Studio Notes - On Keeping

Allison Warren
2026-04-01T06:27:40-05:00

There is a difference between having and keeping something.

Having is immediate. It resolves a need, completes a room, or answers a moment. It’s not always a long-term solution, just good for now. Keeping implies a longer view. It asks more — of the object, and of the person living with it.

Textiles can easily be had, but what makes a textile something you want to keep?

That worth keeping are those that live with you purposefully. They sit close to the body and touch the skin. They want to be handled and used. Hands return to the same edge or zip, weight and wear settling in familiar places. Textiles do not remain fixed. They soften, shift, and register use.

Material is central to this. Natural fibers carry time with clarity — linen relaxes, wool deepens, cotton becomes more itself. These are not signs of decline, but of structure, of an underlying integrity that comes from weaving from pure fibers. They make keeping possible.

Keeping is present in the initial choice — in selecting something with enough depth to withstand daily use and enough restraint to be seen repeatedly without fatigue.

There is a discipline to this. Fewer pieces. Better made. Considered for the long term.

In a well-held interior, textiles do not call attention to themselves, yet they are what allow a space to remain intact over time. They absorb use, hold continuity, and carry the quiet work of daily life.

We are focused on those kinds of textiles, the ones that combine beauty and utility, and sink into life.