It’s common knowledge -- especially in cities -- that cute dogs beget cute girls. Single? Male? Looking for love? Get a puppy, and the odds are suddenly in your favor. But, then of course, there’s the exception to the rule. Specifically NYC-based Sprinkle Brigade, whose three male members, despite not owning dogs, have been landing girls’ digits thanks to some doggy doo-doo handiwork… literally. To put it simply, they turn dog poo into… well, decorated dog poo.

Call it what you wil l–- on their namesake blog they offer a top 10 list of options that include: “The Fabergé of Feces,” or “Take a chance on a kid” -- Sprinkle Brigade’s work has created quite a following. Now, nearly two years after its inception, there’s a T-shirt, gallery exhibit (their first in NYC opens tomorrow at the Riviera Gallery in Brooklyn) and book release for Sprinkle Brigade Vol: 1, NY State of Mind, which they’ll be signing at Thursday’s opening. But, what’s the motive behind the madness? While the three co-conspirators, who simply call themselves #1, #2 and #3, refuse to reveal much personal information-- save for the fact that their day jobs entail roofing, product designing and art history, respectively-- they were more than happy to talk about their ‘art.’ In #3’s own words:

On your website it says that you started this endeavor in part to meet girls. Has it worked?
Yeah. One of our higher profile pieces was Risotto Negro; it was shot on Houston and Thompson on a Sunday afternoon. Needless to say we had quite an audience. I got 3 digits that day.

Aside from the girls, what possessed you to do this in the first place?
The three of us have been creating art since we can remember, and this is our latest effort – the New York City Urban Beautification effort.

Where does your inspiration come from?
It's safe to say we're totally stealing from everyone and everything – from Doug Webb to Carrot Top. As far as prop selection goes, it’s too easy to comb dollhouse websites and the small-scale-figure section at the hobby store. We recognize the small action figure thing is a pitfall, so we’re mindful of it and try and keep the new pieces always evolving and fresh. Sometimes we’re out, having a couple bottles of beer and working up ideas on bar napkins; then we go search out how to finish them. It really just depends.

What was the response like at the gallery show in Lyon last year?
Europe loves us. The French are much more open to what we do. They are so grossed out by poo, but only stare at the problem, rather than give a solution. So they hug us and give us their first-born.

Have people actually purchased works?
Yes, we've sold several prints of our work in France, at the gallery show there. Also, a lot of people from all over Europe buy books and shirts from our website. I just shipped shirts to Germany, Australia and the Gabon Republic, last week. That's insane!

What do you call it? Street art?
Call it what you want. We think the most important aspect of our work is that it makes people laugh, and see something they’ve never seen before.

What is the most common reaction from passersby?
It varies. Much like a spooked horse people usually attempt to steal a peak without the desire to engage. But we have been asked a couple times: “What are you doing?” And we say, “We’re beautifying the city that we love.” You can imagine the surprise the onlooker gets when they see one or even three guys surrounding a poop and crafting it like Steven Meisel. You’re fairly sure you gave them a story for the dinner table that night.

How do you find your poo?
Our goal is to find areas that get the most viewing. Tompkins Square Park, West Side Highway and Chelsea are our franchise neighborhoods. But, for the most part we go all over the place – it’s like fishing, we may get skunked or we may come back with something suitable to mount over the fireplace, you just never know.

Did you know that there is currently a fake poo shortage? Do you ever experience a real-poo shortage?
Did not know about the shortage. It's really sad. Makes us wonder what the holiday parties are going to be like. Real poo, on the other hand, is never in jeopardy of extinction. People love dogs. And dogs poo. No one cleans it up. Thus, we are presented with a closed-loop model of sustainability.

~Alisa Gould-Simon