Digital Decorating

Digital transfer offers endless possibilities for creating custom décor elements.  I recently came across a company that expanded my ideas regarding the medium. The company, Orangepiel of Sausalito, California offers creative technology that has intriguing possibilities on a grand scale. With one decoxr panel they can completely infuse a room with the mood and style that is desired. They have the ability to custom print virtually any text, graphic, photograph, or pattern on an almost limitless size panel.

Orangepiel is on the forefront of this technology and as they say they are “redefining atmosphere through innovation.” They have created and patented a textile system that looks and feels like an artist’s canvas stretched. The fabric and process is environmentally friendly and can be applied without any adhesives. The panels are installed on a perimeter tracking system, which can create seamless walls and ceilings up to 16 feet by 165 feet run lengths. They have the flexibility to create unique design shapes, drop ceilings and backlit panels. Imagine the possibilities! 

I went to beautiful Sausalito to visit the Orangepiel Design Studio, which is located in the old shipyards from World War II.  The owner of Orangepiel, Daniel McCool, showed me around the studio and discussed his work and his artful approach to the medium and life. His studio showcases some of the design applications of transfer, from watercolors and photos, to photos of photos. The studio ceiling is a huge black and white photo of a full moon which can be lit from behind at night.

The Material

The material was developed to accommodate the Asian and European markets where they have older construction made with plaster, concrete and block. The material was created as an efficient way to reskin the ceiling or walls.  What makes the material unique is its technical properties, it can be stretched wide widths up to 16 feet by 16 feet without deflection, it will not sag in the middle like  fabric would. The material creates a perfectly flat plane, which is really important for construction or architectural applications. Where you need to know standard deviations and how the material is going to react.

Artistic Applications

The technical side is the less glamorous side of what Orangepiel does.  They have been importing to the United States and have gone through the process of learning how to print on it. McCool has been working with the printing aspect and one thing he likes about it is that it is not limited to any particular medium.  It’s a digital transfer taking something that has been digitized and reproducing it  but it lends itself to photography, to the graphic arts and even a poet’s text on watercolor. They can take all sorts of mediums. McCool expressed his views in what they are doing by saying that to him it is like that transition that was made around the turn of the 20th Century. How long did it take before photography was considered art?
Through this medium he is providing a pallet to people who approach it in new ways that he has not even thought of and to be involved in the creative process.  
McCool says “The way I want to approach and take this medium is to create atmosphere and the way to do it efficiently and without using vast resources. We can get a lot of bang for the buck with what we are doing. The footprint of how much we can create verses how much material we are really using, it’s not that much so it gives the artist that flexibility to create a space or to really set themselves apart.” 

The applications are almost unlimited not just for the home but can be used in the hospitality industry, commercial space, retail or by an artist that wants to create an experiential installation it works across all applications.

The way most other digital transfer companies work is you send them an image and they will reproduce it.  It is a business-oriented transaction. Orangepiel offers design services to customize and create a unique piece. 

“The reason I do this is because I like to make beautiful things and I feel like as a business model that sets me apart from other digital transferring and large printing houses,” McCool said. 

McCool likes the process of connecting and collaborating with the artist and creating unique and beautiful settings. He feels the beauty of his job is others coming across incredible artists and experiencing the diversity of their art. This is a lot of fun for him. 

McCool is philosophic about his work in the world and questions if he is doing enough to make it a better place by intending and bringing beauty in the world.
“We have a unique product but my big word is collaboration, we are about making sure we can connect the right artist to the right client and really go that extra step to give the client what they really want.”

What I left with after visiting with McCool was that his business is about beauty, people and connection which to me is the new healthy model of growing and being in business as well as being in the world.

You can find Orangepiel online at:  www.orangepiel.com/go/index.cfm/about-us/namesake/

This article was written for Illume Magazine