It’s hard to walk into Greenport’s new 2D Shop without a sense of awe, wonder and a little “wow.”
Imagine stepping inside a life-size black-and-white coloring book. That’s exactly what the founders have created in this playful optical illusion of a shop.
Father-and-son team Ron and Jake Rose, collaborating with two artists, have created an immersive black-and-white retail experience at 310 Front St. Everyday objects — sneakers, light switch plates, coffee cups and even a sewing kit — have been transformed into whimsical versions of reality.
The unusual two-dimensional art gallery and retail shop grew out of the pages of Jake’s Color Our Town series of 36 coloring books, featuring communities such as Greenport and Cutchogue, along with small towns across the country. The books depict neighborhoods and notable landmarks in black-and-white line drawings, accompanied by historical descriptions.
“We designed the shop as if you are walking through a coloring book,” Ron Rose said.
The floors, walls and merchandise on the shelves were designed and painted by creative director Rob DeMatteo of Mastic and artist Jen Chiodo of Port Jefferson. The Roses describe their vision for the store as a collaboration that brings together the artistic styles of all four, like yin and yang.
Deborah Wetzel photos
The optical illusion begins at the front steps of a building that has undergone several transformations, from a dental office to a bike shop and now what the Roses say is the world’s only two-dimensional retail shop.
The black-and-white steps, bicycle, Vespa, oversized flowers, table and bench all look as though they’ve popped out of a coloring book.
“There are 2D restaurants and cafes around the world, but we’re the only 2D retail shop in the world,” Ron Rose said.
There’s hardly a splash of color in the shop, with the exception of hand-painted faux flowers displayed in vases on a flower cart at the front of the store, designed and created by DeMatteo.
The floors, walls and merchandise on the shelves were designed and painted by creative director Rob DeMatteo of Mastic and artist Jen Chiodo of Port Jefferson (Deborah Wetzel photos)
The black-and-white plywood floor has the appearance of wood grain, another creation by DeMatteo and Chiodo.
“We tried to use stencils on it, but wound up creating our own stencils, free hand in a grid,” DeMatteo said.
Works by local and international artists specializing in ceramics and acrylics are featured throughout the shop.
Among them is a 2D acrylic sewing kit by a Parisian artist, complete with a rolled-up measuring tape.
“I bought it because I’m obsessed with the level of detail,” Ron Rose said as he removed the piece from a glass display case that also houses a framed array of butterflies. “It’s all scientifically done.”
Another one-of-a-kind piece is a New York City-themed chess set featuring miniature black-and-white taxicabs as game pieces.
Jen Chiodo video
Alongside glassware, coffee sets and wall art are Air Jordan sneakers that arrive at the shop as blank white canvases. Customers can special-order personalized pairs, which the artists transform with hand-drawn black acrylic lines. The process takes about a month.
And why not transform an iPad into a miniature black-and-white television? The shop features a TV-style stand that can also be mounted on a wall, with classic black-and-white cartoons from the 1920s playing on a loop.
The imagination gets another workout at what the team calls a four-sided, waterless “aquarium.”
Set against a white wooden background, with no glass, nine varieties of fish and seaweed outlined in black appear to swim around a column in the middle of the store.
“We made the illusion work from every angle,” Chiodo said.
For Ron Rose, whose family lived in Manhattan until about a year ago, opening the shop in Greenport is “like another day in paradise.”
“It’s the best way for us to make our mark here,” he said.
Visitors can wander through a “courtyard” in one corner of the store, where a table and chairs sit atop an imaginary pebble-covered floor, before turning into the bathroom.
Rose jokingly described the bathroom as “disgusting,” pointing to drawings of cockroaches, cracked walls and exposed pipes covering the walls and ceiling.
Tucked into a corner near the floor is a tiny mouse house, reserved for “high end mice only.”
“It’s genius! And it’s our best-selling product,” Ron Rose said.
Jen Chiodo video
Across from the bathroom is a tea room that doubles as a dressing room. Hanging on the wall are Fendi-inspired 2D shirts, part of a chic collection of wearable art.
Chiodo, with her black-framed glasses and black-and-white sweater, looked right at home in the shop’s monochromatic surroundings.
“Clean stark black and white is trippier!” she said.
She described the shop as “wildly experimental,” with pieces designed to be functional in customers’ homes.
The latest addition to Greenport’s art scene, the 2D Shop is already drawing enthusiastic reactions from visitors.
“People are definitely curious about it. We hear them say ‘OMG’ and ‘this is incredible’ when they come through the front door,” Ron Rose said.
“It’s so fun, it’s a level of joy and people love it so far,” Jake Rose said.
DeMatteo added, “We hear people walking by saying, ‘This is so cool!’”
And the team isn’t finished playing with perceptions of reality.
Plans are underway for a special 2D event next spring called the “Great Flattening,” when the Roses and Chiodo will transform 18 volunteers into living, two-dimensional characters using face and body paint, 2D clothing and accessories.
The public art experience will culminate in a gathering at the Mitchell Park Carousel, where organizers hope to assemble the largest group of 2D people ever.
