Pattern and Process: Selections from the Kravet Archiveshowcases more than 80 documents at the NYSID Gallery through November 27
For many years, the Kravet family and Calico management have been closely aligned, although each targets a different customer for upscale decorative fabrics. Calico, the largest retailer of decorative fabrics in the country, sells directly to consumers. Kravet, the largest jobber (distributor) of decorative fabrics in the country, sells to interior designers and selected retailers, such as Calico.
Both companies celebrated major anniversaries in 2018: Kravet marked its 100th anniversary, and Calico celebrated its 70th anniversary—remarkable achievements given the roller-coaster economy and home furnishings industry these past two decades.
“Pattern and Process: Selections from the Kravet Archive” has opened at New York School of Interior Design. Courtesy New York School of Interior Design.
Textile history is a major interest of Calico’s Jan Jessup, member of the Merchandising and Marketing teams at the company’s headquarters in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Jan attended the opening of the Kravet exhibit at the New York School of Interior Design and here is her report:
Jan Jessup of Calico, at left with friend of many years Carolyn Sollis of Langrall & Sollis Public Relations and her client Cyrus Nazmiyal of Rug & Kilim.
A textile design reference page from 19th century France.
An Archive of Archives
For a history buff and a textile maven, there is much to love on display at the Pattern and Process show at NYSID. These 80 selections from the Kravet Archives were gleaned from 35,000 documents stored at company headquarters in Bethpage, Long Island. The collection started with Kravet’s own designs and sample books that were used for reference by the designers in the Kravet studio.
It grew in 1995 when Kravet acquired Lee Jofa, adding their archive of English documents, chintzes and linen prints. In 2001, Kravet purchased the British firm GP & J Baker, noted for their hand block prints and archive of rare textiles. Brunschwig & Fils became part of Kravet in 2011, along with its collection of French, English and Indian textile documents.
Fourth-generation members of the Kravet family at the opening of Selections from the Kravet Archives at NYSID (left to right): Scott Kravet, Ellen Kravet, and husband and wife Lisa and Cary Kravet. Scott and Cary Kravet have been buying documents (antique textiles) and entire archives to save the patrimony of the textile industry. Courtesy New York School of Interior Design.
The wood block to the left is one of 15 blocks that created the original print Nympheus in 1915, designed by William Turner for G P & J Baker. Nympheus on the right was enlarged in scale and recolored by designer Thomas O’Brien in 2010—but still block printed on linen for Lee Jofa.
When I first visited jacquard weaving mills in the 1970s, all the design work was done by hand on point paper, such as this section of a tapestry design from Orinoka Mills. Today, this design work is done via CAD programs on computer screens, saving hours and hours of time!
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The Japanese kimono design above (left) was created in the last century with watercolor, ink, pencil and metal leaf on paper/silk. Scott Kravet holds an intricate Japanese Shibori pattern (right). Scott is the Creative Director and Head of Product Development at Kravet.
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This Japanese stencil is from the Edo and Meiji period (1850–1912). The remarkable thing about it is that all of those fine black lines are actually human hairs interlacing behind the cut elements of the pattern. Photo courtesy of Kravet.
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Another jacquard tapestry pattern from Orinoka Mills in Philadelphia shows the layout and repeat of the pattern, designed to “give the effect of a loop frieze” or grospoint design to be woven on a six-color warp.
Some fabrics based on historic documents are quite faithful to the original, as in this beautiful toile pattern called Bird and Thistle from Brunschwig & Fils. The document above in red is from the 18th century and is printed on linen.
See classic toile patterns reinvented »
The wallpaper pattern above is Bird and Thistle in Beige from Brunschwig & Fils, 1999—about 200 years later.
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The oldest textile in the collection is a Coptic fragment from 200 BC. The simple bird and figure motifs made me wonder whether this might be the work of a young girl learning how to stitch a design on a fabric ground? Photo courtesy of Kravet.
If you’re in Manhattan – or planning a visit – Pattern and Process is worth seeing in person. “The humanity is in the archival documents,” a Brunschwig & Fils design team member has said, showing his appreciation of hand-crafted historic documents. “You feel the wonderful sign of the human hand.”
Exhibit is open to the public with no reservations required through November 27. NYSID Gallery is located at 170 E. 70th Street in Manhattan and is open Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, closed for major holidays.