Colorforms

in 1951, firmly rooted in the Modernist design ethos and reflecting the Color Field abstract style prevalent at the time. The basic concept behind Colorforms is the ability to adhere and reposition abstract and geometric color form shapes on random surfaces to create art. Both recent art students, the couple discovered the idea when they acquired several rolls of flexible thin colored vinyl, and found that it would stick to the glossy paint in their bathroom and allow them to reposition it at will. Simply cutting shapes out of the material and sticking them to the wall turned out to be amusing enough that they left extra vinyl with a pair of scissors in their bathroom for guests to add to their creations. The positive reactions they got to the project led Harry to believe there was market potential for such a product. The original Colorforms sets were spiral-bound booklets hand-assembled by the husband-and-wife team in their New York City apartment. The first 1,000 sets were sold to FAO Schwarz toy stores.