In an ideal world, our apartments would look like Amira Marion’s. Between the early 19th century Parisian flea market crockery and the perfectly upholstered furniture (yep, she casually does that in her spare time), stepping foot into the Williamsburg apartment she shares with her husband is like voluntarily submitting yourself to a serious bout of home envy. She has an unfair advantage though. You know, being the force behind US Vogue-approved interiors brand, Archive New York.
For the uninitiated, Archive New York has become something of a best kept secret among those in the know in New York. Set up early last year, Amira’s made it her mission to champion the traditional Mayan textiles from Guatemala, working with local communities to preserve, and update, their traditional textiles, patterns and artisanal craft techniques. Unsurprisingly, her home is a treasure trove of rare samples and handwoven fabrics she’s picked up from Guatemala on design trips and rightly so.
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, she first moved to New York to study fashion design at Parsons School of Design and lived in Manhattan for years before stints in Paris and finally settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She rented a room in the apartment of an interior designer from Airbnb while they were hunting for somewhere, ended up falling in love with the building so much much that they got in touch with the building manager and learned that the owner had one other apartment available in another building. It just so happened that the layout was exactly the same. When they moved in, the space was all white walls and paired back. Fast forward two years and it’s brimming with bright furniture, plants and bold artwork and textiles incorporated onto upholstered statement pieces, and her own signature throws and pillows.
Here she takes us through her decorating process, the opportunities and challenges of starting a brand of her own and why, after working in fashion at brands like Madewell, interior design is ultimately where her heart is.
ON GETTING INTO INTERIORS: I studied fashion design at Parsons in New York but after being told for four years about how much capital and cash flow small fashion businesses need to start, I knew pretty well it fashion design wasn’t going to be a good place for me. I wanted a small but stable business. Also the seasonality of fashion horrified me, as it’s so wasteful. I always loved interiors so I was happy to jump into that realm, with the goal of making non-seasonal long lasting products. I have been an interior design nut since I was a little kid. At 11 years old I finally got my own bedroom and made my parents buy me these orange floral gauzy curtains and these curtain rods and holdbacks with white and blue painted ceramic designs on the ends from Pottery Barn. I started subscribing to all of the home product catalogues I could find. My parents also love estate sales and we would go all of the time on the weekend and scout for cool antique furniture.
ON THE IDEA BEHIND ARCHIVE NY: There are many beautiful interior product brands but I felt that in the textile market there was a gap for something younger, more playful and fresh feeling. I’ve always wanted to reach out to a younger demographic, as well as the more traditional interior design crowd, and definitely make products that don’t feel stuffy. It really wanted to create products that tap into your fashion aesthetic. I find some people have a disconnect there that I want to bridge.
CREATING A BRAND OF HER OWN OVER WORKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE: I believe that some people have this entrepreneurial ‘bug’ where they know they want to have their own business. I have always known! I have worked for a couple bigger companies, and it was fine but I wasn’t really happy. I love the hustle and multitasking of working for myself. Also from a design perspective, it becomes clear quickly that when you’re working for someone else you aren’t designing what you want. Occasionally you’re able to produce something that’s true to your your vision but with so many hands on deck, it doesn’t happen often. I began my company to become creatively fulfilled; I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do that had I stayed designing in-house. When I started I was getting advice from all over the place, and some which my gut said no to. That’s part of the reason I had to stop going to entrepreneur-get-togethers. On the flip side, almost everything I’ve learned about running a business I learned from asking good friends who already have their own. It’s so important to have people around you to help answer your questions.
HER LOVE OF GUATEMALA: It’s been in my life for as long as I can remember. My parents use to visit in the 70s and spend every summer there. There were photos and textiles around my house growing up. After college I started researching to start this company with the idea of making indigenous textiles somewhere and my research lead me back to Guatemala. I found there was even more of a richness in weaving history than I could have ever imagined. The design process began by contacting non-profit organizations and master weavers (with a web presence!) and asking them what was possible, before visiting, buying antique textiles in the markets, and seeing if they could be remade by the villages those techniques and designs belonged to. It took a lot of trial and error to find the right materials and methods but I feel in a good place now, though it’s a constantly evolving process. I make sure to look for samples specific to the villages I am working with to honour their heritage. I launched the brand to help preserve the historical weaving motifs of the Guatemalan Mayan people, provide income for these artisans and continue these endangered weaving traditions.
THE DESIGN PROCESS: I scour markets, textbooks, Google images and collect old photographs for designs from around the country. I have specific villages I work with so that narrows down my focus. I generally have to do a full layout on paper of how I want the design to look and choose the materials. I pretty much always change the colours so that is where my designing really comes in. I absolutely love the New York Public Library for when I’m working on a new collection. I love buying old books on Amazon too. You’ve got to get a bit obscure to find the best stuff!
A TYPICAL DAY: I do so many random things everyday it’s never the same. I try to get enough sleep and I usually wake up, make a smoothie and answer emails in my pyjamas until lunch time. I try and go for a run (a perk of working for yourself!) and shower before actually get dressed, packing orders and do errands.
ON THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES SHE’S FACED: I started with a business partner and that was the worst idea ever – a good friend, too! Going in to a new business, when it’s your baby, it’s hard to expect anyone else to pull their weight and actually care as much as you. I work 24/7 even if it’s only in my mind thinking about new ideas and brainstorming. My advice? You can always hire someone to do your accounting, photographs, or whatever else you’re not skilled in. You don’t necessarily have to give them a piece of your business. I started over own my own and have been happy ever since. After less than two years in business, there’s so much I’d proud of. We’re stocked with One King’s Lane and in February I had a pillow in Vogue magazine, so that felt like a real milestone!
HOME
HOW BROOKLYN HAS CHANGED: When I first moved to New York for college, I lived in Union Square but would always go out in Brooklyn. I moved to Paris for a few years but when I came back to the city I moved to Brooklyn. It feels more like a neighbourhood than Manhattan. You have your coffee shop, the school across the street, so many good restaurants that aren’t owned by big businesses. Anyone would tell you, though, that Williamsburg has changed from those days. Back then, it was so sparse. We would come out here for house parties and bars but you had to walk on a desolate street for five blocks to get there. Now those blocks are crammed with shops and restaurants. Don’t get me started on the rent…
ON DECORATING HER APARTMENT FROM SCRATCH: My husband and I fell in love with this apartment because of the light and the high ceilings. When we first moved in, it was a white box. It’s the perfect base for decorating. To start with I immediately threw in a ton of plants. The only thing that was tricky was finding the exact size furniture to fit in the space and have a good flow. It took a while because we waited to find the exact right pieces. Creating a great space takes time to many weekends were spent antiquing in New Jersey before finding gems. I am home almost every day so creating the perfect space was really important to me. If you’re working from home too, my advice is to get a huge kitchen table to spread out on. Oh, and some good speakers so you can jam while you work. My dining table is from CB2. My husband picked it out and it was the perfect buy. He’s very proud. The blue chairs were from my family cabin growing up. I never could let them go. I love them! That colour is so good. Even when I was ten I knew they were good.
INCORPORATING TEXTILES: The 1960s hanging over my dining table is from San Mateo Ixtatan. I found it in a shop in Antigua, Guatemala called Nimpot. It’s a big touristy shop and they sell a bunch of used textiles. It was a real rare find – I’ve seen pieces like it before in markets but never in that kind of colour combination. I love it so much – it’s completely hand embroidered on the front and back and you can really see the love that’s gone into it. I created the armchair you see in my living room. I created the print from one of my favourite Guatemalan textiles and made yards of it for my first photoshoot. It was secretly just so I could have the textiles for the chairs in my apartment. Upholstering isn’t very hard it’s just time consuming, but worth it.
KITCHEN DÉCOR & PARISIAN ANTIQUE FINDS: Our kitchen space is weird so it needed the right island. We got ours at Create & Barrel. I always think our kitchen looks ugly but the island matched it well and instantly made everything look better. When it comes to crockery, I have a whole host of antiques I picked up during my time in Paris. I actually have a whole set of dishes from the 1800s from Creil Montereau in the Flora design. I had been obsessively collecting them while I was there once I found one at a flea market. Also French eBay is the shit. There are so many awesome treasures there!
FAVOURITE INTERIORS SPOTS: When I’m looking for new pieces, I love going to ABC Home in Manhattan. It’s a gorgeous home store with delectable finds from all over. I also sell my pillows there! They have a beautiful restaurant too. Outside of New York, my favourite home store is Merci in Paris, a concept store with fashion, home, a cafe or two and a rotating selection of merchandise. It’s the coolest space ever. Flea-market wise, when in France check out Vide-Greniers.org to find the flea markets that change locations. That’s where you find the cool stuff. Also check out EBHC.com for amazing estate sale auctions. I’ve picked up so many great pieces using it.