Wallpaper* editors know a thing or two about design. We also know how to have a good time. Friday night, Wallpaper* teamed up with communications and storytelling platform Hello Human, and the Brooklyn-based cultural space, Public Records, to throw what was arguably the party of New York Design Week.
Guests mingled over mezcal cocktails and issues of the Wallpaper* Travel Issue
As soon as the sun went down, guests from across New York’s creative scene flocked to Brooklyn’s industrial Gowanus neighbourhood to celebrate in style. At Public Records – housed in an early 20th-century warehouse that originally served as the headquarters of the ASPCA – guests queued to mingle over mezcal cocktails (courtesy Oaxaca-based distillery Rosaluna); mill around the venue’s tree-shaded courtyard; and, of course, dance the night away to one of the best sound systems in town.
Public Records co-founder Francis Harris spun records during the evening
A light fixture designed by Ah Um was one of many items presented as part of a show curated by Hello Human and Wallpaper*.
The beating heart of the evening was Public Records’ Upstairs listening lounge, which included a site-specific installation of 13 independent makers co-curated by Wallpaper* and Hello Human. Los Angeles-based studio Ah Um showcased two ambient lighting features, while husband-and-wife duo ALMa Design Studio displayed their Huipil vase, which draws inspiration from a traditional woven garment worn by Indigenous communities in Mexico. A foldable, metallic mirror by Elena Mahno merged geometry and art, while Kalon Studios presented a series of seating and tables made from gleaming steel and stone.
Guests queue to get into Public Records
Wallpaper's Pei-Ru Keh, Olly Mason and Rosie Cave
Innovative lighting set the ambiance in the sultry space, including designs from Brooklyn-based Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, who displayed a dramatic timber floorlamp, and Liyang Zhang, whose minimal paper piece takes the shape of a folded garment. Other creatives to be discovered Upstairs included Lichen, NoN Studio, oforo, Platform Studio, Thomas Yang, Vy Voi and Studio Baldo.
A view of the Upstairs lounge before guests arrived
The pieces were in symphony with the creative ambiance – and a backdrop of an immersive soundscape, courtesy DJs Francis Harris (a co-founder of Public Records) and Dor Levi, who spun records upstairs. Later in the evening, the Sound Room hosted a techno night with Berlin and London-based DJ Irene Amnes; Los Angeles-based artist ONYVAA and Minimal Wave Records founder Veronika Vasicka spinning into the wee hours of the morning.
Hello Human founder Jenny Nguyen with Public Records co-founder and creative director Shane Davis
Wallpaper* editor-in-chief Bill Prince (right) and Wallpaper* US Director Michael Reynolds (left)
