SKAGGS Blog

A fresh look for SKAGGS H.Q.

Brrr, a change in the weather! Time for a brand new restyle for SKAGGS Headquarters.

As the oldest commercial area of Manhattan, a lot of history goes into our bastion of design knowledge in TriBeCa. SKAGGS H.Q. is the only two-story building in the neighborhood, holding out against the giant AT&T Building skyscraper and surrounded by classic TriBeCa apartment buildings. Ours is a highly unusual style of architecture that attracts attention simply because it’s so different. 

Design Intern Jessica Edmiston begins the painstaking task of cutting out the ravens.

“It may sound outlandish, but before we took over the corner of Walker and Church Street the building was home to a burrito bar—complete with a 3-D plastic “burrito van” attached to the brickwork.”

—Jonina Skaggs, Art Director

Many birds, ready for flight!
Creative Director Sam Edwards gets handy with the scissors.

Indeed, the building has been used as a burrito bar, a Chinese canteen and even a high-end apartment. When we arrived, we turned the dial up to 11 and we’ve been restyling the building ever since.

Creative Director Bradley Skaggs and Design Intern Jessica Edmiston check out the windows.

We soon attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.

“This time, we got crafty with the Exacto knives and scissors, creating a flock of ravens by zipping around layers of smooth adhesive vinyl. Now it looks as though the whole building is surrounded by birds in flight.”

— Jessica Edmiston, Design Intern

Not content with merely covering the interior of the building, we knew that it would give the building a distinctive look if the birds extended across the outside of the building, from our entranceway on Church Street right across the brick work to the windows.

“Soho gets its artsy charm from the layers of wheatpasted designs covering every door, wall and surface. Our street in TriBeCa has a more “austere” feel to it, so creating artwork on this magnitude certainly turns heads. As I pasted the ravens onto the brick, I was surprised to turn around and realize I’d drawn a crowd!”

—Bradley Skaggs, Creative Director

The view from inside the office.
The result! Come visit us on Church and Walker!

This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten artsy with our building and it won’t be the last! Click here for a visual diary and more images.
—What do you think? Leave us your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!