On a rainy day, we traveled to Brooklyn to visit Flavor Paper, located inside of a nondescript black building in Boerum Hill, housing their showroom and manufacturing facilities. The staircase to the showroom announces very clearly that this will not be your-grandma’s-wallpaper, with neon cherry blossoms inviting you up:

Once in the showroom, our hosts graciously treated us with wine and snacks while showing us the various original designs. Flavor Paper collaborates with artists, utilizing the talents of both well-known names (designs using Andy Warhol’s work seen below) and up and coming local artists, such as the hand-mirror design wallpaper by the Brooklyn artist Shyama Golden (below the Andy Warhol photo).

Below: We had to get close to these scratch-and-sniff designs, with the scent matching each design!

Speaking of old-fashioned wallpaper, a signature design maneuver Flavor Paper employs is to adapt the style of a classic pattern, such as the toile de jouy-style wallpaper below, but catch you off-guard with content you wouldn’t expect in that style:

above: familiar Dumbo scenes and places with a Day of the Dead interpretation ( “Dia de DUMBO”)

below: classic floral damask with elements you would expect on an evening city walk but not on your wallpaper  ( “City Park”).

The production facilities are located downstairs: wallpapers are made using traditional screen printing techniques, digital printing and a combination of both.

We guessed that the long mirror above the long screen-printing table was a continuation of the glam style of the showroom, but learned that it serves an important and practical purpose: when the long rolls of wallpaper are printed by hand, it’s important to watch out for any small defects in the repeat or registration of the pattern, and one could check this by quickly glancing at the mirror above, instead of walking back and forth along the 20 foot+ table with each pass:

Thank you Flavor Paper for welcoming us into your colorful showroom and studio!