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13 Interior Design Leaders and the Female Makers They Recommend

Architectural Digest’s 2021 feature gathered personal recommendations from 13 AD100 women, revealing how quilting, textiles, lighting, sculpture, ceramics, and other forms of handwork shape interiors.

By ThatPainter Team 18 October 2026
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Architectural Digest’s November 18, 2021 feature asked 13 women on its AD100 list to name female artisans and makers they love to source for interior design projects. The result is a set of personal recommendations—not a ranking, test, or claim that one maker is “best.” Together, the choices show how contemporary interiors draw on quilting, embroidery, natural dyes, ceramics, lighting, textiles, glass, leather, metal, resin, sculpture, and site-specific art.

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The designers repeatedly point to the same underlying values: deep material knowledge, visible handwork, unusual color or form, close collaboration, and a maker’s ability to tailor work to a particular room. Several recommendations concern commissioned pieces rather than standardized retail goods, so a reader should treat this as a map of practices and names, not a shopping list with guaranteed stock or lead times.

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What the original feature set out to do

Kathryn Romeyn’s article, published November 18, 2021, asked 13 women then listed in AD100 to share the female artisans and makers they most admired or hired. “Love most” describes each designer’s enthusiasm and experience; it does not establish a scored comparison. Some names are established historical figures, while others are working artists, studios, or businesses known for bespoke commissions.

The recommendations also span very different scales. A hand-quilted headboard, a chandelier selected for a show house, a sculpture installed in a California project, and a lifestyle line of plates or pillows cannot be evaluated by the same consumer criteria. The useful comparison is how each maker works, what material or discipline she represents, and what kind of design relationship the recommending architect or decorator describes.

In 2021, the article noted more than 15 million posts for #womensupportingwomen. That is a historical count reported by the feature, not a current measurement or a study with a stated methodology.

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At a glance: the 13 designer–maker recommendations

Design leader Maker or studio named Primary medium or practice Example, use, or reason given
Frances Merrill Sara Buscaglia of Farm & Folk; Kissweh embroiderers; Cressida Bell Quilts, natural dyes, embroidery, decorative art Custom quilts and a quilted headboard; preservation of handwork; bold color
Kelly Wearstler Keti Toloraia and Nata Janberidze of Rooms Sculptural furniture and objects Triple Coffee table with aged-oak base and brass top
Kelly Behun Sunshine Thacker Ceramics Curiosity, color, proportion, collaboration, and willingness to take commissions
Bunny Williams Rosie Li Lighting Foliage-inspired work; custom brass-and-milk-glass Laurel Blossom chandelier
Pamela Shamshiri Sandra Jordan Textiles and fiber Careful sourcing and hand-sorting of fibers before weaving
Brigette Romanek Charlotte Perriand Furniture and modernist design Strength and timelessness of the work
Alexa Hampton Miriam Ellner Verre églomisé on glass and mirrors Tabletops, backsplashes, and entire rooms
Jan Showers Marcelena Recatune of Larru Leathers; Sandra Jordan Tooled leather; alpaca and other fabrics Hand-tooling and fiber-based textiles
Amy Lau Rosemary Hallgarten; Nancy Lorenz Rugs, pillows, throws; lacquer, gold leaf, site-specific art Silk and Peruvian alpaca; layered surface techniques
Joy Moyler Sheila Bridges Lifestyle and home goods Plates, glasses, pillows, and Harlem Toile sneakers
Michelle Nussbaumer Carolina Sardi Metal sculpture An Argentine artist whose sculpture appeared in a California project
Christine Gachot Robin Standefer of Roman and Williams Furniture and home goods Work produced through RW Guild; a maker who also “makes things happen”
Nicole Hollis Sabine Marcelis; Ingrid Donat; Pae White Resin furniture; bronze, leather, and wood sculpture; textiles and lighting Resin tables or furniture, sculptural objects, Smoke Tapestries, and sculptural lights

Handwork, textiles, and color

Frances Merrill: Sara Buscaglia, Kissweh, and Cressida Bell

Frances Merrill of Reath Design begins with Sara Buscaglia of Farm & Folk, whose practice combines organic farming with folk art. Merrill highlights Buscaglia’s custom quilts, including a custom-quilted headboard. The recommendation is as much about process as appearance: Buscaglia grows plants for small-batch natural dyes and brings agricultural knowledge into textile making.

Farm & Folk’s own account adds useful detail about that practice. Buscaglia says she learned natural dyes, quiltmaking, and farming through “passionate dedicated research, experimentation, and a heavy dose of trial and error.” The studio describes hand-harvested dye plants, hand-quilted stitches, and quilts that may incorporate repurposed or vintage fabric. It says farming natural dyes and offering them in its shop began in 2022, after the Architectural Digest feature; that date does not establish what is currently in stock or whether commissions are open.

Merrill also names the embroiderers at Kissweh, valuing the preservation of a traditional art form, and artist Cressida Bell, whose work is associated in the feature with bold color. Taken together, the three recommendations show different ways handwork can enter a room: a made-to-measure textile object, embroidery rooted in continuity, and color-forward decorative art.

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Pamela Shamshiri and Jan Showers: Sandra Jordan’s fiber practice

Pamela Shamshiri praises Sandra Jordan for textiles and for the discipline behind them. Jordan’s fibers are carefully sourced and hand-sorted before weaving, a step that makes the material selection part of the finished design rather than an invisible supply-chain detail.

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Jan Showers also names Jordan, specifically in connection with alpaca and other fabrics. The overlap matters: two designers point to the same textile maker for material integrity, but neither description turns her work into a single standardized product. Fiber, weave, color, dimensions, and intended use can all vary by project.

Amy Lau: Rosemary Hallgarten and Nancy Lorenz

Amy Lau recommends Rosemary Hallgarten for rugs, pillows, and throws made in silk and Peruvian alpaca. These are furnishings that can define softness, insulation, and tactile contrast while still carrying the visual authority of a larger art piece.

Lau also names Nancy Lorenz, whose work combines techniques including lacquering and gold leaf with site-specific art. The site-specific qualification is important: Lorenz’s contribution may be conceived for a particular architecture or installation rather than selected from a fixed catalog. Lau’s pair of recommendations therefore covers both adaptable textile accessories and art whose scale and surface respond to a room.

Furniture, lighting, and objects with architectural presence

Kelly Wearstler and Rooms

Kelly Wearstler names Keti Toloraia and Nata Janberidze of the Tbilisi studio Rooms. She describes their designs as sculptural and architectural, a useful distinction from furniture treated only as functional equipment. The feature specifically mentions Rooms’ Triple Coffee table, combining an aged-oak base with a brass top.

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That material pairing explains the appeal: the oak supplies visual weight and an established, timeworn character, while brass introduces a reflective counterpoint. The table is an example of how an object can operate as a compositional form in a room, not merely as a surface placed between sofas.

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Bunny Williams and Rosie Li

Bunny Williams highlights Rosie Li’s foliage-inspired lighting. Williams recalls selecting a custom brass-and-milk-glass Laurel Blossom chandelier for a room at the Kips Bay Show House. The example demonstrates the difference between a designer admiring a body of work and specifying a particular commission: the chandelier was chosen for a specific show-house setting, with its material and botanical language contributing to that room’s identity.

Alexa Hampton and Miriam Ellner

Alexa Hampton recommends New York City artist Miriam Ellner for verre églomisé, the process of applying decorative work to the reverse side of glass or mirrors so the design is viewed through the surface. Hampton cites applications ranging from tabletops and backsplashes to full rooms, showing how the technique can move from a furniture detail to an architectural finish.

The Architectural Digest article said Ellner had 30 years of experience at the time of publication in 2021. That is a period-specific statement, not a verified present-day total. The practical implication is that verre églomisé should be discussed as a finish requiring specialist consultation, samples, and careful coordination with the glass or millwork fabricator.

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Christine Gachot and Robin Standefer

Christine Gachot praises Robin Standefer of Roman and Williams and points readers toward furniture and home goods made through RW Guild. Gachot’s characterization is unusually direct: “She truly embodies the word maker—not only does she make things, but she makes things happen.” The compliment joins physical production to the broader work of developing a collection, organizing collaborations, and bringing an interior concept into the world.

Ceramics, leather, metal, resin, and sculpture

Kelly Behun and Sunshine Thacker

Kelly Behun admires ceramic artist Sunshine Thacker for curiosity, color, and proportion. Behun also emphasizes Thacker’s collaborative approach and commitment to commissions. Those qualities matter in ceramics because a vessel or sculptural form may need to relate to a palette, a set of dimensions, or other objects already selected for a project.

A commission conversation with a ceramic artist should therefore begin with intended scale, use, firing and material constraints, color references, and whether the piece is decorative or functional. Behun’s recommendation is about an artist’s openness to that dialogue as much as it is about a recognizable style.

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Jan Showers and Marcelena Recatune

Showers names Marcelena Recatune of Larru Leathers, whose team hand-tools leather. Hand tooling gives the surface a physical pattern and evidence of labor that machine-applied repetition cannot reproduce in exactly the same way. Depending on the project, that work can appear on furniture, panels, or other interior elements; the feature does not specify a universal product range or current ordering terms.

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Michelle Nussbaumer and Carolina Sardi

Michelle Nussbaumer recommends Argentinian metal artist Carolina Sardi and describes a Sardi sculpture installed in a California project. The example places metalwork in the category of art selected for a particular interior, rather than implying that the artist’s work is a mass-market accessory. Questions of scale, structural support, patina, crating, and installation would be part of any comparable commission, but the 2021 article does not provide prices or lead times.

Nicole Hollis: Sabine Marcelis, Ingrid Donat, and Pae White

Nicole Hollis names three makers whose materials and visual languages differ sharply. Sabine Marcelis is associated in the feature with resin furniture, where color, translucency, and the behavior of light through a cast material can become the central design event.

Hollis also names Ingrid Donat for sculpture incorporating bronze, leather, and wood. The combination crosses hard and soft materials and places furniture-like craft alongside fine-art sculpture. Finally, Hollis cites Pae White’s Smoke Tapestries and sculptural lighting, pairing a named textile series with lighting that functions as an object in space. Hollis’s selections demonstrate that “maker” in this context includes artists working at architectural scale as well as those producing individual furnishings.

Brigette Romanek and Charlotte Perriand

Brigette Romanek chooses the late Charlotte Perriand, praising the strength and timelessness of her design work. Romanek quotes Perriand: “The extension of the art of dwelling is the art of living.” Because Perriand is a historical figure rather than a current commission option, this recommendation works as a design principle and lineage reference. It also broadens the list beyond contemporary studio production to the enduring influence of a designer whose furniture and interiors continue to shape how modern living is imagined.

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Everyday objects and lifestyle design

Joy Moyler and Sheila Bridges

Joy Moyler points to Sheila Bridges’ lifestyle products, including plates, glasses, pillows, and Harlem Toile sneakers. This is the clearest example in the feature of a maker’s visual language extending across categories that people can use in daily life. Tableware and soft goods can introduce a pattern or cultural reference at a smaller commitment than a custom chandelier or site-specific installation, while the sneakers show that the same design vocabulary can travel beyond the room.

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How to use these recommendations responsibly

Start with the medium, not a ranking

Choose the material or process that answers the room’s need: absorbent textile for softness, reflective glass or brass for light, carved or cast form for sculpture, or a practical home good for a smaller intervention. The feature offers no objective score, so “best” depends on the project rather than on a universal order.

Separate custom work from ready-made goods

Several examples are explicitly custom or project-based: Buscaglia’s quilted headboard, Li’s chandelier selected for a show house, Lorenz’s site-specific art, and Sardi’s installed sculpture. Ask whether the maker accepts commissions, what information is needed for a proposal, and whether the quoted object is a one-off, a limited series, or part of a repeatable collection. Do not assume that an admired piece can be purchased in the same dimensions or finish.

Ask process questions early

  • Which materials are available for the intended scale and environment?
  • What amount of variation should be expected from hand-quilting, hand-sorting, tooling, casting, or glazing?
  • Are samples or color studies available before a deposit?
  • Who handles structural engineering, fire requirements, mounting, crating, and installation?
  • How will the work be cleaned, repaired, or refinished after installation?

Verify present-day terms

The source article is from 2021, and the Farm & Folk information that natural dyes entered its shop in 2022 is a later statement about that practice. Current inventory, prices, commission calendars, shipping regions, and referral programs are not established by these sources. Contact each maker or studio directly and confirm those details before specifying a piece.

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What the list reveals about contemporary interiors

The recommendations are connected less by a single aesthetic than by a way of working. Buscaglia’s dye plants, Jordan’s hand-sorted fibers, Recatune’s tooling, Ellner’s reverse-glass technique, and the sculptural approaches of Rooms, Marcelis, Donat, and White all make material decisions visible. That visibility gives a room evidence of how an object came into being.

Collaboration is another through line. Behun values Thacker’s willingness to work on commissions; Gachot describes Standefer as someone who makes both objects and opportunities; and the custom examples show designers translating an artist’s method into a particular architectural brief. The article’s “female makers” framing is therefore not a claim about one style. It is a record of designers seeking authorship, craft knowledge, and a meaningful relationship between an object and the place where it will live.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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