Wall and Wall is six years old!
This month marks six years since Wall and Wall was first born in San Francisco back in 2015. The company started as just an artistic vision and quickly emerged as a viable project with important clients and recognition within the Bay Area art scene. Today its portfolio includes giant corporations such as Google, Facebook, and Capital One, among others.
Ferran Torras is the heart and soul of Wall and Wall. Born in Caldes de Malavella, Catalonia, Ferran landed in California in 2012 with no particular agenda but with the spirit of someone who seeks to broaden his creative horizons. To learn more about Ferran and the company, we met him in his studio, an industrial-looking space located in Berkeley. Full of light pouring in through large windows, the studio also has two garage doors that allow the space to expand when Wall and Wall's projects require it. The space is warm and inviting, much like Ferran himself.
1. Ferran, how many studios have you had since you arrived in the Bay Area? Tell us about the work rituals you carry out every day in this studio and how you coordinate projects with collaborators.
I arrived in San Francisco in 2012 and started Wall and Wall in 2015. At first, I shared a small studio with another artist. Despite the size, it worked out great since I was using it during the day and she tended to paint at night, so we were able to avoid each other’s messes. After that I moved to a bigger shared space with more room to set up my paint in my assigned corner. My first collaborator was Almudena Blanco, a Spanish painter who helped me to obtain one of my first commissions. Debbie Casey was the first one to believe that a mural painting company would succeed in the Bay Area and she worked with me as a business strategist for a couple of years. Afterwards, Christian Poch joined the team and made some key improvements like launching a Google Ads campaign and improving our SEO, work that continues to help our business now. During that period I had Patricia Rubio, Rebecca Whipple and Kat Poteet as collaborators helping me paint large and small commissions alike. By 2018 we had a steady amount of work coming in, so I decided to hire a full time artist, Nicole Pannuzzo, who helped me with project management and with art installations. She has worked with Wall and Wall for the last three years and we have had the chance to build a great network of collaborators: Piper Robins, scenic painter; Osman Koç, creative technologist; and Trevor Sell, our fabricator. Last year Wall and Wall moved its headquarters to an ample, light-filled space in Berkeley with the capacity to accommodate bigger projects.
2. What is the typical way commissions come to Wall and Wall?
The main way we get commissioned is through our Google positioning. We work hard on our SEO and also run adwords. We also get commissions through architects or interior designers that we have worked with in the past. Referrals from former clients are also a great way to get commissioned.
3. How has the type of spaces in which Wall and Wall works changed over the last 6 years? Who is your five-star customer?
We started out working mainly with private residences and painting nurseries, although we realized early on that the big budgets weren’t in those kinds of commissions. Since the Bay Area cost of living was and still is very high, we needed another source of income. That is when we decided to shift towards office murals and corporate branding. After a while we broadened our scope to encompass events and brand activations, including painting live murals.
One client we have enjoyed working with immensely is Ellucian. The company uses live murals in their annual events, and together with their amazing marketing team we brainstorm creative ideas that keep the install branded and aligned with company values, yet they still allow me creative freedom. A couple of the projects done with them can be seen here and here.
4. When we talk about murals, what exactly do we mean? How many types of murals are there and how do they differ?
We can paint office murals, live event murals, interactive murals and virtual murals.
We envision office murals as a part of the corporate space, something that will trigger employee creativity without overwhelming the senses or the space that the installation inhabits. Event murals are very different since they are meant to be created during an event and enjoyed for just a short period of time. This can generate promotional opportunities by encouraging photo ops and selfies with participants, and therefore can be a key piece in the marketing strategy of the event itself. Interactive murals are a way to create, with technology, an interactive surface where people can play music, trigger projections, etc.
Finally, we have the virtual murals (new to our business since the onset of the pandemic) where we record the mural painting process and get participant submissions that will be included in the design, and after it’s painted we ship the mural to the client's office.
5. How would you describe your career as an artist?
l was always interested in the arts and in creative fields. I first studied Graphic Design in Barcelona and then did a major in Illustration. Between my two degrees, I lived in England where I studied stop motion at the Bower Ashton School in Bristol. A When I moved to SF, I enrolled in City College where I obtained a Certificate in Graphic Design.
Wall and Wall was a side project that was meant to be for nurseries and kids’ rooms. But, after I finished my degree at City College, I got the opportunity to paint my first mural in an office at Chartboost. Shortly after I got a second inquiry, so I saw the potential to make a career from this - or at least some income - although I would never have imagined that this would turn into my full time job.
6. What was your first mural? Did you do it in Wall and Wall?
My first mural was at my cousins’ place in Spain. He had a baby and let me paint the nursery. It was years before I founded Wall and Wall, but I enjoyed the process so much that I started looking for more opportunities!
7. What does California represent in your life and career development? Define San Francisco in a few words.
For me, SF has been a place of self development and professional realization. There are no boundaries and I feel empowered to try whatever I want. It has inspired me to push outside of my comfort zone and think out of the box. Coming from a more closed mentality back home, SF has meant artistic freedom for me… and I hope it stays that way for a long time!
8. And finally... If we wanted to commission a mural from Wall and Wall today, how long would we have to wait to have it done? Is there a waiting list?
There is a standard process that usually takes about a month from start to finish, although each project is different so timing can be adjusted. As a general rule of thumb, we need about two weeks for the initial briefing, quote, and design process plus one or two weeks for scheduling and production (depending mainly on mural size, materials, etc). You can read more about our process and other details here.