The humble matchbox has a long history of being one of the smallest media and advertising platforms around. Ever since the 1920s and 30s, these minute surfaces have been adorned with eye-catching graphics and used as a means of branding and communication, so much so that they have become true collectibles in their own right.
Similarly, the Brooklyn-based candle company Keap has tapped into this tradition by teaming up with the art object boutique Objectify 139 in New York’s Lower East Side on a quintet of their own matchboxes. Inspired by Japanese specimens of the matchbox art tradition, the set features five silk-screened designs exhibited on handmade three-inch matchboxes.
‘Matchboxes are one of the most interesting collectible print formats,’ says Keap co-founder Harry Doull. ‘You see them less nowadays, as they have become almost obsolete, so there's something nostalgic about them that's really appealing to us.’
Realised in a primary palette of colours, each of the boxes is delicately decorated with a different New York City scene that will bring a feeling of calm each time it's admired or used. Each illustration has been created by Keap’s art director Dan Arbary in homage to each of the label’s scented candles. When packaged together in its simple slipcase, the boxes line up like books and spell out the Japanese proverb ‘It is better to see the spark before the fire’, again in ode to the historical origins of the project.
‘In addition to the four colored boxes that loosely reference the fragrances, we made a more monotone fifth box that is simply a tribute to our home city. There's no place like Brooklyn,’ Doull adds. ‘The result is simple, light-hearted and with a tint of nostalgia.’
The set has been issued in an edition of 50, making them just as collectible as their predecessors from long ago. A series of tote bags with matching graphics is also available.
The project was inspired by the tradition of Japanese matchbox art that proliferated in the early-to-mid 20th century
Realised in a primary palette of colours, each of the boxes is delicately decorated with a different New York City scene
The set features five silk-screened designs exhibited on handmade three-inch matchboxes
Each illustration has been created by Keap’s art director Dan Arbary in homage to each of the label’s scented candles
INFORMATION
Matchboxes, $28 for a set of five, tote bags, $18 each. For more information and purchasing, visit Objectify139’s website
ADDRESS
Objectify139
139 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
-
Five of the best travel cameras, pocketable friends for the peripateticSelected by the Wallpaper* technology and travel team, the following cameras are tiny but mighty devices, dexterous at capturing memories
-
12 things not to miss at Art Basel 2025Art Basel is bigger and better than ever. Avoid overwhelm, follow our definite what-to-see guide at this year's event (19-22 June)
-
A colourful outdoor bar, inspired by an unbuilt Louis Kahn design, is coming to Philadelphia this summerFrankie's Summer Club, a vibrant pop-up café, marks a new chapter for the former University of the Arts campus.
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, DiversGeordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took placeMarc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colourThe Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
