Our first year students were milling around outside a dilapidated factory building in Brooklyn, more akin to the scene of a dystopian movie than a design firm, when they all had the same thought: "Is THIS a design studio?"
Indeed it was. It's the home to TwoSeven Inc., a multidisciplinary design and build firm specializing in store window displays, retail interiors, and luxury showrooms. Its creative lead, Martina Salisbury, is one of our very own, graduating from the SVA MFAD program in 2000. With an MFA and few years of editorial magazine work for MOMA under her belt, she joined business partner Franco Götte in their newest venture, a production company.
TwoSeven Inc. creates elaborate window displays for major luxury brands like Dior, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton, larger than life sculptures for Nike, and custom retail interiors for Herman Miller and Aesop. The students got to see behind the scenes work during a whirlwind tour of the in-house production spaces. They were wowed taking in the expansive workshops for wood, metal, plastic and plexiglass, lights, electronics, 3D printing, paint, and so much more.
Needless to say, TwoSeven Inc. was a crowd favorite studio visit. Many thanks to Martina, you've inspired our students to get busy and get building!