MICHAEL AND STEPHEN MAHARAM
2004 HONOREES
Marketing of Modernism
Maharam was established in 1902 when its founder, Louis Maharam, set up shop on Lower Broadway. More than a century and four generations later, it is still a family-owned firm and still in New York. The firm is known for its innovations in pattern, material and technique, for textiles that use profound and memorable geometries to create both pattern and visual texture. Most significantly, the Maharam Design studio collaborates with noted contemporary designers and produces an important line of historic re-editions.
The Russel Wright Design Center has chosen Maharam for a 2004 award to highlight the company's "Textiles of the 20th Century," a repository of designs from the last century, and for the collection's accuracy in documentation and detailed rendering with information and examples gleaned from the archives of such renowned figures as Charles and Ray Eames and Gio Ponti. Textiles of the 20th Century also includes the works of Anni Albers, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Alexander Girard, Camille Graeser, Josef Hoffmann, Arne Jacobsen, Koloman Moser, George Nelson, Verner Panton, and Dagobert Peche.
From its beginnings as a manufacturer of theater textiles (most particularly flame-resistant damasks for acoustics once "talkies" came to the cinema), Maharam became a pioneer in the arena of contract textiles as upholstery, wallcoverings, and window coverings for commercial use and application in the healthcare industry. Maharam is known for its ability to intertwine technology and design and for its use of modern synthetic fabrics as well as natural fibers. It was Donald Maharam who in the 1930s took the company in this direction, and within a decade had opened showrooms in Chicago and Los Angeles as well as New York. His vision is now attended to by the next generation of the family, brothers Michael and Stephen Maharam. The company now has 30 showrooms and offices across North America.
Beth Dunlop