Madeline Weinrib Reflects on 20 Years in Business—and Where She'll Go Next
The carpet, textile, and decor maven will close shop this June
April 12, 2018
As a reporter who sees dozens of pitches, announcements, and news items cross my desk on a daily basis, it's not often that one truly stops me in my tracks. But yesterday, when I learned that, after 20 years as the veritable doyenne of patterned carpets and textiles, Madeline Weinrib would close shop this summer, it truly felt like the end of an era. Trained as an artist, Weinrib has made a name for herself—and become a go-to source to the world's top designers—by playing fearlessly with color and pattern. She's collaborated with everyone from Manolo Blahnik to the Neue Galerie and woven influences as wide-reaching as Wassily Kandinsky and Indian handicraft into her work. But times are changing, and as much a creative force as Weinrib is, she's also a pragmatic businesswoman. In an era when it's become easier than ever to knock off and profit off original designs, Weinrib will choose to gracefully bow out of the business rather than wage war with her imitators. She's also looking forward to a bit of distance from the ever-churning world of e-commerce. That's not to say she hasn't loved every moment of it. "I'm extremely grateful for the last 20 years and for the opportunity to make all these designs and to have had this experience and the support of so many people," Weinrib says. "It has been truly a gift."
Of course, like any true creative, Weinrib won't really stop doing what she does—she'll just find new outlets for it. After a sale to clean house in New York (fans of Weinrib who are saddened by the news will have their spirits lifted temporarily by price tags offering between 50 and 80 percent off) joins what has been an ongoing sale in Weinrib's San Francisco showroom, the designer will turn her focus to a slew of new projects—some in the works and, we know, many more to come. Here, AD PRO catches up with her as she reflect on her business, changes in the design world, and her plans for the future.
Weinrib's New York showroom. Photo: Annie Schlechter
collaboration with artisans and using a visual language that was already part of their culture and translating the aspects that I could relate to and that interested me into my own visual language of warp and weft.
AD PRO: It's interesting that you talk about artists crossing boundaries being taboo; it seems now that that is practically de rigeur, no?
MW: Oh, yes, that's radically changed. Theres the idea that people don't fit into slots anymore. So I think that's one of the most exciting aspects of the age we're in now, is that the possibilities are endless. We don't have to sit in boxes.
Weinrib with artisans in India. Photo: Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib
The courtyard at El Fenn in Marrakech. Photo: Joanna Vestey
AD PRO: Wow, what an amazing 20 years it's been. Can you tell us about how you first decided to open your business?
Madeline Weinrib: Well, it didn't happen as a business decision. No one was more surprised than I that it turned into a business. At the time, I was really committed to painting and was represented by a gallery, so I was really just dabbling when I started. It was never my intention to do what I did, which was ultimately that I ended up leaving the gallery, because in the end of the last century it was considered a conflict to be an artist and to be doing decorative work. I was feeling frustrated as an artist; I was looking for my voice as a painter, but I was feeling the frustration of being derivative. What I found surprising was that when I started working in textiles, I started feeling really excited. I felt that I was creating a vision that felt new and fresh and that belonged to me. And it became my obsession. I loved the idea of
AD PRO: Absolutely. Of course, much of the inspiration you find—and it sounds like it's been that way since early on—is in travel. Can you speak more about how travel impacts your work?
MW: When I first started out, navigating foreign cultures without a common language was really intimidating to me. I didn't know how to communicate. But then I realized that the dialogue was visual; it came from pulling elements of their work and then adding mine. I was looking to take the ideas of these cultures and make them more contemporary. First, that meant changing scale—which was important in my work early on. It also meant reexamining color. And also, a lot of Eastern design is often highly embellished, so I edited that down and made it more minimal. The work was so beautiful that they were doing and most artisans really are poor. So I felt very inspired by the idea of continuing to work with them, not just because the work was beautiful, but to create sustainability and make a better life for the artists. That became very exciting—returning to the same
areas and seeing that the community had better schools, better water, through the income from these designs.
AD PRO: How did you ensure that betterment would happen in the communities you worked with?
MW: I decided early on that I would look for a charity to connect and align myself with, so that when I went to visit I could actually see where my money was being used. One of my favorite charities is Project Mala, which aims to eradicate child labor in the carpet industry. At each visit, schools would be expanding, which was so exciting to see. I wanted to keep my work community-based. I see myself as a small business, so i like working with small businesses and I was looking for something community-based in a charity partner.
Pillows made from vintage textiles sourced by Weinrib. Photo: Courtesy of
Madeline Weinrib
AD PRO: How has your style evolved over the course of your time in business?
MW: I began working in different places with different materials, and each place I was going I was very focused on that area, not necessarily realizing that they all worked together. So then once everything was in my studio, it was very exciting to realize, wow, everything looks great together! And that happened through discovery; it was not a plan. I felt that mix was new and different and I took it and ran with it. I think that's a crisis for all artists now, is how do we express ourselves in ways that are new and different.
AD PRO: What are the biggest changes that have impacted your career?
MW: Well, I think there are some wonderful changes, but some are very problematic. It's very, very difficult to protect your copyright. This is something I have a terrible time with, and its ultimately felt to me that creating a better life for these artisans is not sustainable. That is the biggest heartbreak, is that the work that I had created with them couldn't continue. People can take any design of yours they want. This is a tragic problem. I don't see an answer and I wish there was an answer. I wish there was more discussion and concern. People aren't protected anymore.
AD PRO: Yes, I couldn't agree more. I think one of the downsides of e-commerce is that it has made things so widely
available with not as much regard for what is original or copied.
MW: Absolutely. Also, I used to love objects, and now I'm feeling bombarded by them. There has to be some kind of filter or editing system. It's just so saturated. It reminds me of when I was young and I'd fall in love with a new song and I'd play in morning, noon, and night, and then I'd hate it. I feel like that's what's going on with everything, It's not good for our aesthetic and for our appreciation of things.
AD PRO: Definitely. Well I know one of the ways you always kept things new and exciting was through the collaborations you did. Can you talk more about some of your favorites and why you chose to do them?
Weinrib's carpet in the BAM opera house. Photo: Courtesy of BAM
MW: I started doing them early on as a way for me to feel inspired. For me, the art of collaborating is getting into someone's head and creating something together. It was a method of finding new ways to package creativity, which I find very exciting to do. One of my favorites were early on was doing carpets for BAM [Brooklyn Academy of Music]. Their president at the time, Karen Brooks Hopkins, was so absolutely creative. What I loved about it was how they used everything as a vehicle to raise money or be creative—everything was open for discussion. I did the cinema, I did the opera house, and it was exciting working for such a dynamic company. Another organization that I loved working with, because I was always working with someone fascinating, is the Neue Galerie. They represented an era—with the Wiener Werkstätte—where everything was about being handmade as a reaction to machinery. In a way, that's become a theme in my work. So they were an ideal partner. Another one that I love—and which is still available through the Art Production Fund—was a print in
collaboration with Billy Sullivan, who's an artist I love. It's beautiful and very small edition of 30. I'm fond of things in small editions, and this one is not so expensive—it's $900—so it's a great opportunity for a collector.
AD PRO: What would you say has been the biggest learning moment of your career?
MW: I think something I was very naive about, is that business is very difficult and you have to be careful. You need contracts. One of the hardest things to learn was not to agree to something verbally. I think we really learned the ways of the world. I watch Game of Thrones and I almost think, "I can relate to this!" [Laughs.] It's tough out there. It's competitive. I think that the ethics were clearer before.… They're a little blurred right now.
MW: Well, there are a few things in the works. I've become partner in the El Fenn hotel in Marrakech. I've been going since they opened in 2004. It's an amazing place and our partners are amazing. When I started going, Vanessa Branson, one of our partners, had chosen all of these beautiful colors and they really resonated with me. I've already started making things to their boutique. I love the idea that people have to travel to find things that are different and that they can't find anywhere else; I feel that there's a real longing for that. I am also getting a studio and I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing there, but I have it. I do feel that I will be able to make bespoke carpets for people, taking on projects, but with no formal programming. I don't know exactly where it's going to go, but I'm open to ideas and collaborations.