"Heritage Textiles from Lee Jofa . . . "

Gaddesden Floral, by David Easton

Greetings,

I still have a few stories to share from my recent trip to New York for Kravet's Blogfest 2011.  It was an action packed couple of days - and one of the true highlight of the week was the debut of a new collection of fabrics for Lee Jofa.  The new fabrics are classic patterns from the Lee Jofa line but re-interpreted by an all-star collection of current designers - bringing their own aesthetic and point of view to these classic fabrics.

It's just like time travel . . .

"Rosebank" Floral, by Diamond and Baratta

 Rosebank, which originally debuted in the 1850's - at the height of the Victorian era - is a swirl of flowers and ribbons.  And the those two kings of pattern - William Diamond and Anthony Baratta have given a perfect modern twist!

"Treyes" Handblock Floral, by Eric Cohler

Totally love this one!  Mr. Eric Cohler has taken this tree-of-life inspired hand block-printed floral from the early 1960's and re-interpreted it into a lush, new colour palette.  Originally printed on linen, Colher has also updated the textile by using glazed cotton.  The pattern consists of 20 handblocks applied to the face of the fabric to create the pattern.  Amazing.

Shiraz Floral, by Suzanne Kasler

I'm totally fascinated by this one.  Shiraz floral was originally a multi-coloured print inspired by the patterns of antique rugs - but Suzanne Kasler has simplified the pattern down to its most pure form.  “In reworking the color palette, I continued to go back to the basic pattern and how it translated into two colors,”  said Suzanne Kasler.  It's amazing how much this fabric has evolved! 

Nympheus Floral, by Thomas O'Brien

Thomas O'Brien worked with one of his favourite textiles for his part of the project.  The original Nympheus floral dates back to 1915.  He added signature elements of deep indigo to the coloration of the classic design. Says O’Brien of his preference for featuring the reverse side of the hand-blocked print, “The rich bleed-through is more abstract on the reverse side, and the pattern is softer. It takes on the feeling of a watercolor.”

Clarendon Floral, by Suzanne Rheinstein

We're heading back in the Victorian era again with the classic floral pattern "Clarendon."  Rheinstein has updated it on to a linen to perfectly suit our modern lifestyles.  “One of the things I love in my design work is the chance to use things from the past in ways that are suited for the way we live now,” says Rheinstein.  

Gaddesden, by David Easton

How perfect is this!?!?  Easton has taken a Jacobean "Tree of Life" pattern from the early 1920's and given it a perfect modern feeling.  “Gaddesden utilized the typical vine pattern current to its era that I have always liked," said Easton. “I wanted to make an older, historic pattern fresh and new and I thought this specific design leant itself to this.”

And a bit of housecleaning from yesterday's Tartanscot post - in a serious 'aw, crap,' I omitted the photo credit from yesterday's post for the wonderful opening image from the portfolio of Suzanne Tucker of Tucker and Marks.

Cheers,

Scot

(All quotes and images taken from the Kravet website.)