Pittsburgher Cara George describes herself as a daydreamer, passing away hours with a watercolor brush in hand and memories of long-gone family members and their traditions in her mind. Through her line of wallpapers and textiles, Otea Textiles, George artistically expresses these dreams in patterns that combine Old World maximalism, irreverence, and modern sensibilities.

Layering with Textures Makes Cara George from Otea Textiles’ Table Setting Shine

Cara grounds the tabletop vision she shares with TABLE Magazine in her textile work. The tablecloth is from her Antiquity pattern in the color-way, Incantation. The napkin is in her Vintage Scarf pattern and color-way, Kaleidoscope. Upon as well as around these textiles are family heirlooms and collected objects whose exquisite patterns amplify the gorgeousness of the past. Somehow, however, in combination they create their own very modern statement.

History is what we make of it, they say. Yes, history gives us a visual vocabulary to work with, but it’s up to us to string the old words into new sentences that give voice to how we feel right now. To the kind of world we want to live in. Cara’s world is graced with the ghost of her great-aunt Otea, left behind in Italy when the rest of the family came to America. The memory of a homeland left behind, but not lost, gifts this table with nostalgia but not grief: a new life not only took root here, as it has done with centuries of immigrants, it also blossomed.

George herself, and her design work, are a living testament to that journey, and the possibilities each new arrival opens for our country and for each of us.

A Design Lesson To-Go

Your unique family history can be the starting point for a layered look that will also delight all who behold it.

Story by Keith Recker
Styling by Danny Mankin
Photography by Laura Petrilla

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