Exposed to design from a very young age—thanks to her parents, who were architects and interior designers—Kathryn Faull always knew she wanted to be part of their community. Interested in fashion, she moved to New York to work in design, but eventually realized that what she truly appreciated were the textiles behind fashion and not the actual styles. After her parents commissioned her to design engineered panels to fit inside an antique cabinet for a client, she was hooked on bespoke textiles. “It made me feel like I was solving a problem,” she says. Here, she pulls back the curtain on what makes her newly Chicago-based company, Maresca Textiles, tick. marescatextiles.com
When do you feel most creative? I have to be in the mindset of wanting to design a new collection. I like to get into my studio in the morning and have two hours to design—I’m very regimented. I used to work late at night, but now my schedule doesn’t allow for that.
Where do you seek fresh inspiration? I’m drawn to visual things, but also to concepts. My last collection [the Prairie] was based on the architecture of Chicago—I’m new to the city, having moved here about two years ago. I always love taking photos of architectural details when I travel, too.
How can designers work with you? A lot of what I do is very custom, working with designers one-on-one. My fabric and wallpapers, which are all manufactured in the United States, can be made to order in quantities as small as 3 yards.
What’s next? We’re developing a new line of woven outdoor fabrics adapting two of our best-selling designs—Shipibo and Pisa—into Sunbrella yarns. They’re durable and stain-resistant, meaning they’ll be great for outdoors and also for high-traffic areas in the home.
PORTRAIT BY RACHEL LOEWEN
