By Lesley M. M. Blume
March 11, 2016
The designer on life before her textile empire and how to have a unique aesthetic in the age of Internet overload.
It would seem the textile designer Madeline Weinrib was predestined for her line of work. After all, her grandfather founded the Manhattan design mecca ABC Carpet & Home, which he passed down to her father, and her grandmother was a skilled tailor. But Weinrib never saw it that way — not at first, anyway. ‘‘I didn’t even like carpets,’’ she recalls — perhaps a youthful inclination to go against the genetic grain. Instead, Weinrib became a painter. In her 30s, the family trade began to draw her in. Twenty years later, the New York native is considered one of the earliest pioneers of the now-ubiquitous bohemian, East-meets-West design boom.
A visit to her Manhattan showroom feels like stepping into the most wonderful international souk, filled with hand-blown glassware, ceramics from Europe and exquisite vintage textiles as well as her own vibrantly hued dhurries, cushions and fabrics that have inspired many imitations. To feed her taste for unlikely pattern combinations, Weinrib travels constantly. ‘‘Morocco, Turkey, Nepal. Those are some of my top sources,’’ she says. ‘‘Now that the world is accessible with a mouse click, we’re left with few places to find new things, so it’s more important than ever to focus on unique ways of seeing things.’’
“This photo was taken around 2000 with some of my first rug designs. The idea was that carpets could be fun and not so serious,” says textile designer Madeline Weinrib, who shares in this slideshow her many influences. Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“I had a show where I covered midcentury furniture in my fabrics. I love this Ico & Luisa Parisi settee covered in my dune stripe fabric.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“I treasure this pastel my friend Billy Sullivan drew from a photograph he took of the dining room of my Bridgehampton house.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“People were always asking me to make outdoor fabrics. I never thought I could do a line without it looking plastic — but I finally designed a collection of textiles that I am happy with.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
‘‘‘Turquerie: an 18th Century European Fantasy’ is one of my favorite books. It shows the Ottoman influence on Western European art.” Marko Metzinger
“One wall of my showroom is covered floor-to-ceiling with my collection of vintage photographs from India. That’s where I get a lot of my color inspiration.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“The mix of patterns on my bed in the Hamptons gives the room a very happy energy, I think.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“Peggy Guggenheim was fearless aesthetically...” Roloff Beny/Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
“...I bought these sunglasses at her museum in Venice.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“I just came upon old landscape paintings I used to do when I lived in Italy in my 20s. They’re not bad!” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“I ordered this dress from Gucci’s spring collection, which I find to be very feminine but audacious.” Yannis Vlamos/Indigitalimages
“I saw this photograph by Madame d’Ora at the Neue Galerie in New York. I created a kimono inspired by it for the museum shop, which they still sell.” Atelier d’Ora (Dora Kallmus/Arthur Benda), Dancer, 1923/Courtesy Neue Galerie New York
“I had this pompom bag made in Morocco. I had no idea they were going to be so popular when I started selling them in my showroom.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“This is me in my art studio in the ’90s. None of these paintings were actually finished; I’d make 10 at once and just jump around. That’s still the way I work.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
“My mother wore lots of caftans in the ’60s and ’70s. I couldn’t wait to grow up and wear them. Now I collect a lot of Vita Kin tunics and tops.” Vita Kin
“This is a picture of my mother when she was 10. Her mother was a tailor and made the dress. I just love that.” Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib