On a building project, every detail is an opportunity to build connections between people and the places they inhabit. Thoughtful selections can deepen the project’s impact.
Recently, we have been working on an office renovation in Iowa City. When selecting upholstery, we turned to Luum Textiles in New York City. Its founder and Creative Director, Suzanne Tick, has had a long and impressive career.
After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1981, she worked for companies like Boris Kroll and KnollTextiles before starting her own business. Her work has gained recognition from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and Interior Design Magazine, and her artwork made from recycled detritus has been exhibited in MoMA, Cooper Hewitt, the Stanley Art Museum at the University of Iowa, and other museums.
With her connection to Iowa City, we thought Suzanne’s work would be ideal for the project. Exploring her work also made us want to learn about her career and her time in Iowa.
Earlier this summer, Neumann Monson’s interior designer Jillian Riggan sat down with Suzanne to discuss her background and career. The following is a summary of their conversation.
Time in Iowa City
When we first met Suzanne, we asked about her background and why she chose the University of Iowa. She said she grew up in a family of artists. Her grandmother was a portrait painter, and her mother designed sets for community theater. Her father was a third-generation recycler and ran a scrap metal yard.
“Our house was filled with scrap metal art,” she says. “My Saturdays were spent with my dad at the scrap metal yard and seeing artists come in and pick pieces to create large sculptures. Art was always in my world.”
When it came time for college, Suzanne traveled the Midwest looking at schools. While she considered several options, she chose the University of Iowa. “I was very charmed by the old art department buildings with the brick archways. It was very romantic being there... Hancher and the Writers’ Workshop were also very attractive to me.”
She was also interested in working with Mauricio Lasansky who established the university’s School of Printmaking, the first Master of Fine Arts program of its kind in the US. “I thought I would take courses with him,” she says, laughing. “I didn’t realize that as a freshman you couldn’t just take courses with Lasansky.”
Her time at the university began in the printmaking department where she etched patterns onto copper plates using fabric textures. Soon, she wanted to weave textiles herself.
“I’d go by the weaving department, which was in the Natural History Museum at the time, and decided I wanted to try that my first semester,” she says. “I took a weaving class and just fell in love.”
Weaving quickly became her passion: “Every night I would stay in the weaving room, and the janitor would come in and say ‘Susie, you’ve got to leave. I need to lock up.’ So I would unlatch the window, walk around the block, and come back into the building through the window...Then I would pull the shades down and weave until the wee hours of the morning.”
In the art department, Suzanne was inspired by her many professors, including her first teacher Naomi Schedl. One of her favorite memories was working with visiting professor Dante Leonelli on an art installation called Neon Ice Bridge.
The structure, consisting of cast-ice columns and clear glass tubes containing argon gas, was built over the frozen Iowa River. The structure lasted well into March before melting into the water. At night, the illuminated sculpture drew attention from drivers on the nearby roadway.
“I’ve always been an early morning person, so one of my jobs was to go and make sure there were no broken pieces from cars. People would sideswipe each other because they’d be like, ‘What is that?’... It was one of those crazy jobs that I had to do, but it was an amazing project.”
Early Career
By Suzanne’s junior year, her parents began asking about her post-graduation plans. Like her parents, she didn’t know where her passion for weaving would lead, until one day, she flipped through Interiors Magazine.
“I saw all these ads for different textile companies, like Knoll, and I thought ‘Oh, I could do something like that,” she says.
Before a spring break trip to New York City, she contacted several textile companies, asking if she could stop in for an interview.
“I learned through these interviews that I needed more pattern expertise for jacquard looms, not just dobby floor looms. I went on to get an applied science degree at FIT to increase my technical skills.”
Eventually, Suzanne would get her break at Boris Kroll, one of two textile companies that had a manufacturing facility. Working as an assistant to the CEO, she learned all aspects of running a design studio—from spinning, pricing yarn, construction, and material development to dyeing, finishing, and jacquard pattern development.
Suzanne Tick and Boris Kroll, courtesy of Suzanne Tick, Inc.
In 1994, she moved to KnollTextiles where she rekindled her love of weaving after walking into a storage room and finding a loom buried beneath boxes and fabric. “It was probably 40 years old at the time, but I used it until about five years ago.”
According to Suzanne, developing textiles through weaving is a rarity in the industry. Few textile companies develop their creations from scratch, starting with the fibers. Most of the fabrics she developed in her 15 years at KnollTextiles started at the loom, an approach she continues at Luum Textiles.
Luum Textiles and Sustainability
Luum Textile’s designs are hand-crafted, starting with weaving fibers at the loom. While its collections are diverse—from modern twists on classics like Houndstooth to patterns inspired by brain scans to highlight the importance of mental health—the company remains committed to sustainability.
“We do all the fiber development and only launch collections three times a year,” says Suzanne. “Each collection contains about four to five fabrics, and it’s the right amount. The market can’t absorb all the materials being put out.”
Twist on a Classic collection by Suzanne Tick for Luum Textiles, courtesy of Luum Texiles.
Suzanne likes to quote a research project from ThinkLab’s Amanda Schneider that states architects and designers have about 140% more buying power than anyone else. The quantities of products they specify are much larger than any individual consumer, highlighting their power to push for more sustainable practices.
Luum Textiles takes a holistic approach to sustainability. In addition to using biodegradable fibers, they create textiles from garment waste. They also stay clear of petroleum-based fibers with plasticizers.
“We don’t do vinyl, though one product was grandfathered into our collection, and instead use manufacturing techniques like silicone for coated materials. It’s more expensive, but it’s clean and healthy for the environment. It’s naturally derived from sand and there is no off-gassing or anything like that.”
Another way Luum Textiles views sustainability is by working with furniture manufacturers to minimize waste. On large-scale patterns for furniture, manufacturers often cut for pattern matching, and nearly half of the fabric gets thrown away in the process. Suzanne’s team takes a different approach.
Suzanne Tick and Carol Lindsey in the Luum Textiles studio, courtesy of Martin Crook.
“We created a document and video that shows [furniture manufacturers] how to not have losses,” she says. “That has become a big notion for us. It’s up to the design community to talk to the manufacturers and say we want to have a random application, not pattern-matched...We want every chair to be unique like everyone sitting around the table.”
For Suzanne, this commitment to sustainability is tied to her Midwestern roots. She remembers growing up recycling and was shocked to find it was not an everyday practice when she first moved to New York.
“I think that’s the beauty of growing up in the Midwest,” she says. “You are outside and notice weather changes...I think being conscious of [nature], being aware of it, is important.”
Advice for Young Designers
Toward the end of our conversation, we asked Suzanne if she had any advice for young or aspiring designers. She stressed the importance of asking questions and getting involved.
“In this day and age, with Covid and then people working from home, you need to get to know the business and get involved...be involved in the activities you can, so that you’re engaged in a community of like-minded people.”
Beyond designing, Suzanne is also a Vedic Meditation teacher, a skill she learned and has continued to advance over the past eight years, including a three-month intensive training in India.
“Almost every one of my students is an architect or interior designer. [Meditation practice] enhances our creativity—de-exciting our physiology, opening our awareness, and becoming better people in our consciousness.”
Meditation and mindfulness, she says, can help young professionals overcome a common challenge in their early career—imposter syndrome. Practicing helps people become aware of their thoughts and tap into their true sense of being. Beyond this advice, she stresses the importance of sticking with a company for at least three years.
“People don’t like to hear it, but you don’t know a business cycle in under three years. It is the first sign of stability. Four is even better for a solid education in a company.”
Taking Inspiration from Suzanne
As our conversation concluded, Suzanne reflected on her time in Iowa City and some of her favorite memories. She discussed her job at the Brown Bottle (now the downtown Target) and her favorite college snack, popcorn with garlic cheddar cheese and nutritional yeast on top from the New Pioneer Co-Op.
What stood out the most from our conversation was Suzanne’s passion for her craft—which began late at night in Iowa City. Throughout her career, weaving has been a way for Suzanne to build connections inside and outside the design community.
Recently, she has been working with an organization called Why Not Prosper and teaching weaving to previously incarcerated women. Like meditation, weaving has become a way for Suzanne to give back to the community and promote creativity.
With her passion for design and her commitment to sustainability, Suzanne inspired the Neumann Monson team, and we thank her for sharing her insights with us. To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website and explore her work.