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Chilewich ~ Meet the Designer, Sandy Chilewich

Sandy Chilewich is the founder and creative directory of Chilewich/Sultan LLC, a company best known for contemporary table settings and modern design.  For the last three decades and with two distinct businesses, Chilewich has reinterpreted underutilized and overlooked manufacturing practices and has gone on to produce placemats, floormats and other products marked by ingenuity and elegance.

Prior to launching her namesake design studio, Chilewich, in 1997, Chilewich was a primary force at HUE, the hosiery company she cofounded with Kathy Moskal in 1978.  HUE was credited with revolutionizing the legwear market with its innovations in design, packaging and merchandising.  The company was sold in 1991 and Sandy stayed on as co-president until 1994.  The brand continues to thrive today.

In the first years after HUE, Chilewich continued to explore her fascination with materials and textiles.  she introduced the highly successful RayBowl, in 1997.  The design, which features a metal frame covered with stretch netting typically used in lingerie, incorporates a simple, inventive mechanism to hold the fabric in a concave plane.  The RayBowl, RayTray and RayBoxes were awarded utility patents and numerous awards.

In her quest for other suitable fabrics to incorporate into the RayBowl,she stumbled upon woven vinyl and fell in love with what she believed was a completely underutilized textile.  It didn't work for the bowls, however, Chilewich saw an opportunity for a new business.  

"The durability of this extruded yarn, the intrinsic sheen of the material, its tremendous design versatility and the fact that it is washable inspired me then and continues to inspire me today." says Chilewich.

Hence, the launch in 2000, of Chilewich's current distinctive product line of vinyl placemats, floormats and other textiles.

In 2001, Chilewich and her architect husband, Joe Sultan, launched their first product together for contract use and in 2004, Joe closed his architecture practice and joind the company full time as CEO.   

Made almost exclusively in the United States, Chilewich/Sultan LLC products are sold around the world!  
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