Eskayel’s Inaugural Mural Collection Channels Decaying Coastal Architecture
Shanan Campanaro, founder and creative director of Brooklyn-based textile brand Eskayel, is an avid surfer. Campanaro regularly explores the world’s beaches, which inspire watercolor paintings that she creates with fluid, aqueous inks. She then prints these abstractions onto eco-friendly fabrics, wall coverings, rugs, accessories, and home furnishings that have established Eskayel in the design world.
Now, the brand is launching its inaugural collection of murals. Called Beautiful Decay, the collection replicates patinated exteriors of timeworn coastal buildings that Campanaro has encountered in her travels through Morocco, Croatia, and Italy. “I’ve always been captivated by weathered buildings,” says Campanaro, who we recently named as a must-follow female designer on Instagram. “Different patterns and shading emerge from the layers of paint peeling off exteriors.”
Five custom engineered-textile murals from Beautiful Decay are debuting at The New Work Project, a members-only creative workspace in Brooklyn by interior design firm The New Design Project. Husband and wife co-founders Fanny Abbes and James Davison initially approached Eskayel to help scout a local artist, but a lightbulb moment ensued.
“They sent a few inspiration pictures and I immediately thought of watercolors I completed for Eskayel’s new Jamaa series, coming out early next year,” recalls Campanaro. “I had discarded these paintings, but they were exactly what Fanny and James were looking for, so I recolored them to match the project’s palette. Having a tonal direction makes the collection feel really cohesive.” She further notes that despite being a creative departure in terms of scale, Beautiful Decay maintains Eskayel’s laid-back look and feel.
Available on a per project basis, Beautiful Decay can be printed on fabric grounds such as oyster linen, organic denim, and a 50/50 linen cotton blend. The collection will be unveiled on August 10 at The New Work Project in Brooklyn.