John's Travels

New York’s infamous sweltering summer heat has enveloped the city and inspired me to refresh this bed in our showroom by lightening up the festive Magenta Quilt with some seemingly unexpected pairings. Being a display bed, putting it together does not come with the fear of commitment. It is not something you necessarily have to live with for years to come, which in turn opens the gates of creativity and allows you to get playful with your combinations. It springs the possibility of creating something surprisingly adorable that you might never want to live without.

Originally paired with some bold indigo and white prints, I decided to experiment with two of my favorite selections from the line, Rabari Gray and Samode Pink. They are small and fairly feminine, which tone down the bright contrasting colors of the Magenta Quilt to create a whimsical bed, perfect for summer, but not too breezy for the other three seasons. Their comparatively diminutive scales create an allusion of color more than patterns fighting for attention.  We know who the winner of that battle would be anyway.

In the JRT showroom, we also tend to throw vintage items into the mix with our home line staples, thus providing the room with a more ethnic and original vibe.  The vintage is also a tribute to the source of inspiration for John Robshaw Textiles. Regardless of what sparks your desire to get creative within your home, be encouraged to try something different by mixing unexpected patterns. It doesn’t always work but, when it does, you end up with something that illustrates your creativity and maintains a personality all its own. Enjoy!

Meredith
Head of Fabric Department,  Queen of PR

On horseback pursued by camels in the accursed climate of Hindustan…

According to the route you travel, there is always something lying ahead. This season brought me to Pushkar, India. I discovered new designs and sent them home to long lost friends like old postcards of towns and squares as they used to be. I shift elements when I design and try to combine influences; from ancient tile courtyards to the routes of barn swallows. I end up pruning and trimming ideas to create new prints. Finally, I consult former court astrologers for the answers. One told me to respond to the quality of the hour, the softening of the light at sunset, and that the next bus was coming in four hours.

Diwali

I did not have the foresight to avoid the Diwali festival whilst working on my next collection this past October. All of India shuts down for a week to pay homage to the gods of light and money. I figured I might as well see the markets before I headed out of town to Pushcar to see some friends; convenient during a time when the city is celebrating and all of the workshops are closed for the week.

Jaipur became a riot of exploding firecrackers, engulfing the city in a hazy glow. Jonas, my friendly Belgium photographer who lives in Jaipur, somehow persuaded me to wade into the sea of people shopping in the pink city on one of the most congested days of the year, a Black Friday of sorts, to shoot all of the light displays. Grazed by taxis, food carts and fellows selling fake moustaches, Jonas and I shot the colorfully decked out buildings and bought some quirky hand cut stickers while we wandered around and looked for his driver. I was amazed at how happy everyone was amidst the mad rush and deadening noise. Families strolled with kiddies like a walk in the park. I made my offerings at a local temple, shot some blurry and dark photos, and jumped in a taxi. India had roughed me up a bit and now I was ready to work on the next season of prints.

Pushkar

Since all of the workshops were closed for at least a week for Diwali, I went to visit my new friends Francesca and Bonnie. They had invited me to come to their camp in Pushkar to ride horses around the famous Pushkar camel fair. This sounded like an excellent idea though somewhat tricky, since I wanted to shoot the fair while riding through it and I don’t know how to ride. All I know about riding is to make click click noises with my tongue. Francesca promptly instructed me to not do any such thing.
 

The fair is in the Thar desert. Surrounded by hills and sand dunes, this proved to be an amazing backdrop for the annual religious and camel fair which coincides with the full moon. Turbaned men come to buy and sell their horses and camels. In total, 25, 000 camels are traded. The camels are cleaned, washed, and adorned. There are special stalls selling finery and jewelry for the camels, including silver bangles for their ankles and necklaces.

With 400 temples, Pushkar Lake is one of the most sacred spots in the region. The most important of these is the Lord Brahma temples. Here resides the Sadhu. The root of the words refers to the creator of the universe. It is great watching many Sadhus descend from the Himalayas to visit the temple.

We set off from their fantastic and cozy camp. The camp had tents set in a row and guides serving up a hot chai as the sun rose. With no grace whatsoever, I threw myself on a horse and circled around the camp trying to figure out who was in charge. Next, we all headed off through sandy plains towards the camel fair. While en route, a camel charged my horse. I had a snap realization that I might fall off my horse and end up with an excellent story of being mauled by a camel. Thankfully we moved off quickly and had no mauling problems. Francesca informed me the male camel must be in heat and protecting his lady camels; an even better story than being mauled by a camel in heat!

We arrived at the fair and circled around the hundreds of camels and their herders from all over India in brightly colored turbans. The fellows hovered around the camels and examined their teeth before sitting on their blankets and negotiating calmly in the striking sun. The camels were all decked out in necklaces and pom poms like they had a very snazzy cocktail to attend any minute; once all of this silly haggling is done. We rode over to the horse fair where Francesca and Dolly stole sidelong glances at the quirky but sturdy looking Marwari horses with their pointed ears. They purchase these horses for their tours.

Later, in the town of Pushkar, we went to see the only Brahma temple in India and pay our respects to it. Super cool Sadhu wandered around and informed us only rupee bills were acceptable. “No coins please”.

We then ran about the town shopping for textiles since this is a big Indian (as well as foreigner) spot and there are lots of interesting objects to obsess over.

Tres chic!  We were thrilled to make it into the catalog of stylish Parisian department store, Le Bon Marche.

John Robshaw Textiles bedding was used in Alan Tanksley’s design for Housing Works’ recent Design on A Dime Fundraiser. See a photo of Alan’s design above. The new Housing Development project consists of 12 permanent units of supportive housing for single, formerly homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS. The Jefferson Avenue Residence Project will consist of the substantial renovation of a three-story brick building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Founded in 1893 by social work pioneer Lillian Wald and based on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the Henry Street Settlement delivers a wide range of social service and arts programming to more than 50,000 New Yorkers each year. Distinguished by a profound connection to its neighbors, a willingness to address new problems with swift and innovative solutions, and a strong record of accomplishment, Henry Street challenges the effects of urban poverty by helping families achieve better lives for themselves and their children.

John Robshaw Textiles is proud to be a long time donator of items including sheets, quilts, duvets, and pillows to the Henry Street Settlement. These bedding materials were used in many of the Settlement’s areas of operation; from beds at Women’s shelters and centers for unwed mothers, to senior holiday parties and college student dorms in cases where youngsters could not afford their own bedding.

They frequently offer a wide range of services that address an individual’s entire life cycle, from birth to old age. Another characteristic of Settlements has been their historic involvement in social change efforts. Time and time again they have been the innovators of ground-breaking methods in social work. While focused on the Lower East Side, Settlement programs reach all of New York City’s five boroughs–in New York City public schools, housing developments, and transitional shelters.

New textiles are available on our fabric page.

Not even a rainy day could slow down the team at Halcyon house in Baltimore.  Eric and Stiles did an amazing job of transforming their 1877 house into a modern day souk.  I especially love the way that Stiles has upholstered chairs and made curtains in our fabric line prints.  He has created an amazing blue/brown room.
 
We had a stellar turnout with the who’s who of Baltimore.  The crowd included several of Baltimore’s top designers and design fans. 
 
Eric, the manager of the shop, was busy all day trying to sort out what we had in stock, when, where, and how.  Thank you Eric for your patience!

If you are in the area, please stop in its an amazing shop.

Come see us at ABC Carpet and Home!

John Robshaw Textiles is thrilled to offer our complete home line and special, vintage finds at ABC Carpet and Home. We are located in the third floor linen department. Shop often, our vintage collection is almost constantly changing!

ABC Carpet and Home is located at:
888 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

Photography by Shanna Hutchins

Last Wednesday, John was the invited speaker at Apartment Therapy’s monthly offline design event.  Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, founder of www.apartmenttherapy.com gathered a dynamic crowd of young designers and design fans for an exciting and informative discussion with John. One lucky raffle winner received two crewel pillows as a parting gift!  Thanks to all who attended and to Maxwell and the team at Apartment Therapy. 

This might take a second to load, but its well worth it!

In all of our bumping around India, the only time I was ever scared of Eli was when I messed up my Thali lines three times while eating dinner. Eli smiled and spoke in a soft disarming voice behind his ex pro-football player bulk that could throw me down a fort rampart. This helped me focus.

I met Eli when he shot and interviewed me for an Elle Décor TV program a few years back. Eli pitched that we shoot this short clip for Blackberry in India. This sounded interesting since, as you can see from past blogs, Shiv and I have shot some shaky footage during my past travels. I think Eli did a superb job of stuffing India and me into a two minute segment. We had an action packed time jumping from workshops to local sights, markets, and finally to dinners in palace gardens. He only ignored my advice once as to where to eat on the road from Jaipur to Dehli, and he paid dearly for that!

Thank you Eli and Maddog Films for the great video!