Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 36 (Nick) and 37 (Rachel)
Occupation: Co-founders, Calico Wallpaper and Cope.
Instagram: @calicowallpaper and @studio.cope.
Hometown: Providence, RI (Nick) and Martha’s Vineyard, MA (Rachel).
Studio location: Red Hook, Brooklyn
Describe what you make: We make bespoke wallpapers and textile designs that combine traditional artisanal methods from the arts with innovative digital technologies. Our goal is to raise wallpaper to high art!
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: We are most proud of our work with Philippe Malouin, titled “The Color and the Shape,” which had a soft launch in December at DesignMiami/. It was such a pleasure to work with Phil on such an unorthodox approach to wall covering There was so much process-based work—tearing paper, shearing layers, and cutting materials—that it brought us back to our studio art days.
Describe the problem your work solves: Far from traditional by-the-roll wallpaper, all of our wallpaper designs are made with the architecture in mind and adjusted to the dimensions and scale of a space, making each installation a unique work of art. This process allows us to operate without warehousing and makes our business incredibly nimble.
Describe the project you are working on now: Aside from our installations in Milan, we’re also getting ready to launch our new Relic collection during NYCxDESIGN in a collaborative installation with our friends at Workstead.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: Muse, our new collection with Faye Toogood, launches in Milan this week for Salone del Mobile. Muse is a celebration of womankind and features hand-painted figurative artwork by Faye, which we then translated into a digitally printed custom wallpaper using our precise digital technology.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: AirPods for the occasional conference call, almonds for protein, and our library of design and art books.
What you do when you’re not working: We spend time with our four-year-old daughter Willow and one-year-old son River. It’s the greatest joy in the world for us!
Sources of creative envy (dead or alive): Patti Smith, Giacometti
The distraction you want to eliminate: When we distract one another.
Concrete or marble? We’re in Italy at the moment so… marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse, gotta have some character!
Remember or forget? Remember. We can’t learn or improve if we don’t have a baseline.
Aliens or ghosts? What about them? They’re both real.
Dark or light? Light.
