In Collaboration with… Harbinger NY

PAOLA MELENDEZ

Our work is a celebration of craftsmanship, material, and imagination. Our designs are inspired by nature, art, travel, and the never-ending possibilities presented by the use of color and mark-making; using slow production methods and sustainable raw materials we create fabrics that breathe life, inspiration, and comfort into the modern home.

The designs are characterized by Paola’s playful approach to pattern design, her use of painterly textures, and her love for exciting color-play.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Paola moved to NYC to pursue an education in fashion at Parsons School of Design, where she became fascinated with screen printing, fabric art, and color-play. A few years later, while working as a design consultant at a vintage design archive, she fell in love with the intricacies and craftsmanship of historical textiles and the slower pace of the home industry.
In 2019, she launched her first collection of luxury interior fabrics and made it available to the trade through various reputable designer showrooms. Since then, she has been part of numerous projects, ranging from home to hospitality, both in the US and abroad.

“There is something incredibly powerful and satisfying about bringing your female energy into your business. I see the positive impact it has on my work every day; from creative problem-solving, to fruitful communication, to relationship building, to the type of work you put out there and how. Being a female textile designer and entrepreneur, I get to influence the conversation on what that can look like.”

CW Stockwell:

Since 1905, CW Stockwell has been designing and manufacturing hand-printed fabrics and wallcoverings in Los Angeles. Founded by Clifton W. Stockwell, the namesake brand is the original creator and sole manufacturer of the iconic Martinique® banana leaf pattern, which has been lovingly hand-printed in Los Angeles since 1942 when Stockwell’s daughter, then company President, Lucile Chatain, conceived of the rich, graphic tropicalia that would become one of the world’s most famous wallpapers. Chatain and her son, Remy Chatain Jr., were both design visionaries and Parsons School of Design alumni and shepherded the company to its iconic status for many decades. Now in its fourth generation, the brand continues to treasure its longstanding values of quality and craft; the spirit of exuberant, not-so-serious design, and the emphasis long-placed on innovation.

“CW Stockwell has a rich history and deep pattern archives. I’m honored to carry on the spirit of innovation brought by my predecessors over the last three generations of CW Stockwell, and especially by Lucile (Stockwell) Chatain, who as a graduate of NY’s Parsons School of Design, I credit with the staying power of our brand over all these decades. She was instrumental in bringing forth entire collections of proprietary CW Stockwell patterns when the rest of the textile world was still doing reproductions of European brocades. She iterated on new ideas and made them her own, which of course led to the creation of our iconic Martinique pattern. My goal as a woman in design is to carry on that tradition of innovation and take as inspiration her penchant for rethinking an industry and doing things differently.”

— Katy Polsby, CEO & Owner CW Stockwell

Arjumand’s World:

Idarica Gazzoni founded Arjumand’s World, a small company, in Milan in 2009 after having spent two decades mastering the art of painting murals and trompe l’oeil.

Having specialized in faux fabrics with an Ottoman twist, it was a natural progression to create real digitally printed fabrics and wallpaper with this flavor, while still making use of her talent with a brush.

The style of Idarica’s work is inspired by exotic locales and ancient myths, channeled through the conception of Arjumand, the Mughal princess for whom the Taj Mahal was built. The designs are both decadently rich without being pretentiously fancy, and Idarica likes them to have a faded quality. Each year Idarica imagines Arjumand traveling to a different part of the world.

Such global journeying has, led in the past, to collections sourced from Russian aristocrats in the 17th century and China’s ancient Miao people. Idarica tries to look at the world through her fictional heroine’s eyes, then she reworks antique patterns, printing them on fine fabrics, such as linens, silk tussahs and cotton velvets.

The company has remained small and ‘crafty’ with a female team, but they have good sales and many admirers in Britain and in the USA, perhaps in part because Idarica’s fairy tale is a very Anglo-Saxon one.

NINE MUSES, Tigger Hall

Prior to establishing her agency in 2008, Tigger Hall was an Interior Designer for over twenty years. During this time she completed residential and commercial projects in both the city and regional areas. Upon completing a significant international project, Tigger felt the fabric ranges and textiles available in Australia needed the quality, scope and breadth available internationally. She then spent the next three years traveling the globe researching an edit of the most exquisite textiles available that would re-inspire designers in Australia. During her international travels Tigger gained inspiration for and created Nine Muses Textiles.

The Nine Muses Textiles collection is built on Tigger’s strong foundation of interior design and artistic practice, which complements her fabric house’s carefully curated and edited collections. The designs blend Tigger’s love of art and textiles through hand-painting, giving the collection an organic, free-flowing feel. These hand-painted designs are digitally printed on durable Belgian Libeco linen using reactive dyes, with a robust rub count of up to 32,000 Martindale rubs. This innovative approach caters to bespoke interior design by offering customizable options for colour and scale. Hand-painting ensures each design is distinct, embracing imperfections while retaining the charm of traditional textile techniques.

Parker and Jules

Since launching the collection in 2019 Parker and Jules have made a significant journey. Adding a wallpaper section to the collection in 2020, which won the prestigious ‘Best New Product’ at Decorex and now forms a significant part of their business. Parker & Jules have constantly innovated with seasonal product launches focusing on creating English vernacular prints with a sophisticated modern colour palette, featured in the leading publications for the UK and USA. In 2024 the focus is on recolouring significant swathes of the initial 2019 collection to celebrate 5 years in business in partnership with key interior designers for signature prints, watch out for ‘5 for 5’! The collection is sold in the UK, USA and Spain and they are continuing to grow, expanding into new areas including New York with Harbinger at the New York Design Center.

“In recent years we have witnessed a step change in how women support and encourage one another. Where once the attitude might have been that there is not enough room for too many women in the industry creating a competitive arena. Now we see that women are stronger together, by helping one another, we help ourselves, thus shifting the playing field.”