The most iconic California Drop Cloth pattern, Celebration was not one of the originals. It was actually part of our third collection in the Spring of 1979. The pattern was later translated into screen printed wallcovering. Continue reading “Celebration”
Month: July 2016
Painting Crew, 1981
A portion of our painting crew in 1981.
Graphic design by April Greiman
I designed the California Drop Cloth logo in 1978. It’s basically just my handwriting. We used it a lot and the logo became very recognizable in the 1970’s, but styles change and by the 80’s we were looking for an upgraded graphic style.
Around 1982 we hired noted graphic designer April Greiman to create stationery, business cards, invoices, the whole set.
Old Masonic Lodge at Pico and Figueroa
This photograph is from from 1924 but the building hadn’t changed much when California Drop Cloth took over the second floor in the Fall of 1978. Continue reading “Old Masonic Lodge at Pico and Figueroa”
Half Moon Bay
Orders for Half Moon Bay were almost always painted by Leonard Pollikof, even after we had many painters on staff. Leonard was six-foot-six and had a very long reach, enabling him to draw the large curved strokes across our 60 inch wide tables.
The ground color was scrubbed solid with a large sponge.
Ciccolini
Ciccolini was Leonard Pollikof’s favorite design. Named after pianist Aldo Ciccolini, the pattern is a light spattering of multicolored paints which reminded Leonard of delicate piano notes.
We created this pattern with a toilet brush dipped in thin paint. The bristles were then stroked with a paint stir-stick to cause an aerosol effect, resulting in small dots uniformly coating the canvas.
Ambrose
Ambrose features one of our primary techniques: dry-brush application with a wallpaper brush. We used Ameritone brand latex house paint, thinned to the consistency of milk. After dipping the brush we wiped it several times on scrap fabric until the right dryness was achieved before making a stroke. If the brush was too wet the yardage would be ruined. Too dry and it would take multiple passes, which ruined the texture.
Sand and Shells
Sand and Shells was one of our most popular patterns. We first painted the curved strokes with a foam brush, bleeding two colors together. Then, with a wallpaper brush, we dry-brushed the background color. The final touch was to splatter some of the background color over the entire piece, creating the “sand” on top of the shells.
Iris Orientale in Robin Williams’ dressing room.
Shot at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, in 1986. The sofa is upholstered with Iris Orientale by California Drop Cloth.
Balboa
Balboa was one of Leonard Pollikof’s first designs. Wide diagonal stripes are painted with 4 inch foam brushes in two colors. Then two narrow stripes are painted with one-inch foam brushes held sideways. Continue reading “Balboa”