founder allison warren

 

 

An artist in resistance 

Modernplum is the textile design studio of Allison Warren. Her design approach is connected to mid-century modernism and coastal California where she grew up. The relaxed lifestyle immersed in sunshine, water, and mountain landscape inform every part of the brand. As an interior designer's daughter, Allison lived with textile and paint swatches, and a focus on home life throughout childhood.

Allison is an artist, and prior to forming Modernplum, she made fabric-based sculpture and delicate drawings of textiles and exhibited them at venues like the Banff Centre (Ontario, Canada) and The Drawing Center (New York), and received critical acclaim from curators at the Houston Contemporary, and the Whitney Museum of New York, among others. 

Allison's creative work is situated in resistance to the fragmenting effects of technological culture. She is a champion of local craft, the handmade, and the artisan. This approach was developed while a student at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit.

As former faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Allison developed original coursework in sustainable textile production, and fiber-based design entrepreneurship. Prior, Allison taught at the University of Illinois, where she managed teams of instructors to deliver the architecture foundations design program there. 

In 2014, Allison outfitted her home - a midcentury modern glasshouse - with sustainably-made textiles and Modernplum was born. Color, texture, and pattern of natural materials, and handcraft construction details like piecing, dyeing, edging, and color-blocking form the design language of our product. It fills a gap in the market for artisan design-forward, modern linens.

Moderplum has been featured in Remodelista, House and Home, House Beautiful, House & Garden UK, CS Modern, and others. The studio appears in House & Garden's "The List" of resources for the trade. Susan Sarandon is a customer.

When not at the studio, Allison is most likely cooking for her two children and husband or running along Lake Michigan.