This Incredible Shop Will Inspire Your Next Design DIY

In 2014, when Tanya Sheikh and Ivan Gilkes created the retail store In Support Of in New York, the concept was multipurpose: It was to be a retail store showcasing inspiring up-and-coming talent, while also supporting charitable causes through collaborations and events (hence the name).

Originally in the Meatpacking District (but now freshly relocated to a sleek location in downtown New York), the shop features clothing, speciality home goods, and art that’s unique, innovative, and high-quality. We sat down with co-founder Gilkes and talked through the space-saving DIYs, pops of citron, and copper piping that make up the design elements of the space.

First and foremost, ISO created a subway tiled wall out of tape—the ultimate subway tile DIY!

When we started planning our new space, we got really inspired by a photo of a grid-like tiled wall and decided we had to have it in our space. We searched high and low for wallpaper that could evoke this, and couldn’t find it anywhere—all the wallpaper and paint stores we visited said that it was too simple and not in style anymore. We checked online and everything we found didn’t feel perfect, and also was definitely too cost-prohibitive. We even thought about getting simple contact paper for the walls, but still couldn’t find the right thing.

Finally, one day, we figured out that we could buy charting tape. We bought about 20 1/8″ wide rolls from Blick Art Materials, and put up a grid ourselves. With a laser level, steady hands, and a lot of patience, we got the design up in a day. Because of the way we put it up, we were able to do this really exciting section that overlaps one of the peach sections of our walls. It ended up being really special, and we’re so happy we found this solution instead of going the expected route.

The clothing is held up by DIY copper racks. Tell me about those. And yet again, OMG, how can we do that at home?

When we figured out we wanted peach as our accent color, we thought the copper would be a really great tertiary color for the space. We had bought some copper taping to put up, and then found some other great source images of copper racks. Figuring out how to install them was all thanks to our friend Chris, who helped put them up—and also did a lot of the work on our space for us.

The H-shaped racks are our favorite because they went well with our theme—the idea of copper pipes running throughout a house. To install them, we drilled into the ceiling and floor for place holders, and used T-extensions to create the main portion of the racks. The longest rack is a floating one held up with steel cables, which is cleaner for the longest wall in the space.

You have summer vibes going on year round with that grass wall.

The turf wall is a carry-over from our old space. We really wanted to improve on the idea to have the space represent a de-constructed, little white-picket fence house, but also have features of it placed unexpectedly in the space. The idea of house and home is really important to us because we see In Support Of as more of a community-building platform, as opposed to simply another retail store.

To have a sense of continuity and keep pushing this idea, we brought the grass back, and are super happy with how it looks. It’s also became a signature of our space, seeping into our branding and mission to support and launch young emerging brands. We’re currently running a collaborative showroom event twice a year, where independent designers can introduce their collections to other stores—it’s called ‘The Turf @ In Support Of.’

You have a really amazing mission with the designers you support. 

Thank you! We started In Support Of as a reaction to the marketplace and experience with the showroom Tanya started in 2010. The idea was to contextualize the young brands we were wholesaling amongst other brands we appreciate.

In reaction to the wholesale market—and because we really want to help designers grow their collections while still protecting their financial solvency—our showroom has changed over time, and is now operating as the collaborative market I mentioned previously. This way, we are really able to be in support of the young talent we see in the world. A lot of our makers are individuals with small operations, and it’s really great to be able to provide a platform where their voice can really be found and flourish.

The ‘dressing rooms’ are such a smart space saver.

Because the space is so narrow, we knew that the dressing rooms would have to be a creative solution—and we also knew we needed to have two. We found these U-shaped brackets that worked perfectly,  and we continued with the copper theme by getting some copper-colored fabric from Mood that Tanya then sewed into curtains. When we got them up, we were afraid they were almost too dramatic. But we love them now—they’re so much fun, and also at the same time super practical considering the width of our space.

Love that pop of yellow beams!

In a last-minute idea, we decided to incorporate the idea of the pitched roof in the space with faux beams. We actually settled on the idea of yellow really quickly, but knew we wanted it to be reflective somehow. After looking at car paint and metallic paint, we chose this paint from Fine Paints of Europe—Hollandlac Satin 2070 Van Gogh Yellow.

The color pops and stands out without looking too fake. All the elements came together to look like a weird, updated—but also tame—version of Memphis Style. It’s unexpected, but definitely a great alignment with our aesthetic when it comes to our clothing and branding in general.

In Support Of is open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 7pm, and Sunday from noon to 6pm at 250 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012.