Shana Nys Dambrot
What do Kanye West, Dr. Pepper and Norway have in common? They had wacky ideas they needed help manifesting — and they went to one-stop artisanal fabricators Pretty in Plastic to make them happen. A cozy office doubles as a mini-museum of the hundreds of toys, editions and prototypes founder and lead designer Julie B. calls her favorites. That's where A-list artists and first-time designers bring sketches on napkins or complex proposals for Julie and her team to figure out and bring to life. Behind the wall is an industrial warehouse that's as dusty, loud and surreal as can be. Her staff of specialized artists — a lot of the badass folks on ladders with face masks and blowtorches are women — handles the steel, resin, fiberglass, 3-D printing, milling, vacuum-forming, laser engraving and welding. They make notions real for clients including Cleon Peterson, kozyndan, Gary Baseman, Dave Pressler, Paul Frank, FriendsWithYou and Disney. And they can make yours real, too.
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