Monocle: Design Agenda – Souvenir wallpaper

What to do with souvenirs from your travels? Do you actually use your teapot from Japan when you want a hot brew or display that vase from Murano on a shelf? For Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper, the duo leading US design practice Stephen Burks Man Made, the answer was to turn them into a decorative wall covering. Working with Calico Wallpaper, the duo transposed their knick-knacks from their cross-continental travels into a 2D wallpaper design that they called Particulaire.

“We started by looking around our home and asking ourselves, ‘What do we decorate the rooms with?’” says Burks. “The answer was objects from our travels. They tell a story both about us and the cultures that we have interacted with.”

Working with the wallpaper firm, which is based in Upstate New York, the creative duo used photographed renderings of their personal mementoes to create a graphic pattern that puts objects from across the globe into conversation while bringing plenty of personality to a room. “The gorilla image is from a young man who we met in Rwanda carving wooden figures. But we also took inspiration from Japan, Senegal, the Dominican Republic and even Brooklyn,” says Burks of the wallpaper. “Our travels are a way for us to get closer to acts of making that involve different techniques and materials,” adds Leiper.

To present the project the two firms created a bespoke mural at the Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan during the city’s recent design week. Since the launch, the Particulaire wallpaper has been made available in 10 colourways ranging from neutral hues to a maroon and sage green. If you find yourself gazing at an unused teapot or vase, perhaps try reaching out to Calico Wallpaper: they might just be the foundation for another unique collection of wallpaper.