Some months ago, I wrote about Eskayel, the line of bespoke wallpaper designed by visual artist Shanan Campanaro. The word bespoke is getting thrown around left and right these days, so I may as well go ahead and provide a working definition for the uninitiated: bespoke (adj.) simply refers to anything custom-made, though originally it was specific to tailored clothing. Consider yourself briefed on this trendy word, whether or not you like it. It’s here to stay (for now). Forgetting our detour into word origins, let us return to Eskayel.

Samui Sunrise. Designed by Eskayel.

We first covered the wallpaper company for BKLYN Designs, when the line being shown was Frontier—very Old West meets exotic tribal. Now Shanan Campanaro is debuting a new collection entitled Island. As you may have surmised, these wall coverings are inspired by patches on land floating amidst different seas. From Bali to the Bahamas and as far north as Iceland, the Island wallpapers have a lot of climes from which to borrow styles, ideas, and cultures. Campanaro was smart to cast a global net instead of sticking to the more traditional tropical islands—the resulting designs avoid being overly thematic (no literal shells or anchors or palm fronds).

“Bear in Mind and Lombok Lattice. Designed by Eskayel.

Bali Stripe and untitled. Designed by Eskayel.

Capri Kiss and Bahama Band. Designed by Eskayel.

As with Eskayel’s previous collections, Island is based on details from her visual art, which she removes and repeats in order to create her fabulous wallpapers. I use the word wallpaper knowing full well that it is out of fashion, but I do not associate it with tacky woodland murals. If you prefer, you can substitute wallcovering (this post is getting out of hand with these etymological tangents). Madagascar is a large-scale vertical design that falls somewhere between an ink blot and a violin. The repeated shape narrows in the middle like an hourglass. The subtle combination of colors continues Eskayel’s distinctive style—soft edges akin to bleeding watercolor ink. Culebra Cubic is a smaller pattern of diamond-shaped ornaments whose points are made up of scribbles (though you can’t see this detail from afar). Samurai Sunrise in Sky Blue is particularly interesting: the overall look is a mix between batik and LSD-induced double vision. The graduated colors temper what could be a dizzying motif. Whichever wallpaper you favor, the Island Collection by Eskayel will have you dreaming of exotic locations and cultures far more interesting than your own.

Join us at our 2nd NYC A+D Meetup, this Thursday, October the 8th, at 6:30. We are extremely excited, as Eskayel will present her new Island Collection. The Meetup magic will take place at the Mohawk showroom, 71 West 23rd St., 18th Fl. New York, NY.