Photo courtesy of Traditional Home/Francesco Lagnese
Suysel dePedro Cunningham and Anne Maxwell sit in Suysel's bedroom, recently featured in the February issue of Traditional Home. Taking inspiration from their frequent travels, friends and family, the duo capture an upbeat sensibility in their exuberant designs. I feel so lucky to have gotten to know these outstanding women whose energy and enthusiasm light up any room they enter.
Photos courtesy of Duralee
Their ad to launch the collection features the detailed leafy floral, Cecilia
Naming fabrics after family, pets, favorite destinations and design industry friends, the design duo of
Tilton Fenwick recently debuted their colorful line of textiles with
Duralee. Captivating and colorful, their prints have an old school sensibility, call it early-Pierre Deux-and-Pierre Frey-meets-Porthault. These "Curators of Chic" ( a tag line they named their blog), hung out their designer shingle in 2010, naming their firm after the dorms they lived in at Boston College and Tufts, adding to the throwback charm of their stylish sensibility. Their innate color sense and pattern mixing confidence comes from working for color masters. Anne Maxwell worked for the charming traditionalist
Ashley Whittaker and classically-minded
Brockschmidt and Coleman; Suysel dePedro Cunningham for the elegantly sublime designer
Markham Roberts. Being tapped as one of the top 20 New Trads by Trad Home/Lonny Magazine in 2011 helped get them noticed. That same year they received the IFDA Rising Star award.
If you think it is unusual for a design firm to get a fabric collection after being in business for a little over three years, you'd be right. It is an incredibly honor to get the chance to design an entire fabric collection for a major fabric house, no matter how seasoned the firm. Yet the energetic designing women did not disappoint-- their collection is filled with incredibly detailed prints, knock out color pairings and a sensational artistic flair.
Photo courtesy of Tilton Fenwick
Their green and blue interior at the Hampton Designer Showhouse in 2011 put their young traditional style and talent on a bigger stage. Known for their love of original color combinations, their playful custom upholstery details make their interiors truly one of a kind.
Photos by Trevor Tondo/NY Times courtesy of Tilton Fenwick
Devotees of social medial, the gals have done everything right to connect with the design community, as well as drive a design dialog through twitter, Facebook and real life interactions. Supporting charities like
DIFFA's Dining by Design,
Housing Works Design on a Dime, and
The Ronald McDonald House, they got involved early on and remain actively involved, attending industry events and lectures that support their fellow designers. Last February, their talents were captured by a major newspaper- giving them an even larger following than they could have ever hoped for, when Foster's gut-renovated Brooklyn home was featured in the New York Times. Her living room features a bright melange of gray blue and pink with touches of black and gold.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Cline
A cozy bedroom designed by the duo in Cunningham's upstate New York home. You might notice the walls in their peacock motif.
Photo courtesy of Traditional Home/Francesco Lagnese
Showing how to engage with their vibrant mix of scale and pattern, Cunningham's New York City apartment bedroom is done up in a wonderful melange of their prints, recently seen in Traditional Home and on her Instagram at @TiltonFenwick. It shows how prints and patterns can be mixed to create something totally fresh and unique.
One of the first things Tilton Fenwick did before launching their firm was come up with a logo that spoke to their brand and was personal to them. Created by artist Victoria Molinelli, their two-toned watercolor rendering of a peacock is a signature moment with playful appeal.
Chilvers in Mint and Red is a wild and exotic garden scene
Gibbie in Coral. J'adore this all-over climbing floral in soft colors paired with blues
From top: Olsen, Paboreal and Tally in the coral color story
Cecilia in Coral
The Prussian and Spruce color story with Geniesse, Lenox, Scout and Cecilia
Sissy, one of my favorite prints, in Cactus. I'm already eyeing the coral and teal color way for pillows to go on my teal velvet sofa
Eze Stripe, Cecilia and Parboreal, named after their company logo, a circular Peacock
Jax, Rocat and Paullu
Rocat in Multi can be used in a multitude of creative applications
My namesake! Maris, an oversized radiant paisley
Maris in Currant
Jax, a playful all-over print in Bordeaux
Geniesse, a ditzy floral stripe in Sea
Maine in Mint and Red
Miraval, named after the duo's favorite spa, in Coral
Soskin, an animal-inspired spot print of cut and uncut velvet. The color palette fills a need in the market with its appealing off color combos.