During our last visit to New York City (right before COVID 19 shut everything down) we went to Color Factory, and the whimsical experience was everything I hoped it would be! The colors, the installations, the treats… it was all vibrant perfection!
Color Factory is an art exhibit inspired by color. It originally started in 2017 in San Francisco by a team of artists and creatives and is now in NYC’s SoHo neighborhood as well as a location in Houston, Texas. Jordan Ferney is the creator of this unique experience, and if her name sounds familiar it’s because she’s the event planner behind the fun, crafty blog Oh Happy Day.
The 20,000 square foot SoHo space features 16 rooms full of colorful art installations, stories, and experiences from local writers, poets and musicians. And each installation includes a sweet treat and a gift to take home. We got a ton of swag while walking through Color Factory – gifts, ice cream, candy, and other special treats like macarons in iconic New York City colors like “Taxi Yellow” and “Manhattan Bridge Blue.” It was major sugar overload for our early morning visit, so be prepared!
A baby-blue ball pit, a disco-themed dance floor, and oddball artifacts were some of the highlights for us. The ball pit is the site of a million instagrammed photos, and it’s really hard to get a sense for the scale of it by looking at pictures. But just know that it’s HUGE. And very blue. In fact, Color Factory matched the blue color to a Pantone swatch of the NYC sky on a cloudless, summer day! Germophobes, have no fear, the ball pit is also very clean. The balls are cleaned “lightly” on a daily basis, and deep cleaned once a week. On the way out of the museum we got to choose a free surprise gift, and I chose “A New York Palette” postcard by artist Roz Chast. It features colors like “Schmutz” and “Crushed Hopes.” ha! 🙂 We also picked up the Color Factory map to check out all the hidden installations and collabs around the neighborhood.
We just heard the good news that Color Factory’s New York location is reopening on October 1st!!! So make sure you add it to your list of must visit spots on your next NYC trip! When you book a ticket online, you’re assigned a time slot, and you can arrive up to 15 minutes before your scheduled time and hang out in the lobby while enjoying delicious mochi ice-cream in a variety of flavors.
Pro tips: We recommend visiting early in the morning, when the museum isn’t so busy. And if you go, dress the part! 🙂