MARK POLLACK

www.pollackassociates.com

risd connection: BFA in Textiles, 1976; visiting critic; former faculty member

talent: An avid explorer of new ways to work with yarn, dye, warp and woof, Pollack has built on one of the industry's shortest résumés to create his strong reputation for innovation in textile design.

breaking in: After RISD, Pollack went to work for one of the most renowned designers in the industry: Jack Lenor Larsen. Ten years as associate design director with Larsen gave him the experience and confidence to launch his own firm in 1988. Having begun with collections for contract and corporate clients, the firm branched out in 1995 by introducing its first residential collection. "We wanted to have fun and to enjoy the materials we work with, so we decided to go after the residential market," Pollack says. It was a happy accident that because of his early focus on corporate clients, most of what the firm produced was suitable for heavy-duty use. "That combination of a residential aesthetic with contract performance standards in turn led us into hospitality, adding a whole new dimension to our business."

getting there: With an overriding interest in the fine arts, Pollack chose to study at RISD because the Textiles Department falls under the auspices of the Fine Arts Division, where the discipline is approached more from a creative and artistic perspective than a commercial orientation. Even now, he attributes the success of his New York-based textile design business--called simply Pollack--to the fact that his artistic sensibilities infuse everything he does. "My background is in fine arts. I am interested in fine arts. And when I'm out and about I look at fine arts."

making it: Now, in addition to his 20,000-square-foot SoHo headquarters and a showroom in New York City's D&D Building, Pollack is represented through some 17 showrooms coast-to-coast. His fabrics are also sought after around the world, from Australia to Great Britain, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. Pollack's designs have won many Roscoe, IBD and other awards, and attracted considerable media attention. Each new collection has expanded the firm's repertoire to include the urbane and the witty, the ornate and the restrained, the contemporary and the classic. And increasingly his work relies on complicated and technologically sophisticated production processes, which yield totally new surfaces, constructions, treating methods and finishing techniques. "Utility is at the forefront," Pollack admits, "but it is not the driving force. We are committed to trying to do something different and something unique." As a result, Pollack's fabrics and fine art textiles transcend the expected and have been included in a number of museum and gallery exhibitions.

discoveries: (1) The inspiration for his designs comes from "the actual materials plus the process, construction, yarns and finishes you can apply to alter the surface --they're all just as important as the pattern." (2) "Computers only do what you tell them to. They can't simulate texture. And what about hand and luster and the effect of light? You can't expect to see that on a computer screen."