(An update of our original April 12, 2012 post) A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME: ROSE CUMMING AT DESSIN FOURNIR -- All we can say is that she was quite a colorful gal, that Rose Cumming. Purple hair (love it!), always with the decollete, enormous hats, her outspokenness, her disdain for electricity in her New York townhouse (!!), her friendships with Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Onassis, Rudolf Nureyev, Babe Paley and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, her love of 18th Century continental furniture -- and so much more. Which is why we were perplexed to learn that no one had done an in-depth design biography of her before now -- but pleased as punch to learn that a wonderful gent by the name of Jeffrey Simpson has authored a book (shown in post above) on Cumming with a foreword by Cumming's great-niece Sarah Cumming Cecil (who heads Rose Cumming Design out of Portland, Maine) that will finally set the design record straight on the who, what and why of this clever designer who spent decades in New York creating her own style until her passing in 1968. Which leads us to the fabulous folks at Dessin Fournir who have introduced a new collection of six textiles based on archival designs found in the vast collection of Cumming. The three shown here -- "Casamari" (top left), our favorite "Thistle" (background), and "Hops" (bottom right) -- are presented on linen in soft colorways to impart a true vintage feel as well as texture (craftsmanship and a passion for preserving design traditions are hallmarks of Dessin Fournir ever since its founding several decades ago by Charles Comeau). Did you know that Cumming is recognized for being the first designer to leave the lights on all night at her street-level shop on the corner of 49th and Park Avenue in New York so that passersby could peer in at any time of night through dawn to see all the fabulous items on display? And that she invented metallic wallpaper? So get your fabrics now from Dessin Fournir and upholster your favorite reading chair so that you'll have it ready when you read Simpson's book. Sound like a plan? Good!
Textile images courtesy Dessin Fournir
