Marisa Gutmacher, Vice President of Design at Samuel & Sons, joins us this week to discuss the brand’s Semi-Custom Collection. The online trim designer enables designers to create custom color combinations in different fibers within Samuel & Sons’ archive of patterns.
Raymond Paul Schneider: When did you first start to develop this new collection?
Marisa Gutmacher: The research and development phase of the Semi-Custom Collection began in late 2014.
RPS: What was your initial inspiration, and where did the idea(s) come from?
MG: We wanted to expand our stock options and introduce clients to the virtues of customizing trimmings at more competitive price points, with smaller minimums and quicker delivery. Thus we sought to develop an innovative program that would enable designers to create infinite color combinations in different fibers within a curated collection of patterns. With a cross-section of 54 patterns composed of cords, borders, fringes and tassels, clients can tap unlimited color combinations from a broad selection of yarns, creating their own interpretations of patterns in their choice of Fibranne, Rayon or Linen.
RPS: Please describe your overall creative and design process.
MG: Design is a process that gives form to ideas and makes connections between things that aren’t apparent. There are various aspects I consider during my process ranging from weavers’ capabilities, trends driven by the current Socio, economic and political climate, sales analysis and what’s going on in home furnishings. The synthesis of this information mixed with my understanding of the language of passementerie inform what I create.
RPS: Did you have a specific audience or theme that you had in mind?
MG: Yes, this collection was intended to be incorporated into both luxurious residential and commercial interior schemes.
RPS: Please describe the methods, tools, and materials you used to develop and prototype this design?
MG: The majority of the patterns in the Semi-Custom Collection employ traditional weaving and hand tying techniques. During the development process all patterns had to be prototyped in Fibranne, Rayon and Linen and in certain cases adjusted to insure their viability before patterns could be finalized, and the collection could launch.
RPS: Did you utilize a new technique or technology to conceptualize this product?
MG: The Semi-Custom Collection “process” required us to develop new sampling tools and an online rendering program enabling designers to develop their color combinations and make modifications in real-time online.
RPS: Please describe any challenges that affected the design and perhaps steered you to an entirely new final design?
MG: The Semi-Custom program empowers designers with the opportunity to bring their own vision of design and color to reality. One of the collection developments greatest challenges was to create the tools and process to make this a seamless user experience.
RPS: Describe your overall brand DNA and Ethos
MG: Today, Samuel & Sons is renowned for its visionary, fresh approach to interior décor. Its refined, fully-articulated color palettes and cutting-edge constructions, such as laser-cut foils, applique, velvet epingle and unique printing techniques, represent a sophisticated aesthetic and a novel approach, resulting in collection after collection of stunning trimmings recognized with industry honors and are chosen by luminary designers to feature in their hallmark work. Developed within their own Design Studio, Samuel & Sons’ artisanal collections are each diligently created from hand-rendered drawings or paintings, or by reinterpreting classic textile documents, incorporating novel fibers or materials, global trends, and a keen eye for the nexus of interior design and furnishings. The transformative vision is realized by intricate changes in coloration, methods of construction, scale and fibers that culminate in groundbreaking trimmings that suit contemporary applications. Forging the path on a global scale: This visionary approach has allowed Samuel & Sons to redefine trim in a way that has resonated across the globe. The company has become an authority in the world of passementerie, providing leadership for the future direction of the industry with each landmark collection.
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