinery and stock. Jon stepped in and bought the business, learned the wallpaper silk screening process and continued the legacy. We flipped through all the designs and I flipped out over so many of them! Repeat bananas on metallic foil?! Realistic wall murals of graffiti tagged concrete walls! But by far my favorite are the clever takes on traditional toile. So rather than seeing a repeat of oh I don’t know a couple in powdered wigs and a pile of fruits on a platter, instead in their Wythe Toile you see Brooklyn imagery of water towers, street signs, and a Williamsburg iconic church (Wythe is a street name in Williamsburg). I saw this beautiful paper applied in the rooms at the Wythe Hotel for which Dan Funderburgh created it for. There’s another Brooklyn Toile, commisioned by Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys, with images of Biggie, the Cyclone at Coney Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge (design by Revolver New York. I want!
So we headed downstairs to the main floor where they hand silk-screen the wallpaper. Three guys were printing and they have the process down to a science. The long table sucks the paper down with air while the screen gets placed over the paper and then two guys hand squeegy the ink, move to the next spot and so on. You can choose any color for your paper as they work from the screens, just endless possibilities.
Well, as a stencil designer I often achieve wallpaper effects with repeat pattern stencils but this place opened my eyes to some amazing designs unachievable by stenciling. Makes me wanna design wallpaper. Hmmm? Stay tuned on that one!
Visit the Flavor Paper site to see all the designs and enjoy my somewhat blurry pics below!
