Old School, New Style

-- Interior Design, 10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM

 

When old felt pieces caught the eye of Stephanie Odegard during a trip to Kashmir, she was inspired to translate the simple, primitive-feeling pieces into wall hangings for the modern luxury market. In keeping with her dedication to preserving traditional crafts, however, she looked to artisans in northern India to hand-felt and -card the Himalayan-wool as they have been taught through generations, and she updated the look with decidedly modern stitched, embroidered, and dyed patterns.

 

The resulting collection, simply called Felt, consists of five designs. Chalk drawings by women from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu inspire the patterns Pinwheel, Sun Stitch, and Paisley, rendered, respectively, on oatmeal, golden-yellow, and red pieces. Meanwhile, Shibori I features bright discs seemingly thrown onto a deep red ground, using a Japanese dying technique that dates back to the 8th century. X's form a grid that mimics the look of pieces joined together on a quilt in the orange-yellow Patchwork Cross Stitched. Limited custom colors, as well as sizes, are available. 800-670-8836; odegardinc.com. circle 391