<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"The duo behind Brooklyn-based wallpaper company Flat Vernacular are husband-and-wife team Payton Cosell Turner and Brian Kaspr, who met at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where Turner studied painting and Kaspr sculpture. After graduating, this 2-D/3-D romance became an artistic partnership, and in 2010 the pair began producing wall coverings in graphic motifs and eccentric prints (e.g., a toile pattern of crashed derby cars, dreamy florals). Most recently, Turner and Kaspr have introduced fabrics to the brand, bringing their love of brilliant color and surprising imagery to a new material. This summer they also launched the Department of Decoration, an offshoot of their main work that offers limited-edition collections of furnishings and products for one room of the home at a time. Below, Turner tells AD about the Flat Vernacular mission and what's in store for the fall collection of wallpapers and fabrics.\n\nPinterestFacebookToile de Derby in driver's door, printed on white paper with navy ink.\n\nArchitectural Digest: Between prints of crashed derby cars, florals, and tiny animals (pygmy hogs, capybaras, and wombats), you seem to have such disparate influences. Where does inspiration for each project come from?\n\nPayton Cosell Turner: The creatures and the derby wallpapers were the first ones we ever created. We approach everything with a sense of humor, and that's evident in the [Toile de] Derby paper. In the Dandelion Creatures wallpaper are animals I love who I thought didn't get enough attention\u2014it's a sweet, simple pattern that highlights these three funny-looking things.\n\nAD: Why did you decide to add fabrics to your lineup?\n\nPCT: Fabrics just seem exciting and tactile and something that I think the public has an easier time knowing how to use. For some people, wallpaper can be too adventurous or too confusing. And I would love to see a room all in the same pattern.\n\nPinterestFacebookFrom Flat Vernacular's new fabric collection, Wildflowers is printed Belgian oyster cotton-linen blend.\n\nAD: Can you explain the philosophy behind your sister company Department of Decoration?\n\nPCT: It's an event that centers on one room in the home. There's a limited-time collection\u2014so once it's gone, it's gone. For our first, we did a dining room at the High Line Hotel, and we had a band from New Orleans play, and chefs [Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson] did a full meal for us. The next one will be about the bedroom, in November, and we're working with a couple of other small brands. The most important thing about our collaborations for Department of Decoration is getting to work with somebody who uses a material that I literally know nothing about. It's about exchanging knowledge and exchanging experiences.\n\nPinterestFacebookThe Soft Focus fabric, also printed on Belgian oyster cotton-linen blend.\n\nAD: Is there a theme to the bedroom edition of Department of Decoration?\n\nPCT: It's as simple as: What happens to contrasting materials when they meet on the same surface? We're focusing on an even smaller run of things this time around and are doing even bigger furniture items. And lighting is a huge thing for us this time around. Right now we're still in the prototyping phase, but we're working with some exciting materials\u2014resin, which I love.\n\nAD: How would you characterize your fall collection of wallpapers and fabrics?\n\nPCT: Dark, moody, sultry. We're not afraid of color, but thinking about the absence or the judicious use of subtle, deep colors is somewhere we're going with this collection.\n\nPinterestFacebookTunnel is part of Flat Vernacular's series of one-of-a-kind framable prints.\n\nAD:: How has the aesthetic of the brand changed since you started in 2010?\n\nPCT: We've reached a point where we don't have to do something extreme or avant-garde. We don't feel like we have to be super-clever. Our palette has definitely matured.\n\nAD: So, originally you felt that, as a new brand, you needed to have a very witty point of view to establish your presence.\n\nPCT: Yes, and we did that with Toile de Derby and Dandelion Creatures. [For our fall collection] we can sort of step away from that and do huge geometric prints, play with scale and texture. It's simple and it's subtle and we don't feel like we have to specifically say something. Who knows what it'll be?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/flat-vernacular-brooklyn-wallpaper>