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may 2016 interklrs+sources s3
By Robert Nieminen I Photography courtesy of Chilewich
volution
•
T
here are few designers, entrepreneurs, or brands that embody the concept
of "evolution" as well or as naturally as Sandy Chilewich. Ever curious,
creative, and innovative, Chilewich emerged from a successful venture in
the humdrum world of women's hosiery to become a veritable titan of the
textile industry. Striking a balance between artistry and business has been an integral
part of her journey.
"I am always on the thin line between my own aesthetic and what people actually
need and want, but this is where I like to hover-creating products with the least
amount of artistic compromise possible but just enough to appeal to a wide audience.
This is sometimes painful but full of satisfaction and rewards," she said.
Although Chilewich's career may seem carefully calculated, her creative spirit and
openness to new ideas have allowed her to grow the brand of her namesake organically,
always seeking to preserve her design integrity in the process.
"Like everything to me in my career and my life lessons is that-at least in my
case-you can't think so much, and you have to really move in an intuitive way,
especially if you are a designer, to see what interests you," she explained.
What has captured Chilewich's interest over the years is designing beautiful,
durable, and accessible textiles that continue to inspire generations of designers. Im!
1978-1974
1997
Sandy co-founded HUE legwear
with Kathy Moskal. HUE is credited
with revitalizing a commoditydriven industry with their innovations
in color, knitting design, merchandising,
and packaging. After 13 successful
years at the helm of HUE, Sandy
and Kathy decide to sell the
brand in 1991.
Launched at the MoMa store in '97, the
RayBowl (named after her older son) is
a contemporary container created from
stretching a mesh over a wire structure
and creating a concavity out of a textile.
The wildly successful product has received
numerous patents and awards.
interiors+sources may 2016
2000
In a quest to find other suitable fabrics to incorporate into the
RayBowl, Chilewich happened upon woven extruded yarns
and fell in love with what she believed was a completely
underutilized textile. "Fifteen years later, this humble textile
that I stumbled upon has become the foundation of a company
and brand that I own with my husband and partner, Joe
Sultan, with a wide range of products created from the textiles
we design and manufacture (almost all in the U.S.) and sold
throughout the world," she explained.
interiorsandsources.com
2001
The Chilewich Contract Division launched
as a commercial flooring company with
the introduction of woven textiles for
Wall-to-Wall (W2W) and Tile Flooring.
Joe Sultan, Sandy Chilewich's architect
husband, spearheaded the development
of backings suitable for commercial
use with the existing Chilewich woven
textiles collection.
interiorsandsources.com
2004
Joe Sultan officially joined
Chilewich, whereupon
the name of the company
changeed to "Chilewich
Sultan LLC" to reflect his
role as a partner and CEO.
2012-2013
Chilewich's Contract Division launched BioFelt, a
PVC-free tile backing system, in 2012. The backing is
made from recycled water bottles, renewable vegetable
compounds, as well as post-industrial materials. In 2013,
the company made a significant environmental develop­
ment by replacing the petroleum-based plasticizers
in yarns with phthalate-free, ceJ1ewable vegetable
compounds. The new, innovativ.e yarns and fabrics
made from them are called TerraStrand.
2014
Chilewich opened the doors of its first retail store in the
Flatiron District in New York City. The 820-square-foot
store was designed by De-Spec and features a modular
"kit-of-parts" system allowing a myriad of shapes, sizes,
and styles to be displayed and interchanged effortlessly.
"You just want to be able to control everything so you
can express your vision in an uncompromised way. That
was the desire, where we can show everything we create
under one roof," Sandy said.
may 2015 interiors+sources 73