Design Notes Archive

Happy Menocal

Happy Menocal

In this age of digital media it seems hand-drawn illustrations are making a come back. Take the growing popularity of Brooklyn-based artist Happy Menocal, whose watercolor and ink stationary has become ubiquitous among a certain set of the fashion crowd. From British Vogue’s Serena Hood to American Vogue’s Chloe Malle, fans of Menocal’s whimsical style span coast to coast. Fanciful invitations and painterly menus aside, she is also largely considered the pioneer of modern heraldry, creating emblems that her clients can later translate at home (some going so far as to turn their shields into embroidery on bath and table linens). 

 

Lately, Menocal has been dipping her toe even deeper into the waters of interior decoration. At home, she transformed a small bathroom into a magical midnight jungle complete with jaguars and palm trees à la Rousseau. We also love seeing her black marble washstand with brass fittings just visible in the corner, and the tilting mirror is similar to our Hanbury design. (If you’re looking for off-the-shelf wallpaper in this vein, try Pierre Frey’s Kipling pattern in its darkest colorway). Back in her studio, Menocal lent her hand to a pair of curtains, painting a floral repeat on the fabric to create a bucolic buffer from the city outside. Further afield, she painted tropical murals and trompe l’oeil details on the walls of Miami’s hottest supper club, El Tucán. With a decidedly Latin twist, the cabaret is evocative of legendary jazz clubs like El Morocco and The Stork Club. Well worth a visit should you find yourself spending Easter break across the Atlantic.

Photograph © Happy Menocal/Gabriella Campagna, Deborah Needleman, El Tucán