Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

Emily Strauss creates environments of beauty that reach into the world around her and change it for the better. I discovered her company for the first time at the New York Build Expo at the Javits Center in Manhattan a year ago because I was so impressed with the display she had created. New York Build is a fun place for people like me who love design and architecture and all of the things that go along with building and designing and creating spaces. I could spend a whole day in a place like Home Depot, so New York Build is like going to a party for me. But even with all of the love that I have for everything to do with building and designing, there are people who stand out in the crowd for their innovative ideas and ways of sharing their vision with others, and the display that Emily created with her company Mural Painter, Inc. was a breath of fresh air. She had set up a large canvas that spanned the dividing space between two areas and there were painters in caps and coveralls painting a mural before our very eyes. They were all so focused that it drew our attention, and brought a place of peace within the crowd and rush of a large Manhattan Expo space.

A few months later I went to the Hoboken Art and Music Festival, an event that is held bi-annually that is always an enjoyable time of wandering and exploring and meeting new friends and reconnecting with people who I may not see all of the time, and as I walked the length of Washington Street, I saw a similar display, though much smaller, to the one that I had seen at the New York Build Expo. When I walked over to the canvas that was actively being painted, this time with a group that included a few children that were exploring and enjoying painting and color on this large scale coloring book playground, I realized that I recognized the logo for Mural Painters and introduced myself to Emily who I had not met before. When I asked her what brought her to Hoboken, she explained that though she does projects in Manhattan and all over the country, her studio is in Hoboken. At the time a friend in the neighborhood had mentioned that they were thinking about doing a mural project, and so I took a card and told Emily I'd be in touch, possibly for that project if my friend decided to move forward, but definitely for a blog post.

The year rolled around and I found myself once again at New York Build, and once again seeing Emily's beautiful displays, so this time I made a point of following up with her and visted with her one afternoon at her Hoboken office. The afternoon was such an inspiring one because Emily's space and her presence promote a feeling of beauty and creativity - it's almost as if the very walls around her are about to break into song or begin to grow branches and blossom. Her work is astonishing in its scope and the possibilities that she opens up to anyone who is looking to create a mural, signage for their business or beautify a space are endless. She had one of her team members, Oscar Portillo, forward me some photos of her work, and I downloaded others from her website. There is also a video that you can see here https://vimeo.com/300425496 but there is so much more and so much to see that I'll let you do the exploring for yourself and find out just what dreams can be made of.

Emily Strauss

Founder And CEO

Operations Manager

Mural Painter, Inc.

321 Newark Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://muralpainterinc.com/

Photographs Courtesy Of Emily Strauss

And Mural Painter, Inc.