Frame 01-02

Words

ANA MARTINS

Portraits

KATIE BRICKER TESSARO

And your career has allowed you to explore

every facet of the business. Precisely. Prior

to joining Interface, I had co-established

Repeat, my own studio in New York. At

Repeat I did textile and product design for

clients like Starwood Hotels and Knoll. Prior

to that, I was the design director at commer-

cial wallcovering company Wolf Gordon, and

prior to that I was senior upholstery designer

for Maharam, where we used 70 mills around

the world. Prior to that, I served as head of

studio for fashion-designer Jhane Barnes,

whose office pioneered the use of computers

to interface with the looms, permitting us to

create really unique fabrics.

Which of your former jobs most informs

what you do today? It would be my time at

Wolf Gordon. That’s where I really fermented

my belief that we have to be responsible for

Apart from his notable work in stage and

fashion design in the early 20th century,

Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo can be credited

with having aimed a spotlight at the enchant-

ing world of textiles for Kari Pei, lead product

designer at global modular-flooring company

Interface. ‘I was fascinated by his incredible

breadth of work,’ says Pei, ‘which included

everything from the Delphos Tea Gown in

pleated silk to his printed velvets and his

work with lighting and stage design.’

Fortuny drew you into the textile industry,

but what’s kept you there? KARI PEI:

Fortuny struck me as being an early

20 th-century Renaissance man. It was his

work that compelled me to go into this

industry, which continues to fascinate me.

You can do so many different things. Textiles

combine engineering, invention and beauty.

OFFICE

COMMUNITIES

KARI PEI champions

the importance of

the floor as a blank

canvas for designers

who want to give

the workplace a

neighbourhood feel.

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