Sometime back former 3ringer Lora Leonard used the intriguing innovation of SkyFactory’s Ecoslim Luminous SkyCeiling Panels to dramatize her visit to the dentist. Under the spell of novocaine, she said, the illusion of cottony white against pristine blue (all this in the dead grey of a NY winter), almost made her forget about her thin mints-induced tooth decay. The “backlit images of landscapes that create highly realistic virtual windows” also charmed 3rings co-founder Jacob Slevin, who made a video of the proceedings at IIDEX NeoCon, 2008. Never let it be said that one cannot improve on an hypnotic illusion–SkyFactory recently added the eScape and SkyV lines, a pair of products that take the concept of the original luminous panels and add lights, camera, and action.

eScape. Designed by SkyFactory.

Just as SkyCeiling does, eScape and SkyV re-create nature. Yet rather than a beautifully photographed still of a sea of shimmering aspens or a perfect assortment of puffy clouds, eScape captures the mellifluous motion of same. The product is not an actual window or skylight but rather “a digital cinema virtual window that brings the dynamic beauty of nature to interior environments… eScape features a wall-mounted industrial-grade HD LCD monitor embedded in a full-size casement window,” while SkyV incorporates “a ceiling mounted Full-HD LCD monitor with multi-channel audio and video.” Both systems use SkyFactory’s proprietary visual software, creating a myriad of moving images of everything from the multi-hued dark incandescence of the Aurora Borealis to the gently-lapping sea scape of Oahu’s North Shore.

Either system creates an excellent outlet for the familiar wintertime angst of Eastern North America. So whether you spend your cold season in NYC, DC, or NC, with SkyV and eScape, you can forget about the slushy mess outiside and doze off dreaming of–and listening to–the Cerulean Blue of a Bahamas Beach or the creamy transcendence of the Milky Way.