page_title: Candace Wheeler
section_title: Associated Artists
hierarchical_section_title: Candace Wheeler / Career / Associated Artists
caption_attribution_description: English: Digital photo of Associated Artists embroidered card table cover, 44" x 44", silk thread embroidery on cloth, circa 1900
context_page_description: Candace Wheeler, often credited as the "mother" of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She is noted for helping to open the field of interior design to women, supporting craftswomen, and for encouraging a new style of American design. She founded both the Society of Decorative Art in New York City and the New York Exchange for Women's Work.
  Wheeler was associated with the Colonial Revival, Aesthetic Movement, and the Arts and Crafts Movement throughout her long career, Wheeler was considered a national authority on home decoration. Wheeler is also noted for designing the interior of the Women's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL.
context_section_description: In 1883, Wheeler formed her own textile firm, involving by women only,  under the name Associated Artists.  The firm produced a wide range of textile goods including tapestries and curtains.   Associated Artists was particularly well-known for its "changeable" silks. Woven out of two threads, these fabrics changed color depending on the light.
  Wealthy customers could create custom fabrics.  Andrew Carnegie commissioned a Scotch thistle damask for his own use.  Lillie Langtry ordered a floral silver-grey brocade portiere for her bedroom.
  At the same time, Wheeler took care to make sure that her products were available to a wide audience by creating machine-ready patterns and reflecting American designs and local plant forms.  Between 1884 and 1894, Cheney Brothers turned out more than 500 fabrics for Associated Artists that were sold throughout the United States at all levels of the market.
  Associated Artists's signature tapestry style was a combination of loom and tapestry weaving that Wheeler had invented.  The technique made the stitches practical invisible and created a visually smoother tapestry.
caption: Associated Artists embroidered card table cover, 44" x 44", silk thread embroidery on cloth, circa 1900
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