Cool Things visited iolabs this week and we were astonished by some of the work Ted Peffer and his team are doing. Of the company’s humble print shop beginnings owner and cofounder Peffer remembered, “iolabs started in 2000 in a small garage in Providence. It was dusty, cold and windy.”

Back then, Peffer explained, iolabs was focused more on commercial uses for their digital printing and imaging—signage, trade show displays and similarly business-oriented large-scale printing. “But we quickly realized that we were going to focus on fine art and interior décor.”

After a few years, Peffer moved iolabs into the larger space it now occupies at 558 Mineral Spring Avenue in Pawtucket. This move into a larger, brighter (and less dusty, cold and windy) space cemented iolabs’ new direction and awakened Peffer to the possibility of printing on nontraditional materials like aluminum, silk and even wood veneer.

Peffer’s new course brought heightened consideration of the archival abilities of different inks, whether applied to paper or any of the countless materials iolabs experiments with, and alternative means with which to express and enhance images, above and beyond standard framing.

“We started getting into things like what you see around you,” Peffer said gesturing to the surrounding walls of the wide-open iolabs space. “Panel boxes, float frames and face-mounting to plexiglass,” he said referencing the remarkable variety of pieces. 

If you’re drawing a mental blank trying to picture some of this stuff in your mind’s eye, you’re not alone. We didn’t know what was possible until we visited with Peffer. Do yourself a favor and check out iolabs on the web at www.iolabsinc.com and www.flickr.com/photos/iolabsinc/.

Peffer and his team have been transforming old media objects like photographs, fine art and maps into interior murals, custom wallpaper and countless other one-of-a-kind marriages of form and function for over ten years serving clients from all over the country.

As new real estate clients of The Rhode Guide consider apartments, condos or freestanding homes in Rhode Island, especially in the former factories and historic districts of Providence and Pawtucket, variety is one thing that always makes a big impression.

Whether it’s the colossal brick walls of a loft space in a converted textile mill or the pitched walls of a third-floor condo in a charming old Victorian, decorating is not going to be a simple task. You might not be able to get away with the usual prefabricated frames and a cheap inkjet printer.

In high school, college and maybe even graduate school, a few thumbtacks and three or four black light posters featuring Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd might have done the trick. You’re getting older now and the dog-eared corners of your cherished Vincent van Gogh postcard collection really are trying to tell you something.

Whether you’re looking to rent or purchase, moving can be a physical and intellectual challenge even under the most favorable circumstances. Let Ted Peffer at iolabs show you what to do with your box of old pictures or, for slightly younger readers, laptop of old jpgs. Your walls will thank you.

Maybe a move might do for you what it did for iolabs. If you’re looking for an apartment rental in Providence, Rhode Island, take a look at our listings: www.TheRhodeGuide.com.