Romanoff continued to broaden his scope by incorpo- in this particular instance a picture of a demure Geisha
rating his unusual resist-dyes patterns into the world of holding an umbrella, these custom works of art take be-
high-end furniture and textiles. He recalls, “I was living tween six to eight weeks to create and have been commis-
in a three-story walk-up apartment in Chicago and I had sioned for notable companies such as Nieman Marcus,
started dyeing textiles. I would hang the panels to dry in Guess and Tiffany. Romanoff’s bewitching Beadazzled
the sun off the back porch. One day I was walking home material can be found on permanent display at the Smith-
up the alley and I caught the sight of this beautiful fabric sonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.
catching the sun and billowing in the wind. This is where One of his latest breakthroughs was a collaborative ef-
the idea of draping buildings was born.” fort with architect David Rockwell. Romanoff reveals,
With pioneering purpose he began experimenting on “Our mutual appreciation for natural materials brought
a variety of structures and learned by trial and error. He us together and resulted in the creation of a beautifully
recounts, “The first building I did, I nailed the fabric designed, contemporary collection.” The David Rock-
to brick, but it was too stationary and would tear in the well for Maya Romanoff Collection is comprised of
wind.” In 1988, he took on the Windy City project titled three highly tactile coverings: Blanket, Double Take
“Bess’ Sunrise” that would give the dreary Chicago Sun- and Stitched. Blanket, a cozy wool wall covering, was
Times Building a much-needed face-lift for a two-week inspired by the warmth and comfort of a favorite wool
art exhibition. The project required a lot of Romanoff’s blanket and its soft 54-inch panels are offered in a variety
time and energy due to its scale. Upon completion, the of grey and brown heathers.
building’s seventh floor terrace was adorned with 28 bril- Looking back, Romanoff reflects, “being a part of the
liant yellow-orange and blue-green canvas strips. Each Chicago landscape for 40 years has not only been a privi-
strip measured six feet wide by 120 feet long and rippled lege for me and the entire Romanoff team, but has made
down to the brim of the Chicago River. Locals were en- us fortunate enough to often have more than one genera-
amored with the spectacular effect and clamored for the tion of a family work at Maya Romanoff — generations
artwork to remain a permanent part of their cityscape. of families not just from Chicago, but from around the
Romanoff readily credits his wife Joyce as being the world.” Future developments include the creation of a
strong business push behind his artistic efforts. Their line of textiles to coordinate with his wall coverings. “We
skills and strengths dovetail nicely and, since Joyce joined currently have a line called Abacadazzle, which is made
the corporation in 1989, she has effectively increased the with abaca fiber and Lurex that makes a stunning textile
company’s visibility, stepped up the production process for walls,” Romanoff reveals. “We are always looking for
and fine-tuned product consistency. Today more than 40 the next new surface or ways to reinvent what we are do-
percent of their products are crafted in the United States, ing ... I still have some big ideas I would like to pursue.”
including top-selling lines such as Weathered Walls,
Weathered Metals, Mother of Pearl and the Beadazzled
Flexible Glass Bead Wallcoverings Collection.
“We were the first to introduce a glass beaded wall
covering,” which the artist aptly named Beadazzled. His
Page 25: Maya Romanoff wall coverings were presented in
trademarked Beadazzled process begins with the creation
a three-dimensional artistic display in the spiral staircase at
the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. The team that installed
of flexible glass beads. Once formed, they are placed
this feature included Amy Lau and Jo Lynn Alcorn; Page 26:
with painstaking precision onto tile and roll-goods in
Abacadazzle is hand-woven with glittering metallic threads
rade
custom colors and lengths, creating a dazzling effect. The and is available in 18 colorways; Page 27: Top: Mural com-
T
Beadazzled Collection generated one of the artist’s fa-
missioned by the Geisha Restaurant in New York; Bottom:
Blanket is offered in eight sewn and three screen-printed,
esign
vorite projects, the creation of a Beadazzled mural com-
D
tone-on-tone colorways. Layers of fine wool are stitched
missioned by the Geisha restaurant in New York. Once
with contrasting thread, creating a striped effect that en-
the artwork for a Beadazzled mural has been established,
hances tactile appeal of the coverings.
26
M Romanoff_revise.indd 4-5Form 1.indd 26 7/6/09 3:22 PM 7/1/09 10:49 AM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148