It’s always good to hear about a former colleague doing well – and that certainly seems to be the case with Alison Kouzmanoff.
The onetime designer for Westfair Communications Inc., WAG’s parent company, has recently launched Palampore Fabrics and Hangings out of Germantown, New York – and its artistic creations are deceptively simple and quietly sophisticated.
Here are a few details that Kouzmanoff shared via her website and in emails to us:
“‘Palampore’ is the name given to Indian fabric panels of the 17th and 18th century, widely used in European interior design. Palampores are distinguished by their intricate, stylized natural forms, by the contrast between the exterior borders and inner motifs and by their versatility. Palampores were used as wall hangings, bed coverings and canopies, draperies and table linens.
“Historic palampores can be seen in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum.”
We knew Kouzmanoff was talented but found out lots more – she’s “a fabric designer, graphic designer, photographer, weaver and avid gardener. Her premiere collection for Palampore Fabrics and Hangings blends inspiration from the rich Indian fabric panels from the 17th and 18th century and the plants growing outside her window in the Hudson Valley.”
Her debut collection offers fabrics and hangings on four ground fabrics with many patterns available in seven colors, with custom colors also available. The ground fabrics include 100-percent natural combed cotton (42 inches wide); organic cotton sateen (56 to 116 inches wide); 55-percent linen, 45-percent natural cotton (54 inches wide); and cotton canvas (56 inches wide).
All fabrics are custom printed in the USA using ecologically sound, nontoxic, 100-percent biodegradable inks. No water is used during printing.
We wish Kouzmanoff well in this new venture – and plan to share more of her story in a 2019 WAG feature, so stay tuned.
For more, visit palamporefabric.com.
– Mary Shustack
