I moved to New York City to attend Hunter College in the summer of 1999. I wanted to be in the core of jazz and hip hop, graffiti art, and comedy. Queensbridge. South Bronx. Harlem. SOHO. Brooklyn. These were only fantasy lands geolocated in song lyrics and Hollywood flicks back in Littleton, Colorado. These places seemed untouchable until my brother Ryan paved the path 5 years before me. I remember his first apartment behind Neptune Diner in Astoria being so small and perfectly different from suburban life. Ryan worked as a foreman for Pierre Finkelstein, arguably the world’s most talented decorative painter specializing in 18th and 19th Century French and Italian techniques. I was sitting in my dorm room in early 2000 across from Bellevue Hospital when Ryan called to ask me if I wanted a 2-week job folding mailing brochures for an upcoming class Pierre was teaching. He said it wouldn’t pay much, but could help with my Ramen noodle and rotisserie chicken diet. Boom! First job in NYC.
On the first day, Pierre showed me the 379 brochures to fold and mail and the endless amount of photo negatives and slides that needed to be systematically put in order by technique and year. 2 weeks work? Ha! On the second day of work, Pierre removed me from brochuring, told me to buy a 5-way (tool), a box cutter, and some painter’s whites and sent me to help Ryan on a project on 74th Street and Park Avenue. This was the beginning of an 8-year apprenticeship-like employment at Grand Illusion Decorative Painting, Inc.
Pierre taught me the traditional French and Italian techniques and how to properly communicate with interior designers, architects, and clients on high-end residential projects worldwide. I spent a good portion of my time in the office while earning my degree in writing. Taping, sanding, protecting household items, and preparation had to be mastered before he allowed me to touch a brush. The chemistry. The geology. The science. The mediums. The complementary products. Brush holds. Brush control. Paint flow. The craft. It took well over 50 hours a week, sometimes 7 days a week, over 4 years time in order to have a solid understanding.
I left Grand Illusion in 2008, slides and negatives remaining unorganized. I was spent from living out of suitcases and traveling for 6 months out of the year and being consumed by decorative painting. I needed to evolve and pursue additional forms of art to add to my craft and separate myself from Pierre's world. Vipassana in the sticks of Massachusetts seemed about right. Tent #5, complete silence, and left only with the family of inchworms living on the exterior of the zipper to observe, I sat in meditation for 10 days from 4am to 9pm. Fresh mind. Fresh start.
In October of 2009, returning from meditation, I opened Inchworm Design, Inc. with the mission statement: We will provide excellent products in positive environments for happy people. At the same time of opening my company, I met the love of my life and now wife and of mother of our kids, Khushbu. With a fresh perspective and after over a decade into my craft, I realized that the most important aspects of success in my industry are to find people that I have friendly and trusting relationships with, who keep positive attitudes, and are genuinely happy people. Chemistry and good communication between interior designer and contractor (or artist) are key elements in finding that harmonious 'dance' throughout a project.
My most trusted interior designers and architects will offer me their visions and allow me to input my own artistic interpretation for a project. At Inchworm Design, Inc., we graft from the French and Italian traditions while utilizing contemporary finishes and other forms of media such as print media and videography. We want to evolve the craft of decorative painting as culture and society push technology into new visions of decoration and design.
That being said, in 2010 we began creating custom hand-painted wallcovering catering specifically to the interior designer. A well-designed interior comes directly from the creative vision and dedication of each interior designer. It is his or her art. With that in mind, we cater our services to those interior designers that need a custom product to accommodate his or her art. To begin, we have created 36 foundational products for the designer to refer to. She can choose from the collection by texture, or decide to create a 100% custom product specifically for her and her style. We will work from conception and sample making to hone in on texture and color, and provide strikeoffs so the designer can present her ideas to her client. We can also match our product to an existing, perhaps obsolete product, or adjacent substrate that needs matching in order to carry through a space. The possibilities are not limited. Please refer to the Residential section for a concise catalog of finishes and completed rooms, and the blog section for articles I have written on a few projects I have completed. You are also welcome to check out my personal website for canvaswork.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Cheers,
Jeff Pollastro
On the first day, Pierre showed me the 379 brochures to fold and mail and the endless amount of photo negatives and slides that needed to be systematically put in order by technique and year. 2 weeks work? Ha! On the second day of work, Pierre removed me from brochuring, told me to buy a 5-way (tool), a box cutter, and some painter’s whites and sent me to help Ryan on a project on 74th Street and Park Avenue. This was the beginning of an 8-year apprenticeship-like employment at Grand Illusion Decorative Painting, Inc.
Pierre taught me the traditional French and Italian techniques and how to properly communicate with interior designers, architects, and clients on high-end residential projects worldwide. I spent a good portion of my time in the office while earning my degree in writing. Taping, sanding, protecting household items, and preparation had to be mastered before he allowed me to touch a brush. The chemistry. The geology. The science. The mediums. The complementary products. Brush holds. Brush control. Paint flow. The craft. It took well over 50 hours a week, sometimes 7 days a week, over 4 years time in order to have a solid understanding.
I left Grand Illusion in 2008, slides and negatives remaining unorganized. I was spent from living out of suitcases and traveling for 6 months out of the year and being consumed by decorative painting. I needed to evolve and pursue additional forms of art to add to my craft and separate myself from Pierre's world. Vipassana in the sticks of Massachusetts seemed about right. Tent #5, complete silence, and left only with the family of inchworms living on the exterior of the zipper to observe, I sat in meditation for 10 days from 4am to 9pm. Fresh mind. Fresh start.
In October of 2009, returning from meditation, I opened Inchworm Design, Inc. with the mission statement: We will provide excellent products in positive environments for happy people. At the same time of opening my company, I met the love of my life and now wife and of mother of our kids, Khushbu. With a fresh perspective and after over a decade into my craft, I realized that the most important aspects of success in my industry are to find people that I have friendly and trusting relationships with, who keep positive attitudes, and are genuinely happy people. Chemistry and good communication between interior designer and contractor (or artist) are key elements in finding that harmonious 'dance' throughout a project.
My most trusted interior designers and architects will offer me their visions and allow me to input my own artistic interpretation for a project. At Inchworm Design, Inc., we graft from the French and Italian traditions while utilizing contemporary finishes and other forms of media such as print media and videography. We want to evolve the craft of decorative painting as culture and society push technology into new visions of decoration and design.
That being said, in 2010 we began creating custom hand-painted wallcovering catering specifically to the interior designer. A well-designed interior comes directly from the creative vision and dedication of each interior designer. It is his or her art. With that in mind, we cater our services to those interior designers that need a custom product to accommodate his or her art. To begin, we have created 36 foundational products for the designer to refer to. She can choose from the collection by texture, or decide to create a 100% custom product specifically for her and her style. We will work from conception and sample making to hone in on texture and color, and provide strikeoffs so the designer can present her ideas to her client. We can also match our product to an existing, perhaps obsolete product, or adjacent substrate that needs matching in order to carry through a space. The possibilities are not limited. Please refer to the Residential section for a concise catalog of finishes and completed rooms, and the blog section for articles I have written on a few projects I have completed. You are also welcome to check out my personal website for canvaswork.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Cheers,
Jeff Pollastro