Today we’re featuring a walking tour of Greenpoint by Sam Fleischner, a Brooklyn based artist and filmmaker. Having grown accustomed to life on the road, Fleischner’s gotten dependably good at documenting his daily travails. From his monthly photo logs to his site specific video installations to his most recent feature film, Wah Do Dem, a coming of age narrative shot and directed in Jamaica with his childhood friend, Ben Chance, all of Fleischner’s work explores the independent spirit and value of personal adventure. Fleischner’s not alone in this northern Brooklyn borough, as over the past decade, artists have been migrating in droves, setting up shop alongside their Polish neighbors. Follow along, take the tour and let us know what you think!

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1. 1. The concrete floor of the Lorimer L stop
2. 2. The commercial [...]

I’m very pleased to announce the start of a new series we’re launching:  The Pattern Pulp Global Tour.

In today’s digital travel age, we’re all familiar with the endless to-do tips found on sites like the New York Times, Trip Advisor and Gridskipper.  While more traditional recommendations are always welcome, the notion of self-discovery should not be forgotten. With each neighborhood exploration, we hope to take our readers off the beaten path to uncover the overlooked elements of city living, be it decals on an office building or graffiti in a bathroom stall.  Some of what we feature may be gone by the time you arrive, others, such as buildings and landmarks will certainly find their place along the chain, but either way, our goal is to provide the groundwork for a visual stream of [...]

For all of the reasons people hate the city, we’re continually inspired by the eye sores. Be it dilapidated yards, pollutant run-offs or stale trash, each sign of neglect can be idealized through artistic eyes. Today we’re focusing on grunge and graffiti- two aspects of New York that are in full abundance. These images capture the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan and tell a blue, green and red story.

Adding texture to the mix, these tire tracks and oil stains provide intricate details, reminding us of the environmental imprints our actions leave behind. Colors layered upon one another with dirt and grime reveal the rust of age.

Photos by: Emily Gup

There’s no shortage of inspiration when you live in a city that celebrates beauty and revels the grotesque. Today’s highlight captures the natural colors around town that can be used as a source of inspiration.  From Vutera’s speakeasy neon lighting in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to this glass mosaic on New York City’s newest elevated park, The Highline, summer’s color combos are just as vibrant in nature as they are in city dwelling.

This wall in Brooklyn speaks  to several months of messaging.  Once symbolic of a crumbling part of town, imagery such as this now serves as marketing inspiration for retailers such as Barneys and Urban Outfitters.  Veering away from the grunge factor, this doorbell and name plate from San Francisco’s Russian Hill district, is both an amusing display of typography and a beautiful [...]

In our modern times, filled with GPS and GoogleMaps, it’s no wonder that we seem to have developed a fascination for knowing where we are at all times. It’s reached a new level of poignancy to be able to locate yourself as well as peer over your neighborhood from above, observing it’s grid-like form. This sentiment is popping up in various textile projects and is most successfully executed by Emily Fischer of Haptic Labs and Marcello Campa and Stefano Avesani of the Instant Hutong Project. While Fischer references the borough of Brooklyn, quilting on silk dupioni, Campa and Avesani explore the Hutong districts throughout downtown Beijing.  Regardless of the landscape, both works bring a permanency to topography that has become nearly extinct with technology’s latest advances.  Nowadays lines are blurred so easily perhaps there is [...]

Zippers, the commonplace closure, have been striped of their hidden functionality and thrust into the spotlight, proving they can double as innovative solutions as well as decorative patterns.  The results are striking, and slightly quirky.  Part of the zipper’s appeal, perhaps, when compared to its closure counterparts such as buttons, hooks, and snaps, is the fluidity of movement.  This is evident in Ji Woong’s Zip Up Tangles, a creative solution to the wiry mess we all experience when reaching for our ear buds.  Stepping it up a few notches, Van Cleef & Arpels has recently dove into it’s archival library to revive it’s 1950’s Zip Necklace.  While today’s version may be toned down, it’s no less elegant, and a primary example of how innovation can have timeless appeal.

In a French design studio not far [...]

May has arrived and flowers are in full bloom this spring season.  In an effort to mix things up a bit, we’ve decided to collect floral imagery representative of spring and create ad hock color palettes with the pixels provided.  As designers, we’re inspired by nearly everything we consume, so it’s quite natural to repurpose when given direction.   Here are four palettes that could easily translate to summer prints, inspired by wall stencils in Allston, weeds in Brooklyn, flowerpots in Gramercy and a home garden in San Francisco.

For additional palettes that are strikingly beautiful and paired up with interesting photography, check out Kris’s Color Stripes.

It’s always a little tough finding gifts that are foolproof.  Unless instructed otherwise, I always try to go the creative route, as I love initiating artistic moments.  While at the home goods concept store, Future Perfect, in Williamsburg this past weekend, I stopped in my tracks at these ingenious crayon rings.  The chic pyramids come in a playful palette of primaries and can be coordinated with any wardrobe.  Doodling on the go just got more fashionable.

If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to DIY fashion, check out Wishing Fish’s T-Shirt Graffiti, as it’s under $10 and a perfectly sensible gift for any child (or adult).  If you’re aiming for personable luxury, Longchanp offers a blank canvas for their signature Le Pilage bag, though I’d be worried about making a mistake with every [...]

Most of us are too impatient to let ideas evolve overtime without overwatering them.  Christie Wright of Brooklyn, NY, embraces the idea of storytelling as a strategy for designing. “Building by Leaving,” one of her latest creative endeavours, embraces the idea of growth through location and experience.  Sewing rungs together from various fabric swatches, her ladder grows over time, accumulating new colors, shapes, and patterns.  In an effort to understand growth, escapism and personal history, Wright’s creation is reminicient of a modern day Rapunzel.

Julia Rothman is one of the most talented and original pattern designers in today’s marketplace.  I had the pleasure of catching up with her at “Design by the Book,” a collaborative event hosted by The New York Public Library and Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge.  Rothman has a the ability to beautify ordinary objects, using her unique style of illustration and layout to create whimsical repeats.  Her work has been featured in countless publications and dons home goods of every variety.  Check out our Q+A for a glimpse into her daily routine.

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PP: What websites do you generally start your day with-do you have a daily routine for news/blog/information consumption?

JR: Design Sponge, Print&Pattern, Poppytalk, Oh Joy!, The Post Family, Grain Edit always start my day. And the NYTimes for news of [...]