Maya Romanoff

45 Years of Innovative Design

1969

After finding his inspiration in working with textiles and dyes at Woodstock, Maya Romanoff begins experimenting in earnest with tie dye and resist dyeing textiles.

Later that year, The Maya Romanoff Company is incorporated. 

1971

Maya creates line of couture clothing retailed in such stores as I Magnin and Henri Bendel. Custom couture pieces are made for celebrity clients including Roger Daltry, Elton John and Julie Christie.

1973

Seeking to “change the environment through textiles,” Maya experiments with whole room environments made using dyed textiles.

1979   

The company introduces their first line of handpainted wallcovering, Weathered Walls, which later wins the Roscoe Award.

1988

Bess’ Sunrise, the world’s largest hand-dyed work of art is installed at the former Sun Times Building in Chicago. A graceful ensemble of twenty-eight brightly colored tie-dyed canvas strips, Bess’ Sunrise dropped from the top of the seven-story Sun-Times Building to the edge of the Chicago River. The panels, each 6 feet wide by 120 feet long, created the illuminating effect of a sunrise as they moved in tandem as the wind blew across the river.

1988   

Maya RomanoffJoyce Lehrer joins company as head of sales.

1996   

The Ajiro flexible wood veneer collection is introduced. Based on a traditional Japanese wood work, Ajiro is created from the fast-growing Paulownia trees. The wood is sliced so thin that it is flexible enough to wrap columns.

1998

Joyce and Maya marry, solidifying their true partnership.

Maya Romanoff2003   

Maya Romanoff creates The Main Stage Curtain, Harris Theater of Music and Dance, Chicago. This large-scale textile work combines fine art and commercial textiles creating optimal light reflectivity as well as depth in the hills and valleys of the material. 

2003   

Beadazzled is introduced as the original flexible glass bead wallcovering. Beadazzled is created with a dense hand inlay of genuine glass beads, adding durability with built up layers of adhesive, while painstakingly preserving the luminosity of the glass.

2004   

The company continues to experiment, creating custom murals layered with glass beads which incorporate modern printing with hand work. Contemporary artists Dzine and Juan Carlos Macias utilize our Beadazzled technology, and incorporate glass beading into their fine art. Exhibitions are shown at the St. Louis Museum of Contemporary Art and Mexican American Art Museum

Maya Romanoff2005   

Mother of Pearl tiles are created, composed of genuine hand-inlaid capiz shells, and are hand-finished in our Chicago studio.

2007   

A collaboration with David Rockwell results in an award-winning collection of surfacing materials. The David Rockwell for Romanoff collection includes Stitched, which takes the best-seller Weathered Walls and adds another layer of craft; Blanket, which is made using felt embellished with stitching; andGroove-V, a dimensional 54” Vinyl. 

2007

The company introduces the True Metals collection, made in collaboration with Aid to Artsians and Nepalese artisans. 

2008

The corporate headquarters and factory are moved from a 18,500 square foot vintage laundry building to a new 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility.

2009

The company introduces the Meditations collection, a line of handmade papers traditionally used by Buddhist monks to write prayer texts, transformed into a wallcovering.

2010   

Our archival collection of tie dye wallcoverings is re-imagined by designer Amy Lau, launched as a part of Maya Romanoff’s 40th anniversary celebration.            

2011   

Maya Romanoff opens their Chicago flagship showroom to great reception in the Merchandise Mart.

2012

Following the success at the Mart, the company opens their second flagship showroom in New York’s D&D Building. 

2012

A collaboration with designer Roger Thomas produces two

 stunningly crafted and art-influenced new wallcoverings, Tremolo and Moon Lake.

2012

Maya and Joyce are awarded the Museum of Arts and Design’sVisionaries Award for Lifetime Achievement

2014

Maya passes away in January of 2014 after a 20-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Since that time, his wife and partner, Joyce, has taken the helm, along with Maya & Joyce’s second generation, to steer the company into the future.

2015

Maya Romanoff launches their rebranding campaign with a new logo and revamped brand image, marking the one-year anniversary of the passing of founder, namesake, and creative force.

 

Joyce Romanoff, Maya’s wife and the company’s president, was intent to meet this significant anniversary with momentum and a thoughtful evaluation of Maya’s history and the company’s future.