Sticker Star

By Aria Hughes
November 28, 2011

By now we're all on board with the concept of wallpaper as a chic design choice—one that no longer lends itself to connotations of psychedelic brown and orange prints circa the '70s. Last week's feature on L.A. boutique Walnut Wallpaper, coupled with previous stories on some of the hottest paper makers working today, had us thinking we'd seen everything on the modern wallpaper scene. Yet when we came across Payton Cosell Turner's sticker wallpaper, even scented styles seemed old hat.

Payton Cosell Turner

Payton Cosell Turner featured in W Magazine and Elle Decor

The founder with her husband, Brian Kaspr, of bespoke wallpaper company Flat Vernacular, Turner, 25, has made headlines in Elle Decor and W magazine for artful installations of thousands of dime-store stickers, which she thoughtfully applies to resemble traditional damask prints. Cheeky rainbows meet strawberries, American flags, cars, baseballs and party hats in elaborate designs that are at once stately and quirky—not to mention completely captivating.

We caught up with the busy Maryland Institute College of Art grad to talk about her inspirations, her dream collaboration, and how to buy beautiful art on a budget.

The Inside Source: Your wallpaper company, Flat Vernacular, specializes in hand-drawn and screen printed wallpapers in addition to the sticker installations. How did the business come about?

Payton Cosell Turner: It happened really organically through simply the events that were happening in my life. In 2009 we had a little show in the back of a shoe store called Leffot, which is on Christopher Street in Manhattan. It was a multimedia installation of the sticker wallpaper, Brian’s embroideries, and my drawings hung salon-style. Through that, I got the commission that you see in the September issue of Elle Decor. The woman who commissioned me kept saying “you really need to print this, and make this available to more people,” and so many people kept asking me for it. Of course I’m not going to say no to that.

Payton Cosell Turner

Sticker wallpaper by Payton Cosell Turner for Flat Vernacular

The Inside Source: How did you come up with the sticker installations?

Payton Cosell Turner: I used it as part of my senior thesis at MICA. I was looking at stickers one day and it just occurred to me that here is this pedestrian object that references American culture as well as my childhood. So it’s this weird childhood play thing that can be utilized in this sort of tongue in chic, mildly ironic way. I mean, obviously, the patterns I choose to imitate reference antique damask patterns. When you see the wallpaper as a whole you don’t realize what it is until you are two inches away from it.

Also, a lot of my personal artwork deals with narratives, childhood, and memory. And what all of those things can mean to this American girl, which is me. And I think that the stickers fall nicely into that umbrella.

The Inside Source: How long does it take to do the sticker installations?

Payton Cosell Turner: It depends on the size of the room and the design because we do different variations of a damask. But I would say, generally, for a panel that is 12 feet long by about 4 and 1/2 feet wide for a pretty intricate pattern, it takes about 40 hours for a sheet of paper. So it takes a really long time.

The Inside Source: Where do you find your stickers?

Payton Cosell Turner: I’m always scouting for different stickers, but I typically buy from Paper House Productions and Mrs. Grossman’s stickers.

Payton Cosell Turner

The Inside Source: Where do find inspiration?

Payton Cosell Turner: Patterns in nature are always really inspiring. More or less, it’s looking at the world around you and trying to piece things together. I love the 1920s and the 1940s. I love Nicki Minaj, but I listen to a lot of Benny Goodman when I’m at home. I look at contemporary art a lot. I love going to the Frick Museum.

The Inside Source: Who are your favorite artists?

Payton Cosell Turner: My favorite artist is Matisse. Also, Maira Kalman. I love her illustrations and outlook on life. I love Maurizio Cattelan. I think his sculptures are really interesting. I love Laurie Simmons. I like Caravaggio.

The Inside Source: Why these particular artists?

Payton Cosell Turner: It is about their use of color. It’s about seeking some sort of universal human experience and expressing that human experience through personal narratives. And I think having a little bit of a sense of humor is always appealing to me, too.

The Inside Source: Who are your favorite fashion designers?

Payton Cosell Turner: I wish I could afford more clothing, but I love Suno. I think their patterns are really fresh. I like Rachel Comey and I’ve always loved Marni. I can’t afford any of these people, but that’s ok. I like looking at them. I feel like I wear a big man’s oversized t-shirt all of the time and scrubby shoes.

Fall 2011 Wallpaper designs by Flat Vernacular:

Trapezoids

Trapezoids

Wave

Peaks and Valleys

The Inside Source: Where do you like to shop in New York?

Payton Cosell Turner: I like Bird in Brooklyn and Albertine in the West Village.

The Inside Source: What’s your advice for buying beautiful art on a budget?

Payton Cosell Turner: I would say always look in secondhand shops. I think that you can find some interesting posters out there made by young designers that are largely inexpensive and can often be quite beautiful. I think looking towards younger artists would be my best advice because you could buy a beautiful drawing or a beautiful print of a drawing for $40 on somebody’s website, and I think that’s a pretty reasonable price for a piece of beauty. Also, looking around at nature and just kind of collecting things. We found a seagull skull last year, which is an interesting thing to put on a wall.

The Inside Source: Do you ever shop on eBay?

Payton Cosell Turner: I like bargain hunting in person, but I do love looking on eBay. You can find some really beautifully patterned things from Vera [Neumann], like a bunch of her amazing napkins and scarves from the ‘70s. I use eBay to find weird and random stickers, too. I would say we have a healthy relationship.

The Inside Source: What’s your dream collaboration?

Payton Cosell Turner: To make an embroidered wallpaper with Maira Kalman. Can you put my phone number in this so she can call me?