Twinkle Living by Wenlan Chia Whimsical, quirky, sophisticated and accessible home designs for the contemporary collector who appreciates fashion
August 21, 2006 (PRLEAP.COM) Lifestyle News
Since Twinkle’s inception as a women’s fashion company in 1999, Wenlan’s signature look has been custom prints and designs, culling imagery from a life spent working in the arts, traveling the world and escaping with idle daydreams. Twinkle Living incorporates these elements into a soft furnishings collection of carpets, bedding, decorative pillows and throws.Hand-tufted New Zealand wool carpets are available in ten designs, and range in price from $150 to $5000. Shadowland is a 10x13 ecru rug, featuring a futuristic mix of organic birds, flowers and squares. Bead is 6x8 feet of multi-colored spheres in contrasting graphic prints linked by scrolling bubbles. Cherry Blossom, a re-worked print from spring 2004 bursting with oversized striped flowers and red dots, is 7x5 feet. Wenlan’s love of graphics can be seen in Brushstroke featuring an ecru paint stroke on a 5x3 foot black background. Her French bulldog, Milan, appears as a cut-out doormat in black and white.
Similar to Twinkle fashion, the 210-thread count bedding designs are meant to mix and match. Twinkle Living’s bedding is available in eleven patterns and twelve color selections, ranging in price from $60 for a pillowcase to $500 for a duvet. Horizon, a pattern of graduating shades of stripe, mimics a seascape. Mixed with diamond-patterned pillows, it makes a unique coordinating bed set. Other geometric patterns are Cosmic, an eccentric combination of dots and ovals and Wavy Stripes, a stripe pattern broken by dips and waves. Nature appears in Shanghai, an Asian inspired floral print comprised of giant and tiny flower motifs blended in an original textile print. Patterns - available in masculine and feminine color ways - were developed to accent wood tones, and other furniture elements.
Twinkle’s popular intarsia knits are translated for the home as wool and cashmere throws. These 6x8 foot designs include Twinkle icons, the Dancing Unicorn and Daring Fox, in contrasting colors – brown with red and white with navy. Solid throws are also available in sea urchin, forest, French grey and tea rose. Silk-screened cotton canvas throw pillows come in geometric prints. Developed to compliment the bedding, throws will retail for $400 and pillows for $50.
Wenlan founded Twinkle after her handmade chunky knit sweaters caught the eye of stylish New Yorkers on the street as she strode to classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her ability to combine advanced knitting with fashion forward ideas made the craft hot again. Originally trained in the arts, Wenlan draws all of her own patterns for both her home and fashion collections. Young Hollywood has loved Wenlan’s arty ingénue look, with trend-setting admirers such as Mischa Barton, Maggie Gyllenhall, Kate Hudson and Scarlett Johanssen. In 2000, Wenlan rounded out her knitwear with a complete ready-to-wear collection that comes to life on the New York fashion runways, conjuring a world of fantasy, charm and make-believe. In 2004, Wenlan expanded to a sought-after accessory line. For press inquries, please contact Mohamed Alladin of Company Agenda Public Relations, 212-358-9516