Capsule: Meraki
Crosby Street Studios introduces Meraki, a new hand-knotted capsule collection designed in collaboration with designer Carla Weisberg. The Meraki collection is inspired by the Greek Islands, with traditional motifs interpreted in playfully bright colors and unexpected qualities, including a thick retro shag.
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Meraki Collection
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Thira in Oia, hand-knotted wool and silk shag
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From top: Rhodes in Ixia, Crete in Matala, Milos in Trypiti, Santorini in Kamari, and Rhodes in Lindos
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Santorini in Kamari, hand knotted wool kilim with silk cut pile
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From top: Santorini in Fira, Crete in Balos, Patmos in Skala, Milos in Pollonia
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Crete in Balos, hand-knotted wool and silk cut pile
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Milos in Pollonia, hand-knotted wool shag
Crosby Street Studios introduces Meraki, a new hand-knotted capsule collection designed in collaboration with designer Carla Weisberg. The Meraki collection is inspired by the Greek Islands, with traditional motifs interpreted in playfully bright colors and unexpected qualities, including a thick retro shag. There are six designs, each in two different color palettes, taken from the classic pairing of blue and white found in the architecture of Greek coastal towns, as well as a more muted palette inspired by ancient Greek frescoes and pottery.
Meraki is an untranslatable Greek word that refers to the love and enjoyment one has for what they do or for doing something with soul, creativity or passion. The idea of ‘Meraki’ rings true to designer Carla Weisberg’s way of life, as she says that: “my work is imbued with intent and creative energy and I don’t separate work and life in a good way.”
Carla Weisberg is a prolific designer who has been creating surface patterns for hospitality, retail and residential interiors since opening her New York City-based studio in 1988. She designs and produces custom surface patterns using techniques ranging from brush to woodblocks, stencil, collage, silkscreen and even digitally printed methods. Carla’s product portfolio includes designs for contract and residential fabrics, wall coverings, lighting and tableware and now the Meraki collection, her first hand-knotted carpet collaboration.
Pattern inspiration came from Carla looking at Greek pottery, tilework, architecture and even sidewalk street pavers, and the manhole covers that “are old but also contemporary” she says. She once visited a vineyard in Greece where they grow grapes on rocky soil and has always loved the gray-green of that rich, dark, volcanic soil which is represented by the earthy tones, in addition to the blue and white color palette traditionally associated with Greece.
For Weisberg, this collection is about the softened geometrics that she has hand drawn using pen and ink. She loves how the designs, specifically the lines, are interpreted by the artisans who are making the carpets also by hand. The Meraki collection has a relaxed bohemian spirit in which we can envision a client using more than one rug in a home by layering, as the constructions range widely from flat weaves to thick shags.
