ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Lori Weitzner
Lori Weitzner graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Textiles. She established herself in the U.S. textiles market as the Design Director for Jack Lenor Larsen, after which she introduced Weitzner Limited, a line of innovative wallcoverings and textiles that are sold worldwide.
Lori has collaborated successfully with a number of businesses in the United States and abroad: Germany’s renowned Sahco for textiles, rugs for Perennials and West Elm, packaging for Estee Lauder and Calvin Klein and most recently, for Papyrus, her greeting cards and other gift items.
Her collection work for the premiere passementerie company, Samuel and Sons, is what inspired her to create her own line of jewelry and accessories under her own brand.
Lori is the author of Ode to Color: The Ten Essential Palettes for Living and Design, published by HarperCollins. She lectures around the world on the impact of color on our well-being.
No machine or other mechanized form of textile production has ever been able to replicate the beauty, richness and unmistakable uniqueness of hand-made.
Examples of her designs are housed in the permanent collections of museums such as the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Montreal, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City. She has won numerous design awards, including a nomination for the Chrysler Innovation Award.
A People Magazine “Pick,” in ODE TO COLOR: The Ten Essential Palettes of Living and Design (Harper Design), Weitzner shares her unique perspective on the uses and significance of color in design and in life. Immersing readers into ten “color worlds,” she explores the power that color holds over our tastes, experiences, and moods.
Our commitment
Through years of travel and exploration, Lori has been fortunate enough to discover and collaborate with outstanding artisans from over twenty different countries. It has been both humbling and an honor to contribute to unlocking the potential of handmade. We believe that these creative engagements not only bring beauty to our interiors, but help support the artisan and maker economy which will inevitably improve our world.
We invite inquiries from any organizations or individuals who wish to join us in these efforts.
Airing of a Legacy
" I first saw them 20 years ago, when they were on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. My time as design director for Jack Lenor Larsen had instilled in me an intense interest in, and abiding respect for, artisan communities, and the pieces on exhibit that day were among the most inspired I had seen. Even the oldest of the quilts—antiques by then—had an originality that felt contemporary, a modern sensibility in arrangement of pattern and color that defied their age, the relative isolation of the Alabama community, and the paucity of materials available to the crafts-women. These artisans struck me as fiercely innovative. I was spellbound by their story, many details of which I came to learn only later."
Sustaining Creative Energy
"Asking for what she really wanted, not what she thought was possible, has been the operating principle of Weitzner’s sparkling, multifaceted career. A condensed list of her endeavors and accomplishments: acting as passementerie powerhouse Samuel & Sons’s long-running design collaborator of choice; founding her own wallcovering and textile brand, Weitzner; designing product for brands ranging from Estée Lauder to Artistic Tile; launching a jewelry line; writing a book on color; and, most recently, creating an experiential exhibit for the Venice Biennale. The secret to sustaining such a prolific work life? Aggressively handing off logistics and finances to others, and focusing purely on creative tasks. “I have endless energy when I’m creating,” says Weitzner."
Listen to Lori in conversation with Dennis Scully and her secret to sustaining her creative energy.
Culturally sustainable jewelry
"Throughout my career, I have devised and utilized many methods of textiles creation. Innovation and a dedication to sustainability is one of the great rewards – and obligations – that belong to us as textiles designers.
However, in my experience, no machine or other mechanized form of textile production has ever been able to replicate the beauty, richness and unmistakable uniqueness of hand-made.
Hand-made textiles bear the marks of their makers through their variations and imperfections, which foster a human connection often missing in our industry. I feel it is critically important that we preserve the craft of hand-making textiles by creating opportunities for the artists who do it and by cultivating an appreciation for their talents and techniques. This project is my latest, and most dramatic, effort to accomplish those objectives."
-Lori Weitzner
