A welcome addition to this year's roster of NYCxDesign events across the city is new Tribeca design gallery Colony, with a show that marks the end of its first year in business. Behind the graffitied Canal Street exterior lies an unexpectedly bright and uplifting space where visitors can discover pieces by the country's most exciting young design talents.
Founded and headed up by New York design editor and entrepreneur Jean Lin, the gallery space is set apart from New York's many other design showrooms by the co-operative format on which it operates - designers pay co-op fees rather than high commission rates. 'The aim was to establish the most designer-friendly foundation before expanding the business,' says Lin. 'The risk was a big one, but I think the reward for the designers involved could be even bigger.'
It's a new way of working that levels the playing field in a country where young designers, who unlike their European contemporaries, don't have a wealth of manufacturers eager to enlist their services. Each designer in the space is making everything themselves and often on a tight budget, leaving little leftover for investing in sales, marketing and a dedicated showroom space.
Lin currently has a posse of 17 textile, lighting and furniture makers under her wing and a string of hopefuls lining up, eager to be involved. From exquisitely crafted cabinets by Rhode Island School of Design-educated Kai-wei Hsu to stone and copper tabletop pieces by Boston-born, Rotterdam-based Rachel Griffin, each designer is carefully chosen by Lin. Syrette Lew of Brooklyn studio Moving Mountains, whose brass 'Palmyra' floor lamp is currently on show at Colony, tells us, 'As far as I know, nothing else like this exists in New York and what does exist caters to another generation.'
Although launched a year ago during the 2014 design week, this year's show marks the gallery's true arrival in a city where local design is finally receiving the attention it deserves.
Pendant lights by Farrah Sit hang above Debra Folz's grey-stained ash extending dining table. Wall mirrors and side tables by Canadian designer Zoë Mowat sit to the left, while the intricate ‘Objet Trouvé’ mirror and tiered side table to the right are the work of Seattle studio Codor Design
Set against Flat Vernacular’s ‘Indian Holly' wallpaper, Katy Skelton's credenza is flanked by two of her ladder designs with blankets by Hiroko Takeda (right) and Meg Callahan (left). The modular granite, marble and walnut centrepiece is by Earnest Studio
Chen Chen and Kai Williams' tables are joined by VIDIVIXI (far left) and Katy Skelton's media cabinet (right)
Also on show at Colony is a collection of unique stool designs made by Colony designers for the fourth exhibition of Reclaim NYC, a charitable organisation founded in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. All proceeds go to Art Start
Vonnegut/Kraft's daybed stands in front of a dark wall hanging is by Meg Callahan. The 'Palmyra' palm tree lamp and the side tables, both by Moving Mountains, were by far the most Instagrammed pieces from the show
ADDRESS
Colony
2nd Floor
324 Canal Street
New York
NY 10013
-
Beloved British screenwriter Dennis Potter inspires an exhibition with a difference at Studio VoltaireHilary Lloyd's multi-faceted exhibition at Studio Voltaire considers Dennis Potter's life and work, from much-loved TV classics to power inequalities
-
Insert here: London Design Festival gets intimate with insertable designAt London Design Festival, Heirloom Studio showcases 36 objects – some life-saving, some pleasure-giving, all made to go inside the body
-
Postcard from Helsinki Design Week 2025Helsinki Design Week turns 20 this year. Celebrating two decades of design, core themes of this year revolve around happiness and optimism: here are design critic Hugo Macdonald's ten highlights
-
Stephen Prina borrows from pop, classical and modern music: now MoMA pays tribute to his performance work‘Stephen Prina: A Lick and a Promise’ recalls the artist, musician, and composer’s performances, and is presented throughout MoMA. Prina tells us more
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekWith the return of back-to-school, it's back to business for the Wallpaper* team, who’ve been making the rounds at fashion pop-ups and pavilion launches. Elsewhere, we’ve been indulging in new literature and old restaurants, and taking in a farewell exhibition at a landmark gallery...
-
Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekHere in the UK, summer seems to be fading fast. Moody skies and showers called for early-autumn rituals for the Wallpaper* team: retreating into the depths of the Tate Modern, slipping into shadowy cocktail bars, and curling up with a good book
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in TexasThe artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAnother week, another flurry of events, opening and excursions showcasing the best of culture and entertainment at home and abroad. Catch our editors at Scandi festivals, iconic jazz clubs, and running the length of Manhattan…
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San FranciscoThe artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
