Color Factory Brings Shades of Happy to S.F.

If you follow Bay Area design and lifestyle journalists on social media, you’ve probably witnessed them acting like children in the last few days. I won’t name names, but you’ve seen the images: A noted editor falling backward into a yellow ball pit; a well-known writer rolling in confetti; another editor reveling in brightly hued macarons. What has these adults in a state of play are press previews of the exuberant art exhibit from the minds at Oh Happy Day!, a lifestyle blog and on-line party shop. It’s called Color Factory, and when it opens on August 1, it promises to have the city seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. 

Oh Happy Day’s founder Jordan Ferney, along with artist Leah Rosenberg and designer Erin Jang are behind what they call a “color experiment.” On the outside, a two-story building at 575 Sutter Street has been painted with vertical rainbow stripes. Inside, visitors will find 15 site-specific colorful artworks ranging from the yellow ball pit to a room filled with large, highly pigmented confetti flakes to a space adorned with 10,000 ribbons. It’s not just a feast for the eyes; you can taste “technicolor treats” from the likes of Chantal Guillon, Craftsman and Wolves and Doughbies. No wonder it’s bringing out the kids in the city’s scribes. 

The fun continues around the city with 17 additional “color experiences and surprises.” A map guides visitors to treats that include a pink refresher from Boba Guys and a custom (temporary) tat from Moth & Dagger tattoo parlor. 

As anyone who has dealt with the city of San Francisco knows, staging something like this is no easy task. “San Francisco real estate is no joke and it took months to find the right place for our needs,” writes Ferney, founder of Oh Happy Day! “I spent hours and hours down at the city getting permits as well as putting a team in place for the build out. We’ve been working weekends and evenings for months now making sure everything was just perfect.” 

The high volume of pre-opening social activity indicates that they just may have nailed it. You can see what all the fuss is about when it opens to the public on Tuesday. Tickets ($32) can be found on the website.