Oh, How Pinteresting!

In our pinterview with Ed Winser, he made a special request to get in touch with Erin Dollar. In Ed's words, Erin is one of "my favorite pinners, and she seems to be abreast of the beard fetish thing sweeping the nation. I want to know how often she goes out in her beards, and what she's all about!"

 After checking out Erin's incredible pinboards and her equally spectacular Etsy Shop, I had to get in touch..

Nice to meet you Erin! Tell me a bit about yourself:
I'm from Portland, Oregon originally, but just relocated to Los Angeles a few weeks ago. It's a bit of a transition, but I haven't lost my mind yet! Still getting settled in, and I'm looking forward to meeting lots of awesome new creative people. I consider myself an artist, primarily a printmaker, but I've been making my living recently by making fake beards as part of my I Made You A Beard project (imadeyouabeard.com). As you may be able to deduce from my pinboards, I love reading books, making and collecting original prints and other art, and daydreaming about how to make my home studio bigger and better. Oh, yeah...and beards.

And in honor of Ed, how often DO you wear your bears out on the town?
I'll be honest: for me, the beards are really a "special occasions only" accessory. It's a bit too warm for me to just wear them out all the time, but I am a big proponent of getting goofy and making people laugh, and the beards certainly put a smile on my face. My transition into becoming a full-time beardmaker was pretty simple: the public demanded beards, and I stepped forward to provide them. All kidding aside, I'm still not super clear about how this became my day job, but I'm happy to do it!

Could you tell me a bit about your personal taste?
I think my taste is pretty simple, I tend to be attracted to the handmade, things that are a little less than perfect. I love finding new artists and craftspeople online, I can't tell you how inspiring it is to see so much talent scroll by as I'm browsing my favorite blogs. 

     

Click here to download:

pinterview-erin-dollar-beards-i-3-EqcaHhvpFdrcqDgiFeGq.zip (1255 KB)

(A few of the great items in Erin's Etsy Shop!)

Why do you use Pinterest? 
It might sound weird, but the biggest thing Pinterest has done for me is to clear off my computer desktop. Over the past few years, I've amassed file after file of inspiring photos of art, crafts, clever packaging, beautiful interior design, etc. Of course, the problem with that is that I always forget where I found the original image, and that they were too disorganized to really search through, which is endlessly frustrating. I love Pinterest because I can save all these inspirations, without losing the original source, while still being able to browse them visually.

   

Click here to download:

pinterview-erin-dollar-beards-i-3-FEpmtGvyHlGissIkHlae.zip (1269 KB)

How can we make Pinterest better for you?
I worry that as Pinterest grows it may become harder to find other "pinners" who share your personal taste. Anything you can do to connect like-minded users would be a good thing!

So you were called out for an interview by Ed. Who would YOU like us to Pinterview
I think you guys should hear from Jenny H. next. I mean, have you SEEN her garden pinboard?! I found it this afternoon and I can't stop thinking about how to get a little garden going in my apartment complex. I'd love to know what she's growing in her garden!

Today, we've made commenting easier by letting you add a comment directly from the home page. Why do we like comments so much?

For starters, commenting is really useful. When I saw a cool olive oil dish and wanted to know where I could pick it up, I was able to ask my Pinterest friends for help. Thanks to Matt, I found it.

Comments are also really helpful to find out what other people think. I've been considering replacing my iPhone for months. It was great to get feedback from some of my friends on the new android phone I ended up ordering.

Our little team doesn't think of a 'pin' as just an image. Pins are living pieces of information: an image, a source, a personal description, a list of people who think it's cool, and (hopefully) a lively discussion that adds context and useful information. 

I was lucky enough to interview Alexis and Lauren, founders of Trim Interiors NYC (http://trimnyc.com). Trim Interiors helps regular people decorate their apartments. As a guy who has struggled to put together even the most modest studio, I love what Alexis and Lauren are doing. Plus Alexis and I both dream of owning a French Bulldog named Escobar. Oh, and naturally, the two have enviable taste. Follow their pins here.

Tell me about yourselves. How did you meet?
(Alexis) We met at a large hospitality design firm in New York, which is where we both work now.  Lauren’s an Interior Designer. She's originally from Kansas. I’m an Architect and I grew up in Manhattan. We tend to tackle design issues from different angles. The work we do is usually very big (in terms of both personality and scope) and very glamorous.  Lots of hotels, casinos, restaurants, museums, and retail projects - both domestic and international.

We get to live these sort of glittery lives during the day, and then we both go back to our tiny new york apartments at night, which present a completely different kind of design challenge.  When I moved into my place in Brooklyn (which I rent) I replaced all the hardware in my kitchen with super minimalist brushed stainless pulls i found at Home Depot for a dollar apiece.  It cost less than $20 and took less than 20 minutes, but it made a huge difference.  

   

Click here to download:

pinterview-alexis-and-lauren-from-trim-nyc-CdHjamrGnGyqjscbaCIn.zip (497 KB)

It seems like every other day someone I know asks me how I think they should arrange the furniture in their studio apartment, or if I can recommend an affordable couch. It’s actually kind of great, though - it gives me an excuse to spend 5 hours looking at furniture online (something I’d be doing anyway, just with less purpose).  Lauren and I saw a business idea in that.  

"By keeping things inexpensive ($100 - $1000) and informal, we can offer design advice to tons of people who would never consider hiring an interior designer or decorator, but want a little personalized direction."

What's your process like? How do you get to know a client's style?
(Lauren) If the client is local, they have the option to meet with us in person, but otherwise everything is web-based.  You submit measurements of the room(s) you want to work on (we provide a worksheet and a guide to make it as easy as possible).  Then we ask you to complete an informal questionnaire.  It gives us a sense of your style and also what issues you’re having with your space.  We ask if you have pets, where you like to eat dinner, and what you favorite magazines are.  It’s also really useful to see images that our clients are drawn to.

(Alexis) A few inspiration photos can tell us a lot about someone, and provide us with a way to communicate our ideas to them more directly. Pinterest can make that a lot easier! Many times, people are unsure of how to express their personal style, but they know what they like when they see it. 

(Lauren) Once we get a sense of your aesthetic, we’ll spend hours shopping for everything you need, making sure it fits your style, your budget, and your apartment.  

"I like to save images of everything for a client in one place, so Pinterest is a great way to organize by product category and by job.  Sometimes a great lamp just isn’t so great with a particular sofa, so as we’re working we can really use the pinboards to see how everything is coming together. It’s perfect for the way we collaborate, too." 
 
Oh, and one of my FAVORITE features is that when I return to a pinboard, I can quickly click through to the original source and provide our client with all the necessary information to make a purchase.  Before Pinterest, we were saving huge files on our computers, emailing them to collaborate, and eventually doing our best to retrace our steps back to the original source.

     

Click here to download:

pinterview-alexis-and-lauren-from-trim-nyc-lhvAqCzGtIptFrnDJlDv.zip (733 KB)

Any favorite pinboards you'd recommend to other people? 
(Lauren) We’re best friends with ShiloByrd now.  Pinterest brought us together.
(Alexis) I also love all of FormFire Glass boards.  

Is there anything you'd like to see us add to make Pinterest better?
(Lauren) Please let us filter by tags!  If I could instantly see all the sofas I’ve ever pinned without putting them all on a dedicated pinboard, it would be fantastic.  
(Alexis) Private “invite-only” pinboards would be useful as well when we want to use the site to communicate directly with our clients.  It also would be nice to have some kind of drag-and-drop feature to move pins between boards when I feel like re-categorizing something or using it for more than one project. 

Have you ever pinned something, only to see it repinned and then liked by dozens of other users. Have you ever wanted to say -- "Hey I pinned that first!"

Today we're testing a new feature to show you everyone who liked your pin after it was repinned by another user. On some of your pins, you'll notice a little strip like this.

You can click to see everyone who liked your pin after it was repinned. The stats in your profile will also update.

Over the next couple weeks, we'll be adding new features to try and reward the effort and creativity that goes into a great pinboard. Stay tuned...

This week's pinterview is with Ed Winser. I started following Ed's pins a couple months ago, and I've always been impressed by his creativity. He has boards on a range of interests, from jazz to fashion to (my personal favorite) urban monasteries.

Hi Ed, tell us a little about yourself:
I'm 35 and live in the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco, I moved here 15 years ago from Surrey in England, which was an easy transition as a lot of good friends were already living here. I was studying sculpture in London for a few years before the move so you can imagine it was quite a drastic change of scenery and lifestyle. Initially I was concerned how I could carry on working here in the arts but surprisingly contacts from friends were leading me to curating jobs and apprentice work with successful sculptors I could only have dreamed about working with in London. 

     

Click here to download:

pinterview-ed-winser-hvHslFdjkBEBzcfqpDAn.zip (4334 KB)

I live on the Island of Lanzarote which has a huge influence from the late artist/architect Cezar Manrique. His wind sculptures and architectural spaces are dotted all over the Island and he was regarded as a hero by the locals for his flattering projects working in harmony with the natural surroundings. I was impressed how the public had a genuine interest and appreciation for art, this made me feel right at home and confident that I could be creative here and Manrique has inspired not only the likes of me but many artists who also live on the Island. 

     

Click here to download:

pinterview-ed-winser-DBiHnnrECcCzmChHkpAC.zip (158 KB)

We added a cute little button to quickly jump back to the top of a page. It should mean less time scrolling and more time enjoying pins. If you like it, you have Janet and Trisha to thank. They suggested it in our last Pinterview.

Lots of the best ideas on Pinterest come from users. If you ever have an idea leave a comment or send a quick email to hi (at) pinterest (dot) com!

   

Click here to download:

scroll-to-top-IxzFizCfAEEBHtefciuC.zip (619 KB)

So where does the name Pawling come from?
It's named after our Grandfather on our Dad's side. He's the one who introduced us to art outside of school or art class. He was a photographer and a painter. Whenever he would visit, our group activity was art. He would make us draw, which we hated at the time. He'd ask us to really look at someting for like half an hour. When you're a kid, that seems like forever. He passed away a little before we started the studio and it just felt right to name the studio after him.

   

Click here to download:

untitled-skohacnjysEAfyhbHvhh.zip (4236 KB)

On Monday we had our first New York City Pinterest "Pin-Up" with the help of Ambre + Andrew and the good folks at Droog New York. I had already seen lots of Droog products on Pinterest, but a gallery full of their very cool stuff was the perfect backdrop for the event.

It was awesome for me to meet so many of our NYC pinners, including Lauren + Alexis from TrimNYC, the DESU Design team, Ms. Kapri from DomesticatedNYC (who, by the way, has an awesome Pinterest "about") and lots more.  Everyone gave great suggestions for new Pinterest features, and we'll be working to turn them into site improvements soon.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and, again, thanks to Droog for hosting.  I hope you'll all sign up for updates on other great Droog New York events here.

We'll be organizing another "pin-up" in New York soon.

                               

Click here to download:

nyc-pinterest-pin-up-eJJAtnvpAHDBeECzqnut.zip (33191 KB)

P.S.  Special thanks to my old college roommates Ian and Will for lending a hand on photo-taking and bar-tending duties, respectively. You should check them out at their upcoming show. Double-special thanks to my Mom for carting all the supplies up to New York.  (You're the best!)