In 2005 “The Gates,” designed by the famous artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude, filled Central Park’s 23 miles of pathways with 7,500 saffron colored portals. Echo was asked to make a scarf to coincide with The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit of Christo’s drawings of this project.  Sarah Frank, one of Echo’s senior designers, created a magnificent scarf that was technically difficult to achieve. The scarf has 22 screens showing an actual Christo drawing, a sketch of the elevations and an astonishingly close reproduction of the actual fabric. We are very proud to have been asked to produce this scarf, and know that in some way we were all involved in a part of history and this once-in-a-lifetime project.

Christo has just received clearance to pursue his next project, tentatively titled "Over the River."  His works often need government approval due to the local environmental, economic and aesthetic impact.  This is an intentional side effect, he said in a recent New York Times article: "Every artist in the world likes his or her work to make people think. Imagine how many people were thinking, how many professionals were thinking and writing in preparing that environmental impact statement.”

 "Over the River" will be an installation suspended over 5.9 miles of the Arkansas River in Southwest Colorado. As with "The Gates" Christo will use panels of fabric, in this case 8 panels in blue.  Some of the reasons for concern as a result of the installation would be the effects on the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep native to the area, as well as potentially hazardous tourism access via a narrow canyon highway. Christo's sketch of the final work is below and his site provides a great virtual tour of a recent exhibit of more drawings from this new project as well as from his drafts for "The Gates." 

Hi, I just purchased the Abstract Palm bedding set with the euro shams and decorative pillows. My bedroom has yellow walls. The furniture is white. What type of valances would you recommend? Any thoughts on artwork would be appreciated. Thank you!

Dear Nancy,

Thank you for purchasing our brand new Abstract Palm bedding. I first want to get a sense of the overall mood of your room. Is it “sunny vacation” or more of an “ethnic tropical?”  I can see both working very well, and though I could make slightly different suggestions for the two looks, I will offer up possibilities that will work for either.  I don’t know if you could or even would go in this direction, but I love the idea of shutters or blinds for this pattern.  They work in both white or dark wood, and both lend a sophistication and distinctive  personality to the room.   If you prefer fabric, I would opt for either a gauzy ivory linen, or even a kind of chunky textured burlap in ivory or a neutral that matches the color of the shams and decorative pillows.

As for the artwork I find that the best art is art that reflects your personal style, your interests, your travels, your life.  The options are so endless that I will just throw out a few that come to mind, but of course you will be the very best curator for your own room!  For a more global vibe, ethnic “artifacts” can be exciting – hand carved masks, bowls, textiles, even interesting garments or accessories hanging on the wall.  These don’t have to be fine or expensive to be dramatic.   For the “sunny vacation” look you can go with tropical prints, or a series of palm leaf botanicals, travel posters, or flea market flower paintings.  And never forget about the decorating possibilities of framed photographs.  Personally, I find it best to go with one of two styles of decorating with art – choosing a theme or subject or category and  creating a collection of like pieces, or going the opposite with a wonderful eclectic Collector’s gallery of varied, but very personal pieces.  Most of all…don’t take it too seriously and just have fun pulling it all together!

I hope this is helpful.  Let us know if you have other questions.  Enjoy your Abstract Palm bedding – and please, send us a photo of your finished room!

Meg
Design Director, Home
Echo Design Group, Inc.

 

  

As you may notice, we have quite a few batik pieces in our spring and summer collections this year. The pattern is quite popular in fashion (scarves, swim suits, beach dresses and coverups, umbrellas, etc.) as well as in all kinds of wrapping papers, wallpapers, bedding, fabrics etc.  Since print, pattern and color is our mantra, the process of creating a batik pattern as well as the pattern's rich cultural significance presents an especially wonderful and powerful story.  In October of 2009 the batik pattern was officially recognized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization as an 'intangible world heritage'.  Indonesia also erected the first and only Batik museum in 2006 to preserve and chronicle the method of creating a batik pattern as well as to honor the people responsible for continuing such amazing handcrafted art.

  

Batik can be defined by many different patterns but the look is quite immediately identifiable much like a hawaiian shirt. However, Batik holds more of a global cultural significance because it appears in the traditional and ceremonial dress of many countries, foremost in Indonesia but also in China, Japan, Africa and India.  The batik method can be seen in textiles and art as far back as Egyptian times but a batik pattern always utilizes imagery meaningful in that culture. For example, Chinese batik uses the phoenix, Japanese uses cherry blossoms, Indian uses peacocks and lotus flowers, African uses seed pods, etc. The word batik is from the (Indonesian) Javanese words amba ('to write') and titik ('dot' or 'point') which both refer to the signature lines and dots as well as the method of creating a batik pattern. Batik is basically a resist-dye process using hot wax in which one can either draw or write with the wax onto areas of a handdrawn pattern so that when the fabric is submerged in dye, these areas remain color free.   African batik uses flour and water mixture instead of the wax used by other cultures. Once the fabric is dried in the sun, the wax can be scratched or carved away to create a pattern. The process is repeated several times to create a more intricate design of layers of color and pattern. Modern production of batik designs does not use wax resist-dye method since it is such a time consuming process but also because the results are rarely colorfast. The batik patterns that Echo creates are designed in reverance of the traditional process but updated to endure multiple washing and wearabilty.

Most batik patterns signify status, lineage or honor religious iconography. In Indonesia, kebaya is the word for every day clothing and traditionally, batik was worn as a keybaya sarong but it is also on shirts and hats.  The Batik pattern on keybaya often carried a message. The symbols on an infant's batik sling are designed to bring the child luck. Certain batik designs are reserved for brides and bridegrooms, as well as their families. The dead are shrouded in funerary batik. A sultan would wear a batik different than his attendants: wider stripes or wavy lines indicated higher rank. Colors are also a very important part of the message.  Javanese traditional batik is made in the colors of indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahma, Visnu, and Siva). For special occasions, batik was decorated with gold leaf or dust. This cloth is known as prada (a Javanese word for gold) cloth. Gold decorated cloth is still made today; however, gold paint has replaced gold dust and leaf.

In Indonesia today a batik is worn by men on more formal occasions, even in place of a suit & tie. Batik is also considered formal attire for women as well.   In recognition of the UNESCO acknowledgement, wearing batik every friday is encouraged in all government offices and private companies.

We love the batik pattern for its complexity and for its history and we've designed our pieces with a fun, trendy and modern woman in mind. The exotic blend of the rich colors of the batik patterns are the perfect look for our well-traveled fashionistas - for vacation and for every day kebaya. Batik is more than your average pattern. We hope it inspires you too!

Echo is very excited to be participating in the 14th annual Dining by Design event being held March 17th - 21st at Pier 94 in New York city.  The event is a fundraiser for DIFFA - Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids - which brings together fashion and interior designers, architects, floral and landscape artists and design schools to create stylish dining installations.  Echo's table installation includes our Seychelles fabrics collection we designed & produced at Kravet, used as the frame and on seat cushions; silk scarfs as napkins and a new spring scarf hung as a piece of art on the wall.  This year, DIFFA will be honoring Margaret Russell, editor in chief of Architectural Digest, for her work in shaping the Dining By Design event into what it is today.

We are proud to be a part of this event and to help support such a worthy cause.  As of today March 18th, the event is open to the public so we encourage you to explore all the different installations and see the amazing design trends. You can also shop the silent auction.  A $25 ticket includes admission to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show as well.   Enjoy!

 

Ireland may not be known for its contribution to modern fashion and couture, but instead the culture's input can be seen more in the foundational basics of texture, patterns and materials.   Celtic - as a style, language and a culture actually combines Irish and Scottish influences and since both are seaside nations with pasts marked by tumultuous religious exploration, Celtic usually means things made of wool, in colors representing the countryside and weaves and knits resembling fishing / maritime knotting and religious iconography.   

The most symbolic is the classic Fisherman sweater, identified by the telltale cable knit wool.  Often hand knitted by the fishermans' wives, the sweater was made  using unscoured, undyed wool that retained its natural oils (like lanolin) therefore making the sweater water resistant. A fisherman's tools are few but meaningful.  The cable or rope moored his ship when in port, lashed canvas sails to the mast and provided strength in his net.  Therefore the cable knit is said to be a wish for safety and good luck.  Another type of stitch on variations of the fisherman sweater is the basket stitch, which represents hope for a plentiful catch.  Lastly, to be a true Fisherman sweater, the stitch must be symmetrical from the center on both front and back.  This symmetrical interweaving can represent all the convergence of all paths in life which conveys a somewhat religious connotation. 

We love the versatility of wool - especially for scarves.   Wool can be used from not only sheep but alpaca and goats and can be woven many different ways.  The characteristics of wool differentiate it from hair because of the way it's clumped together.  The wool from an alpaca wool has long strands or fibers.  The diameter of a strand determines it's softness.  For example, Merino is a very fine gauge or diameter so it is extremely soft.
Also, a strand of wool has scales.  That's what causes some wools to be itchy.  Merino wool is much softer because the scales lay flat. Another popular wool is Mohair which is actually goat hair. Angora can either be from a rabbit or a goat.   And contrary to popular belief the word pashmina is not a style of wrap, but the contents of the wrap.  Pashima is the wool made from the hair on the chin of a cashmere goat. 

Regardless of time and place, our wardrobe still needs to satisfy our basic needs for warmth and protection. The colors, patterns and textures we choose beyond those needs can become symbols of our family, our identity, our religious beliefs - basically our 'fashion' as an individual or part of a community.  We've come a long way from needing a sweater to protect us from the elements while battling waves aboard a fishing vessel in the Irish Sea, but it's grounding to recognize how our ancestors mined and multipurposed everything the land gave them.  

Could you help me with a wall color to complement the Delano bedding line? I also want to paint my bedroom furniture-can you suggest a complementary color? Thanks, Molly.

Hi Molly, We are very happy that you are decorating your bedroom around our Delano bedding!  It would be helpful to have a little more information about the style and which pieces of furniture (chair, dresser, nightstands, etc.) you are planning on painting, because that will greatly affect your color choices, but I will give you some general thoughts.  There are two different directions you can go – rich and sophisticated, or more playful.  The colors from the pattern that I personally would work with (in various combinations) are the green, charcoal, lavender, orange and ivory.  I think a good guideline, even if you are going playful, is to choose a combination of safer colors and accent colors.  For instance, matching the soft moss green or ivory for the walls, and then having fun with the lavender or orange for an accent piece of furniture.  Or trying just one accent wall in the lavender, and going with the charcoal or green, which ends up being almost a neutral in this case, for the furniture.  If you don’t mind a deep color on your walls, and you have plenty of light, the charcoal would make a very rich, sophisticated and gender neutral color for the walls, and then I might paint the furniture the green. 

I would also suggest, though you didn’t ask specifically, that you can decorate with colorful accent pieces such as pillows, lamps, vases, etc. in orange and lavender, while sticking to the ivory, green and charcoal for the walls and furniture.  Lastly, you may have noticed that I haven’t suggesting using the stone/beige color for the walls.  That is because this kind of neutral is very difficult to match in paint as it changes drastically depending on the light in the room, and the other colors it is near and can in fact look different from one wall to the next.  If it goes off cast, it may end up looking like a mistake. 

Have fun and I’m sure your room will look great!  Please send us a photo when it is complete.

Best,
Meg
Design Director, Home
http://www.echodesign.com

The beauty of a monochromatic palette versus one that uses a range of colors is in what the lowlights and highlights reveal. We can appreciate the subtleties of the different shapes and lines that are revealed when only one color is used, in this case, a neutral.  Photography is a great way to showcase this as seen in this photo by Jan Masny below.  The fabric appears fluid and even though the image is static, the movement is implied by the depth and dimension that could still be seen if each dress were a different color, but since this is all in greys, the results are much more evident and striking.  Color is a great tool but experimenting with an all-neutral palette in your wardrobe or in decorating your home can be a wonderfully interesting.

 

In your fall and winter wardrobe, choose different tones of the same neutral color family and play with layers.  This puts the focus on the fabrics and difference in textures and patterns.  For example, wear a tweed pencil skirt with a cable knit poncho or cape and tall leather boots. The effect is sophisticated and clean.  In home decorating, it's a standard rule when staging a home to present a neutral canvas for potential buyers to imagine themselves in that environment - to visualize it as their home.  The family's personality can then show with the bold, bright accessories against the neutral shades.  Using this method of decorating also contributes to the longevity of your interior design allowing you to simply change the accessories and accent colors without making a huge investment.  Aside from that, using neutrals in the home is very calming to the eye.  It is one of nature's best palettes after all - evident in the sand and the sea grass. 
   

I was at the Kravet showrooms in Portland and Seattle last week to give presentations to Kravet’s top interior designer customers. Echo designs rugs, fabric, trim and wallpaper for Kravet and I was invited to talk about our design process and show everyone our newest home decor book Color at Home.  It was my first time in either of those great cities and I had a wonderful time.  The weather was actually spectacular in Portland, and pretty nice in Seattle, and I loved taking runs both mornings to see the streets, and get a sense of the architecture, waterfront and northwest culture.  Even saw the first Starbucks at the old Pike Place market in Seattle – very exciting for this Starbucks coffee lover.  

What terrific groups of attendees both days!  At the end of the presentations we raffled off a few Echo accessories and Kristi Knott from Sunset Builders was one of the winners.  She was very enthusiastic and sent us these two photos - one of her wearing Echo's leopard print throw first as a shawl and another photo displaying it on her couch as a cozy throw!  We loved Kristi’s enthusiasm and her creativity!  

I also wanted to show one photo of the Portland Kravet showroom with some of the fabrics from our new Seychelles collection (look for this in 2011!)  All in all, the trip was great though too short, and I hope to return someday and see a bit more.  Next time I will have to plan a time when President Obama isn’t following me around, shutting down the freeways!  Thanks to Ed and all of the staff at the Kravet showrooms who made my trip so enjoyable!  -Meg


 

One of the great trends right now for summer is a military or utilitarian look.  Echo's Imperial Safari collection takes that look and updates it with inspiration from African and Colonial India. Elements of this style can be integrated into any outfit without looking overly military or as if you were actually on safari.  Think: casual world traveler meets crafty elements of the exotic bazaars and caravans of decorative pillows, spices and jewels.  

This look contrasts touches of military influence and soft femininity while pulling inspiration from the luscious patterns and textures of these distinct cultures. Contrasting khakis and earth tones are punctuated with pretty intricate beads, and animal and black prints on delicate fabrics.  Metallic effects on fabrics, delicately powdered with gold and silver give accessories fluidity and femininity. Colors range from earthen neutrals in browns and sand to sun bleached corals, chartreuse greens and watery blues. Animal prints like cheetah and snakeskin are great patterns on lightweight scarves perfect for summer. Organic fabrics like raffia, linen, hemp and ramie become utterly chic in this summer trend because of their versatile, breathable and sustainable qualities.

So you can update your summer wardrobe easily - and quickly - by adding a few key accessories from this trend.   A simple white tee, khaki capris and a passport are your starting point. Add gladiator sandals, bold chunky rings and a beautiful ikat pattern wrap.  Life is an adventure and you are a world traveler - unique and exotic. Take a little bit of the luxury of each country with you as you experience all this world offers.

 

 

Kravet Inc.'s home furnishings line of fabrics, trims and wallpapers designed by Echo recognized by Interior Design Magazine.  Here is the notice that ran in Interior Design's "DesignWire Daily" newsletter today!

INSPIREDESIGN Design Excellence Award Winners Announced

INSPIREDESIGN, the inaugural hospitality design tradeshow hosted by Las Vegas World Market Center and sponsored by Interior Design, is in full swing this week in Sin City. Topping off the show’s events, the magazine recognized the best and brightest in new products yesterday with the show’s first annual Design Excellence Awards.

 Kravet / Echo

A panel of esteemed judges hand-picked by Interior Design's editor in chief Cindy Allen— Michael Morris and Yoshiko Sato of Morris Sato Studio; David Ashen of D-Ash Design; D.B. Kim; and Alice O’Keefe of Gensler—strolled the floor of exhibitors with discerning eyes and selected their top picks that showed excellence in any of the following categories: general design, presentation, sustainability, technology and innovation.

Nano-tex; overall product
Stacy Garcia; Fashionista Collection
Kravet; Echo Collection
Jane Hamley Wells; Para Sectional Sofa
Phillips Collection; Silver Console
Aceray; booth presentation excellence
Global Views; 3-Light Lamp
Dimension Millworks; Stealth Door
Leftbank Art; overall product
Fermob; Luxembourg Collection
Korel Design Tiles; KGRR60 Circle Tiles and 6300-2 Striped Tiles
Stimex; Desk Uno by Karim Rashid
HCI Hospitality Design; Tub
Naturemaker; Steel Art Trees
Kohler; Eco Faucet (Hybrid Energy System + Insight Sensor Technology)
McGuire; Walnut Swivel Chairs
AF Lighting; Candice Olson Collection
Home Source International; Bamboo Sheets
Mayer Fabrics; Frolic