Eric & Christopher: Black-and-white and hot all over

For no logical reason, Eric Fausnacht, 46, who grew up near Lancaster, then lived in downtown Philadelphia for 15 years, developed such a fascination with farm animals that he devoted his art career to painting them.

Christopher Kline found himself illustrating cells, plants, and insects for science. Ultimately, the Buckingham native, 42, returned to something he taught himself while in high school: screen printing.

An arts project in 2011 brought the two men together in a creative partnership. A year later, an ailing economy united them in business.

Today, Perkasie-based Eric & Christopher L.L.C.'s pillows, tote bags, and stretched canvases - screen printed with farm animals and beach life - sell to more than 800 boutique shops and online retailers, including the Plaza Hotel in New York, the Hershey Hotel & Spa, and the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine.

Fausnacht and Kline were named finalists in 2014's Martha Stewart American Made competition and are regularly doing custom work for the Beekman Boys - Josh Kilmer-Purcell and husband Brent Ridge, whose evolution to becoming farmers and launching a lifestyle brand, Beekman 1802, has been chronicled on reality TV's The Fabulous Beekman Boys.

"Who knew this was going to become a business," Fausnacht said from the company's 7,000-square-foot headquarters and printing-and-sewing facility at the Perkasie Industrial Center, formerly a pants factory. "We thought we were having fun and making some money."

They would not disclose annual revenue, but said they were selling "2,000 to 3,000 units" a month, with sales up 70 percent from a year ago. Over the last 12 months, pillows, retailing from $23 to $65, accounted for 52 percent of sales; tote bags, at $25 and $35 apiece, for 30 percent. Other revenue came from stretched canvases, starting at $100, and custom screen-printing projects, for which Eric & Christopher requires a minimum order of 50.

The company of 10 employees - one, Kline's mother-in-law, is paid only in manicures, at her insistence - has no debt.

Most distinctive about Eric & Christopher's work is that it's black-and-white, a decision initially born of financial necessity. Before they went into business together, Fausnacht had paid Kline to screen print some of his hen and rooster paintings on pillows after noticing the popularity of pillows at art shows.

"They sold out immediately," Fausnacht recalled, saying he opted for black-and-white because color would have cost more.

Fausnacht and Kline soon realized they could better capitalize by teaming up, a move enabling them to buy fabric and other supplies wholesale and realize other efficiencies.

They printed their first Eric & Christopher pillow in April 2012. Within six months, they sold 1,000.

"The simplicity of the pillows and tote bags using soft, neutral canvas really makes the images pop," said their first retail client, Bill Curtis, co-owner of the Farmhouse Store in Westfield, N.J. "Our customers responded immediately. The flying-pig pillows, in particular, did, in fact, fly out of the store."

A trade show in New York led to another lucrative opportunity: custom pillow work for the Plaza, resulting in three custom designs, including an ink drawing of the storied posh lodging on Central Park South. From 100 to 300 of each design are reordered every four to six months, Kline said.

"When you combine the elegance and formality of the Plaza with something like their work, which is more irreverent and fun, it has a great sense of appeal," said Jane Scott, the Plaza's retail director. "There are so many famous and iconic ideas from our history, and Eric & Christopher have brought a few of them to light in a way that very much appeals to our guests."

To build brand awareness, Fausnacht and Kline have taken a page from the book industry, holding pillow signings. One is planned Aug. 1 at Philadelphia's Blendo, 1002 Pine St. Dates and locations of others can be found at www.facebook.com/ericandchristopher. (They do not sell directly to consumers online.)

When he's not in the factory stuffing pillows and sewing, Fausnacht is visiting farms and zoos for creative inspiration, "always thinking of ideas."

Paint-your-own pillows are on the horizon. But that just might be where color in the Eric & Christopher product line ends.

"I think it's refreshing," Fausnacht said, "to not have it."

215-854-2466@dmastrull