Coral and Tusk for Pollack

In a unique collaboration, POLLACK brings the signature embroidery style of Coral & Tusk to the interiors market. With three brand new fabrics, the Coral & Tusk collection offers a quirky and exciting twist to POLLACK’s Spring 2014 introductions.

The collection began as a collaboration between friends; POLLACK’s Rachel Doriss and Coral & Tusk’s Stephanie Housley met at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the late 90’s. Both women shared a love of fabric and a passion for embroidery and embellishment that would bring them together again 15 years later. As Rachel pursued a career as a trained weaver, designing upholstery and drapery fabrics, eventually becoming Design Director at POLLACK, Stephanie led the American branch of an Indian mill, designing woven & embroidered fabrics, and in 2007, combined her fabric knowledge and unique drawing style to create a magical world of home and fashion accessories through her company Coral & Tusk.

Though their careers took divergent paths, Stephanie and Rachel remained close friends, intrigued and inspired by each other’s work. In 2013, with a level of business maturity, a seasoned eye for what’s trending and a passion for making things, the two friends combined their strengths through collaboration.

The result is three beautiful textiles. Circus Toile, Circus Stripe and Quill each combine the magic of Coral & Tusk imagery with the fabric expertise and sophistication of POLLACK. Stephanie’s signature animals and feathers are rendered as beautifully detailed embroideries on a linen ground in continuous yardage, suitable for upholstery and drapery.

Circus Toile (on chair) marks POLLACK’s first story-telling foray into the circus world, and with it, they’ve given us their own quirky, engaging and colorful version of this beloved venue. Delicate stitches translate exquisite, fine-line drawings onto a natural linen ground, depicting four fantastical narrative vignettes.

Circus Stripe (on drapes) features the remarkable use of machine embroidery as well as the original hand drawings of the artist. With rows of decorative circles and bands of triangles that pattern the linen ground, individual lines and stitches come to life as they meander slightly and loop out of step. The charm of the pattern is heightened by the joyful use of clear, fresh color.

Quill (pictured right) is arranged like a formal botanical print with finely detailed feathers, a signature motif for Coral & Tusk. These beautiful specimens of nature and of the embroiderer’s art, are each hand-drawn and faithfully recreated with long, delicate stitches that follow the shape of the form. The stitchwork also shades the colors gently into each other and creates the realistic contours of the fringed edges.

The Collaboration

The collection began as a collaboration between friends; POLLACK’s Rachel Doriss and Coral & Tusk’s Stephanie Housley met at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the late 90’s. Though their careers took divergent paths, Stephanie and Rachel remained close friends, intrigued and inspired by each other’s work. With a level of business maturity, a seasoned eye for what’s trending and a passion for making things, the two friends combined their strengths through collaboration.

Their first collaborative effort features three exciting new fabrics including Circus Toile, Circus Stripe and Quill.

About the Designer

“My first official textile project was splatter painting curtains made from old sheets when I was in 3rd grade,” recalls Rachel Doriss, Design Director of the POLLACK Studio. Acknowledging that her interest in fabrics goes back even further, she warmly speaks of her grandmother, a weaver, who taught her many fiber arts while they “made things together”. A high school graduation present of a new sewing machine offers a telling clue to her textile passions, as did the uniquely personal clothing it helped her create. After 2 years of studying printmaking, painting and teaching batik workshops at the University of Massachusetts, Rachel transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design’s Textile department. Studying both printed and woven techniques, she also realized, for the first time, the extent of their practical applications within the textile industry. Graduating with a BFA in 1999 brought about a move to New York and a job in the custom department of Echo, designing printed silk scarves. In November of the following year, Rachel joined the POLLACK Studio as a designer and became Vice President of Design in 2007, serving as acclaimed textile designer Mark Pollack’s second in command. She succeeded Mark in the spring of 2012 when she was promoted to Design Director at the design studio after he stepped down.