Location: Fort Greene, New York
BRIT KLEINMAN is the founder of New York-based design studio, AVO, which specializes in hand-dyed cowhide rugs, pillows, furnishings and wall coverings. Originally from Los Angeles, Kleinman comes from an artistic family: "My mom is a textile artist, my sisters are artists, it was just part of my upbringing."
Founding AVO allowed Kleinman to get back to her roots. "One of the main reasons I started my own company was to get my hands dirty again," she says. "Having my hands covered in dye is the best part."
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Kleinman considers herself a material-driven designer. "I fall in love with material, dive really deep into it," she says. "With leather," she continues, "it's such a unique material that humans have been using since the beginning of time. And there's a reason for it. It lasts. It has integrity to it." She works specifically with vegetable-tanned leather because "it gets better with time. And my goal is to create object that only get better as they age."
For Kleinman, quality is crucial. "Quality - for me - comes with being detail oriented. I take a lot of pride in the small moments, paying attention to things that other people might not even notice. But I notice." This focus on the details is evident in Kleinman's work.
Learn more about AVO at avoavo.com and @_avoavo_.