Artist/designer Shelly Klein and her mom, furniture industry veteran Mary Klein, founded k studio in 2004. The company's stylish collection of graphic patterns and curious family of characters has expanded every year since. They find their way onto pillows and ceramics and and pouches and wall art. But for Shelly (an established fine artist with a BFA in Painting) the images are more important than the actual artifacts on which they appear.
“I say I'm an artist before I'm a designer,” Shelly said. “I think design is important, but to me, what we do is really about creating images, and you can put those images on any number of things. When we make a pillow, I'm using that as a canvas.”
This approach results in a more personal collection every year, adding layers of depth to the fresh design aesthetic which already has garnered the attention of national publications and major commissions. In 2004, Shelly was among a group of four exhibiting designers profiled by the New York Times as examples of the changing face of contemporary design. For the ICFF 2006, Herman Miller selected Shelly along with three other international designers to each create a one-of-a-kind Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman to commemorate of the 50th anniversary of this design icon. In 2009, Shelly completed a 10x60 foot mural for the lobby of the Affinity Shelburne Hotel in Manhattan. NY Now (formerly the New York International Gift Fair) honored k studio in 2011 with its Best Collection Award. And in 2012, Shelly received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kendall College of Art & Design (her alma mater).
