by Eileen Le Guillou
After majoring in Fine Arts at NYU Gallatin Division, JODY HARROW’S development to a craftsperson was nurtured by a three year Stencil Dyeing apprenticeship with Keisuke Serizawa, National Living Treasure and founding member of the Japanese Folk Craft movement.
Upon returning to the States, Harrow studied with and became personal friends of Rudolph Schaeffer, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement in California. He, Mr. Serizawa and mentor Lenore Tawney shaped her belief in the viability of a handmade item to reach a wide market.
She started a hand silkscreen studio, PĒKA PRINTS, in S.F. to produce yardage for home furnishings while teaching at Pacific Basin School of Textiles in Berkley, CA. Her first flooring collection followed in the early 90’s.
While teaching at Parsons School of Design and working on interior gut renovations, Harrow built her boutique flooring business. Although she caters to the extravagant when embedding fiber optics or Swarovski crystals into our carpets, Groundplans offers diverse possibilities extending its scope with her new children’s rug line footprints.
“When asked to oversee the production of a carpet for the W hotel in Seoul Korea 2004, instead of just using the architect’s 2 color Western influenced grid pattern I was inspired to bring something of the traditional, local culture to the design. Therefore looking thru my archives, I incorporated a traditional Korean flower motif to invigorate these boxed voids. While at first the designers were a bit skeptical, as the concept and design grew they loved it...and so did the hotel occupants. What was done as a one off became a Hospitality trend. “
Harrow says the goal is not simply to make a sale but to develop a relationship with each client that mutually inspires and elevates.
