Menu Close

Notes from the Curator: Making Moves, Goodbye 324 Canal Street

jeanlin

Colony is moving! After 10 years in 324 Canal Street, we are moving to a new street-level gallery at 196 West Broadway. Keep an eye out for your invite to our opening bash. But until then, we're getting sentimental over here. 😭

The first time I walked up the creaky steps of 324 Canal Street to the second floor, I had already viewed dozens of commercial spaces in downtown Manhattan. It was 2013 and Colony was just a fledgling idea without a home. 

The open loft space with 15 foot ceilings had graffiti on the walls, no lights, and the rotting plywood floor was pitched 14". Anything you put on the floor would roll to the front corner of the space. A thick layer of dust covered everything and the tin ceiling had all but rusted out in spots.

"It's perfect" I said, submitting an offer letter the same day. As a start up with no financials (and a girl with no financials) it was a long shot. But I went for it with my whole heart, because despite its rough edges, when I closed my eyes I could see the beginning of my dream taking shape.

I slowly started filling the space. First with the essentials like a floor and light. And over the past ten years, I've been fortunate to fill 324 Canal with friends and their work, with strangers seeking beauty, with anything, really, in the name of inspiration. Here at 324 Canal Street we've broke bread, downward dogged, bathed in sound, we've drank and we've drawn. We've made posters for protests, we've cried over election results, we've mourned losses and celebrated births. For the past ten years 324 Canal has been home.

Thank you all for wading through a sea of counterfeit bags on Canal Street to stand in front of a rickety door that did not have a number, but did have air conditioning water dripping on your head. Thank you for knowing which buzzer to hit, even when our little "Colony" sticker had peeled off. Thank you for not leaving when the cage door was impossible to open, and when the fluorescent lighting in the stairs flickered. Thank you for your smile when we popped our heads out at the top of the stairs to tell you to come on up, and thank you for your gasps when you came in (they never got old and always made me feel so proud). Thank you for coming back, again and again and thank you for making us a stop on your trips to NYC. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The work we made here, the experiences we created, are without contest my proudest professional moments. It is hard for me to imagine loving a space as much as I've loved this one.

196 West Broadway has big shoes to fill, and I hope you all will (again) help me fill them.

With excitement for the future,

Jean Lin

Notes From The Curator, Spring 2023

jeanlin

This spring we saw the launch four beloved new designers.

Scheibe Design, Nate and Tres (Nate's dad) from Nashville first came into my periphery back in 2018 when we did our Coast to Coast tour with Design Milk. To be honest, Nate wasn't quite ready for the Colony stage at that point. But persistence, an appetite for critique, and a positive perspective got him here five years later, and I couldn't be happier for it. 

SSS Atelier is the first self-produced furniture collection from Sarah Sherman Samuel, an absolute force of a woman who, as I can't help but constantly remind her, is kinda famous. Before meeting her, I was mystified by her unstoppable trajectory. But the mystery has since been solved. Sarah works hard and demands perfection. Her pieces reflect this rigor but they are also a portrait of the joy that Sarah brings to her work. The furniture is beautiful and undeniably approachable, and I think they are impossible not to love.

And then there are Alexis & Ginger and Marmar Studio, our most ambitious experiment to date. Since August, 2022, we have been hosting Ingemar Hagen-Keith, Alexis Tingey and Ginger Gordon for our inaugural Designer's Residency. Alexis and Ginger were fresh out of RISD with masters in furniture design. I was invited to teach a semester of their grad studio, and Alexis and Ginger shined. Their exuberant talent, their work and their work ethic made it an easy decision to ask them whether they wanted to join us as our first ever designer residents.

We first met Ingemar in 2017 when they were a student at RISD as well. I did a remote lecture and appreciated the sounds of approval that were coming from just off my screen. "Whoever was sitting *there" (pointing just down and right of my screened head) I said. "Thank you." An email came a few weeks later from that person I couldn't see, applying for an internship. They were a lovely intern, so much so that we hired Ingemar back full time a few years later. As much as I valued Ingemar as our employee, I was excited to offer the residency to them and give them the opportunity to fulfill what I knew was their dream to start Marmar Studio in earnest.

At Colony, we have a foundational imperative to support and celebrate emerging independent American designers. In recent years, my work in design education as a professor at both Parsons and RISD has inspired me to explore new ways to provide a bridge from designers in their nascency to professional practice. Starting one’s own studio is an enormous undertaking both creatively and financially, and a privilege that is not always afforded to many immensely talented designers. My hope is that this program allows more voices to shine, and more young designers to feel supported enough to take the leap into creating work that is wholly their own. 

If you are a designer with dreams of starting your own thing, I encourage you to apply for our next Residency. You can learn more about it here and you can download the application here.

I continually told the Residents as we were nearing the finish line to their show opening, this wasn't the end, it was just the beginning. I am so excited to share everything that's to come with you all. Thank you, as always, for following along our journey of growth here at Colony.

-Jean Lin

At Large: Introducing Scheibe Design

jeanlin

We had the pleasure of introducing Scheibe Design to our world last week. The father-son duo, Nate (son) and Tres (dad) have a fabrication shop just outside of Nashville where Jean met Nate on her Coast to Coast tour in 2018. She has watched him grow as a designer for over 4 years, including a stint as a lead fabricator for Colony alumni Fort Standard. Over the years, Nate would bring design ideas to Jean for feedback and this collection was born out of those conversations.

Using the swoop connecting the top of the Roebuck bench to its legs as a starting point --  Jean loved that detail, its delicacy and simplicity -- she pushed Nate to achieve those same qualities throughout. The whole collection is on view now at Colony. It's worth a visit if we do say so ourselves.

Roebuck Credenza
Roebuck Nightstand
Roebuck Bench
Cumberland Console
Cumberland Coffee Table

Notes

Custom sizing available on all pieces
Roebuck credenza and nightstand available with wood or stone top
Lead time: 10-12 weeks

INQUIRE

Spec Sheet: Echo by Bec Brittain

jeanlin

The Echo series by Bec Brittain Studio is a towering feat of engineering. Mirrored fins reflect the studio's signature LED tubes for a centerpiece that is architectural and immensely decorative.

We love how Bec's series gives us a kit of parts with which we can create a limitless number of configurations. Pictured here are Echo 1 (polished brass and bronze glass), Echo 2 (brass and white glass and brass and clear mirror) and Echo 3 (oil rubbed bronze and grey glass).

Smash that inquire button below for a walkthrough of your options. 

Notes

Standard Metal: Brushed Brass, Satin Nickel, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Nickel Brass Contrast
Standard Glass: White Glass, Clear Mirror, Bronze Glass, Clear Glass
Lead time: 14-18 weeks

INQUIRE

MORE OF

If you love Echo, there is a 75% chance you'll also like these pieces.

Shy Beams

Casual and fancy at once, Shy Beams are a great entry point to Bec Brittain's lighting pieces.

See more here.

Beacon Vertical Pendant

Ribbed wooden slats diffuse a central LED for polished warmth.

See more here.

Diamond Aries

Handblown glass globes soften the angular chassis of Bec Brittain's studio Aries series. Also available with hand-painted glass for even more warmth.

See more here.

You’re Invited: Scheibe Design Debuts at Colony

jeanlin

On Thursday, January 19, 5-8:00 PM, Colony is pleased to welcome Nashville-based furniture studio Scheibe Design to our roster of independent designers. Established by father and son duo Tres and Nate Scheibe, the studio combines contemporary design and fine materials with traditional furniture techniques, resulting in distinctive design pieces. Please join us to celebrate Nate, Tres and this beautiful new work.

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

Spec Sheet: Mr. B Table

jeanlin

A show stopping piece from Editions 4, the newest collection to arrive by Studio Paolo Ferrari, the Mr. B Table is "lickable" (according to a highly reputable source). High gloss lacquer -- shown here in a deep oxblood -- is customizable in any Benjamin Moore hue. We've made it round and rectangular, coffee tables and side tables, but the world is your shiny, reflective oyster. Add a matching back-painted glass top for extra durability and shine.

We have Mr. B here at Colony, so click on the inquire button below and come pay the fellow a visit.

Notes

Standard round top: 36", 49", 24"
Standard rectangular top: 36" x 22", 48" x 28", 28"x 24"
Pick your own Benjamin Moore color
Glass top available
Lead time: 22-24 weeks

INQUIRE

LIFE/DESIGN

At Colony we believe that the best design is that which is well loved, used and lived in. Here are some of our favorite table-toppers for Mr. B.

Pretty Playing Cards

Have you ever watched Ken Burns' National Parks docuseries? Me neither, I fell asleep. I've heard it's wonderful though, and these pretty playing cards from Parks Project benefit national park conservation.

IGWS (it goes without saying) we love a card game with or without a new deck of cards. Our Gallery Coordinator, Grace's go-to is the Russian classic Durak. 

Flowers for Drying

You know when cut flowers start to smell like a hot wet sock? Avoid that situation entirely by choosing flowers that work dried as well. At Colony, we have inadvertently tested out MANY flower varieties, and topping our list for self-drying flowers are eucalyptus and our Art Director Madeleine's favorite, Craspedia.

Always be snacking

We love snacks. And we're certainly not turning our noses up at a bag of pretzels. But some appetizers and homemade snacks are too easy to pass up. Colony founder Jean's current obsession are these Taiwanese Snowflake Crisps. She makes them with dried cranberries and pistachios but any nut and dried fruit combination works. Here's a recipe to get you started.

Dream Home by Brian Kaspr

jeanlin

Colony is thrilled to be showcasing artist and designer Brian Kaspr’s latest installation, Dream Home, painted remnants pulled from a house slated for planned demolition. The installation serves as the sole memento of an ambitious creative process spanning the course of seven days. A journey of creation and destruction, the first four days saw the of the house a blank canvas, where Kaspr and his team covered every square inch of surface area with the artist’s trademark exuberant neon brushstrokes and paint splatters; the remaining three days witnessed the unraveling of it all.

Dream Home opens November 10, 5-8 PM and runs through the month of November.

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

You’re Invited: Edition 4 by Studio Paolo Ferrari at Colony

jeanlin

Please join us to celebrate the launch of Editions 4 by Studio Paolo Ferrari.

Debuting October 13 at Colony, Edition 4 features new upholstered seating as well as material explorations such as hammered steel and a new colorway of the Studio's acclaimed collaboration with textile artist, and fellow Colony designer Hiroko Takeda.

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

You’re Invited: Drink, Draw, Raffle at Colony

jeanlin

Next Wednesday, July 20 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, we will be hosting a fundraising Drink and Draw with raffle items from Colony designers and beyond benefiting the National Network of Abortion Funds.

At Colony, we believe that reproductive rights are human rights, and that abortion care is healthcare. We believe that denying women of basic healthcare and autonomy over our bodies is a patriarchal injustice that will most negatively impact women in low income communities as well as Black, Indigenous and women of color. We are enraged and saddened, and in our grief all we can do is use the tools we have at our disposal to help in what little way we can.

Please join us next Wednesday in unity to drink, draw, celebrate women and donate what we can to help those fighting this fight on our behalf every day.

Purchase raffle tickets (and see what's up for grabs) in advance of the event here.

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.