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COTTAGESGARDENS.COM | APRIL/MAY 2016

Indoor/Outdoor LivingFresh Fabrics

SFMOMA’s Vertical Garden

R E N O W N E D S C H O L A R A N D D E A L E R K AT H L E E N TAY L O R C E L E B R AT E S T H E L E G A C Y A N D F U T U R E O F A N T I Q U E T E X T I L E S

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46 sfc&g cottagesgardens.com april/may 2016

Loom State

Feathery green leaves in an 18th-century French tapestry; lush flowers and vines rambling over a hand-painted ceremonial hanging from Sumatra; inky Japanese indigos. Stepping into the Lotus

Collection showroom, where Kathleen Taylor deals in museum-quality antique textiles, it’s hard to know where to look first. But that’s where this trained art historian’s graciousness and scholarship comes in; Taylor, who works with museums as well as interior designers and collectors, is delighted to share her knowledge. One of the country’s leading sources for antique decorative textiles, Taylor recently moved from her iconic Jackson Square showroom of over 25 years to a sunny new appointment-only space in Sausalito, enabling her to focus on serious visitors and clients, and to do research—a very important aspect of the work.

Taylor’s philosophy on choosing fabrics for her collection is simple but thoughtful—she looks for pieces that are “beautiful, unique and usually hand-made.” Drawers and shelves in the showroom are filled with treasures from Europe, Asia and Africa. A piece of Spitalfields silk-satin from late 18th-century London features brightly colored flowers exquisitely woven into a glowing, pearly background. A rich, red silk from late 17th-century France borrows colors and floral patterns from the Middle East and is woven through with gleaming gold thread. In an age of dim candlelight, Taylor notes, “designers were genius at maximizing the possibilities of light reflection.”

These, of course, were very costly fabrics, but she also loves indigo-dyed cottons, which have much humbler origins but a great beauty of their own. Most come from Japan and West Africa, where they were made using simple plant color and resist-dye techniques. In Japan, for instance, tiny rice grains are stitched onto fabric before dying, then removed—revealing beautifully intricate yet minimal patterns

that are a mixture of chance and intention. She also has a selection of 20th-century textiles that includes Art Deco fabrics, bold 1960’s op art-patterened cottons and Fortuny silks.

Taylor is always fascinated to see how the interior designers and collectors she works with will use pieces from her collection. Framed, made into decorative screens, used for upholstery or even pillows, they can transform an interior and add layers of richness and texture; in particular, if the interior is a very modern one, she notes, they can provide a sense of contrast and patina. And with their unique, handmade beauty and history, each piece has a story that’s just waiting to unfold. — Frances Homan Jue

47april/may 2016 cottagesgardens.com sfc&g

Stitch In Time A late 17th-century Chinese

export (Macao) yellow-silk embroidered table cover (above). A circa-

1740, brocaded English cream silk (right), with

a floral design. An early 20th-century, French silk-velvet (far right),

stenciled with gold paint. See Resources.

True Blue (left to right) Two mid-20th–century African (Mali) woven, indigo resist-dyed cotton cloths. A selection of textile tomes at the Lotus Collection showroom. See Resources.

Enduring Design French and English silk and cotton fabrics (left), dat-ing from the early 19th and 20th centuries. Kathleen Taylor (above) holds a Japanese indigo resist-dyed (shibori) fabric. See Resources.