Ffenestr for Fallingwater
A central element of the Fallingwater project I have been working on through the spring is a new blanket for the house. Ffenestr (Welsh for window) is an exclusive design, made in response to my time at the house.
The blanket draws reference from the oxide red metal window frames in the house. Throughout Fallingwater they are painted in Frank Lloyd Wright’s much-favoured ‘Cherokee Red’ - a standard colour picked from the Oldsmobile paint range. I was so pleased that we could include the original Oldsmobile 1935 shade card in the exhibition.
In the images below you can see my quick paper cut and collage responses to the window frames. The image on the left is of Edgar Kaufmann jr’s study, and the one one in the right is fireplace in the guest house. I love the way that at points in the house the horizontal window frames simply run directly into the stone walls - with no vertical frames at all. It is a detail which is referenced in the Ffenestr design.
The name Ffenestr is a doubly apt one - referencing the provenance of the blanket which is woven in a small traditional mill in South West Wales; with a knowing nod to Wright’s own Welsh ancestry.
As part of the exhibition we show the journey of the Ffenestr design - from initial ideas and concepts through to final production pieces.
Yarns, tools, windings, bobbins and weave notes will all help to tell the story behind the piece.
I was delighted with how immediately at home Ffenestr looks in Fallingwater - below left you see it on the end of Edgar Kaufmann jr’s bed. And on the right you see the Ffenestr cushion in his study, looking very comfortable on a beautiful Finn Juhl chair.
The final image below is a graphic representation of the Ffenestr design, made for the exhibition guide by our graphic designer Elliott Denny. I love the little textures he has used to represent the different weave combinations.
The Ffenestr blanket and cushion are exclusive to Fallingwater and will be available shortly through their on-site and online stores.