Lori Weitzner in her Chelsea Studio
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If you’ve been around the interior design industry as long as I have, you’ve likely amassed a collection of at least a dozen ‘go-to’ fabrics which you favor in your work. I’m also betting that like many designers I know you keep the memos close at hand.
I bring this up because several weeks ago I stopped in to Decor NYC on West 25th street, and spotted a vintage Donghia sofa covered in Larsen’s now discontinued ‘Jacob’s Ladder’. When it was introduced more than a decade ago it was a truly revolutionary textile, a mix of pleated cotton velvet and a virtual checkerboard. And even though it isn’t produced anymore, it’s still in my top 12.
With a little research I learned that it was designed by Lori Weitzner during her tenure creating the textile collections for Larsen. What’s even more of a coincidence? When Carl Lana and I visited Lori in her Chelsea studio last week to see her second collection of textiles for her eponymous firm, we found a pair of chairs in her conference room covered in Jacob’s Ladder to greet us. Small world.
Now I must confess I’d not met Lori before, but as kindred textile spirits, I instantly felt as if I’ve known her for a long time. We had a delightful chat about her career, and were shown some of the most inspired, subtly sophisticated fabrics I’ve seen in years.