Iconic American style since 1946: Tillett has been making textiles the same way that d.d. and Leslie Tillett first produced them out of their Manhattan brownstone eight decades ago. Our bespoke, hand-printed pieces have been beloved by tastemakers ever since.
Photograph by Diane Arbus
Looking to the Past, Creating for the Future
Looking to the Past, Creating for the Future
Diana Vreeland and Bunny Mellon were devotees of not only the hand-made painterly style of Tillett, but of the company’s roots in American production. We are proud to continue to make every textile by hand—using the silkscreens and techniques beloved by d.d. and Leslie —in the United States. We are committed to preserving the Tillett archive of patterns and printing techniques for today’s tastemakers.
1940
Tillett brothers establish their hand-printing studio in Cuernavaca, Mexico
1944
d.d. interviews the Tillett brothers for Harper’s Bazaar. A romance began between d.d. and Leslie Tillett. d.d. Abandons her magazine assignment to pursue their relationship.
1946
d.d. and Leslie open a studio in New York City, first on Spring Street, then eventually on East 80th Street.
1950s
The pair design fabrics tastemakers who eventually became clients, including Bunny Mellon.
1961
Jackie Kennedy has her bedroom in the White House decorated with Tillett textiles.
1965
The Tillett’s design printed fabrics including the iconic “Nantucket Flowers” under The Cloth Company of Nantucket using experimental techniques.
1969
Jackie Kennedy recruits the Tilletts to launch Design Works, a textile studio in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant, where the pair trained local residents in their techniques.
1995
Tillett is featured at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibit “The Fine Art of Textiles”.
2024
F. Schumacher & Co. acquires Tillett Textiles and offers readily available designs while continuing to produce bespoke patterns for interior designers.
Made by Hand, Genuinely Authentic
Made by Hand, Genuinely Authentic
From Cuernavaca to New York City to New Jersey, the original printing techniques used by d.d. and Leslie Tillett remain the cornerstones of Tillett. From employing different squeegees for varied effects to using a range of inks to achieve transparency and opacity, the combination of tools, techniques and the human hand combine to create the all -important originality that is synonymous with the Tillett brand. The same goes for the pigment-based inks used on every textile; they are mixed by hand, which allows us to make custom colors. Many of our silkscreens date to the 1960s and are still in rotation.
Design that Endures, One Handmade Textile at a Time
Design that Endures, One Handmade Textile at a Time
Hand-printed artistry never goes out of style. Tillett products are as relevant today as they were when d.d. discovered Leslie Tillett’s hand-printed textiles in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1944. The couple’s spirit lives on in our historic print archive as well as bespoke commissions, every one an homage to their devotion to craft, love of color, and passion for design.
