“A matchbox is one of the last truly analogue, pocket-sized objects in hospitality,” says Anna Polonsky, founder of Polonsky & Friends, a creative studio that specialises in interior design and branding for restaurants. “They are one of our favourite things to work on.” As part of their work for Lil’s, a piano bar at the recently opened Moss New York members’ club on Fifth Avenue, her team conceived a set of matchbooks as piano keys with bright red tips. For French bistro Petite Edith and Peruvian izakaya Papa San, they used handpainted illustrations, personalised quotes or punchy graphics from local artists and friends.
Matchbooks at Lil’s piano bar, Moss New York
Trattoria Brutto, London
Claud, New York
They can carry the entire brand in miniature
