Have you ever wanted to design an entire tile collection? Well, Jennifer Farris, principal of Bandura Design had that as a wish and it came true.
It started when Jennifer agreed to join MILEstone Tile’s Design Advisory Council (DAC). The purpose of the DAC was to collaborate with the American design community for trends and design needs. MILEstone presented the designers with an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at how tile is made. Subsequently, the designers were presented with a task: to design a tile collection, with a story, for the opportunity to have their tile manufactured and included within the MILE®stone Tiles collection. The concept of Stories, “Giving a Voice to the American Design Community”, was created, with the inaugural collection: Bestow.
The story behind Bestow is steeped in history and heritage. As Farris tells it, “For thousands of years, the world over, women have handed down traditional knowledge of handmade creations used both to survive and thrive as individuals and as a community. This collection is therefore bestowed upon us by generations of women.”
The team at Bandura Design gathered inspiration from their own diverse backgrounds with the goal to bring a tool to the design community that allows each individual to engage in play, using the tile collection to create their own expression of how texture, pattern and textiles can leave an inspiring mark on every project.
The collection gives ode to hand artistry that includes basket weaving, looming, macrame, braiding, and quilting. There are five designs within the collection, all named with meaning for the collection: Arku, Saori, Telares, and Kunano. Arku is the name of one of the archeological sites where the first evidence of weaving was found. This design provides subtle graphics of weaving with colors ranging from white to charcoal. Telares is the Spanish word for Weaving-Loom or Tapestry. This design offers a fabric and carpet look. Saori is the Japanese word for weaving. The graphic displays a bold, yet complimentary stripe visual, that can be intermingled with the rest of the collection in varying design concepts. The last is Kunano, the collection’s deco. It is the word for braiding in Eritrea. These decos offer vibrant color and the ability to play with the six faces to create imaginative patterns.
Just as the art of weaving creates blank slate for the artist to combine elements such as colors and textures, so does Bestow. With the ability to combine, match and weave together different graphics within the collection, the possibilities are endless.
