There's a lot that's cinematic about John Robshaw. The story behind this designer/ producer/ importer/ purveyor of exotic, hand made, woodblock, batik and ikat fabrics would definitely make a great movie. First, and most obvious, he's a dead ringer for Hugh Grant on his best day -- but with an even better smile. Then there's the glamorous, mysterious, slightly dangerous “foreign intrigue" angle:  a quick peak at the destinations in his  calendar (Aleppo, Petra, Mindanao, Sumatra, Ahmadabad, Uzbekistan, the Maldives) evokes a sort of  Harrison Ford-esque  "Raiders of the Lost Textile" storyline complete with episode of white-water rafting in a crocodile- infested Zambian river. As per catchy Big Screen dialogue, Robshaw's friendly, succinct, self- deprecating patter completes the total seductive package. 
       Get this guy an agent!  Even his somewhat plain geographic background establishes a beguiling foundation for an unusual story line:  Sophisticated, worldly John  Robshaw  grew up in Buffalo, New York, home of the Rust Belt, the windshield wiper, a lot of Amish folks, and the most bleak, blustery winters in the Western hemisphere. Naturally curious, and probably chilled to the bone, John didn't stay put for long. A lifelong love of traveling began during a high school summer as he joined a group of German friends for a three-month-long trip through Europe in a battered VW. Back in Buffalo, John's artistically inclined mother suggested he attend Franklin and Marshall College, where he studied printmaking, painting, and creative writing. By the time he was a junior, he was ripe to fly the coop again -- this time to Italy, specifically, Rome -- a fortuitous place in which to study art history, etching, and engraving. During his Roman period, he "fell hard for Pirinese," and also won a grant to study traditional Oriental block printing in China.  Enter Tieneman Square, where John hung out with fellow art students during the tumultuous uprising, developing not only a survivalist’s instincts, but also a deep, life-altering affinity for non-American art and design.  From China, it was on to earning an MFA at Pratt, serial trips to Southeast Asia, and a stint in Korea "doing B actor work for local TV."

       Before founding his own textile and bedding business in 2002, our leading man went through "a failed art career.” He used bleach to "paint" on blue denim canvases, worked as an "art handler" for Larry Gagosian, and then as an assistant to Julian Schnabel, whom John describes as ”interesting for his showmanship and sometimes his paintings."  After learning from, struggling with, and then abandoning the fine art world, John designed fashion fabrics for Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Donna Karan, before he discovered that decorators and decorating were more to his liking.  Interior designers Christopher Colman, Carlos Motta, and the late Greg Jordan  pushed John  to specialize in hand made fabrics printed, woven,  appliquéd, and embroidered with naive, graphic, exotic motifs bursting with upbeat Bohemian swagger.

     Like most people who love what they do, John Robshaw is clear about his mission: "We create original, handcrafted textiles from the around the world.  We employ traditional printing, dying, and weaving techniques, while re-interpreting them in ways that respect the integrity of the method. Every textile represents a story -- a drawing of an adventure in a far-off place -- from Yogakarta to Rajasthan to Bolivia to Vietnam.  Arriving at textiles from painting and printmaking, I am interested in the mistakes, overlapping prints, and mis-registrations of woodblocks that indicate and celebrate the human hand."
        Today, most of Robshaw's collections of cottons, linens and silks are produced near Jaipur, India, but hand-dyed and embroidered pieces are also made in Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tibet, and Africa. John travels from two to three months every year to sample spring and fall collections, and inspect  productions.  His fabrics, pillows, blankets, sheets, bed skirts, duvets, and throws are sold through his namesake firm, as well as at Anthropologie and Calypso. He has recently added a small selection of custom- made furniture to the mix. 

Q & A
 WHO MOVES YOU?
“I have always admired Jim Thompson -- firstly, because he was a spy in Indochina. Almost as important, he reinvigorated the almost lost art of Thai silk weaving, while simultaneously giving fantastic dinner parties in a fantastic Thai teak house along the Klong River.  Once the parties got rolling, he disappeared. "
"I respect Philip Taft both as a print maker and a painter." 
"I admire Twombly for the hand that does not look like "a hand" at all, but more like ancient graffiti on the Coliseum walls.  His raves on canvas always seem elegant and sad, and look as if they were found somewhere along the Apian way."  
"Brice Marden is an influence for his depth saturation in any medium."

"I went to Pratt with the artist Noh Sung Kyung: he painstakingly pastes thousands of sequins on canvases -- the results resemble a used car dealership in Brooklyn, or a cheap, sparkly dress, or all of the light in the world."

  "Ultimately, all the artisans I have met over the years --from India to Indonesia, who have been creating amazing traditional textiles for generations -- are my true inspirations."
NAME THREE PLACES THAT ALL 1STDIBS-ITES MUST SEE:
1. " The El-Harrawi House in Cairo, with its mysterious passageways, gurgling fountains, shaded balconies, and distant calls to prayer -- the whole world of it intrigues me."
2. "The Souks of Aleppo, Syria, which is comprised of areas that have been literally untouched for centuries. The meandering lanes make no sense:  I love the all of the Arabic graffiti, and the glimpses of hidden courtyards."
3.  "Petra is remarkable for its miles of ruined temples carved out of stone -- and for paths that meander from temple to temple, filled with herds of goats sunning themselves."

HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE FAR AWAY IDEAS FOR AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE?
"When I travel I try to take everything in: the food, the colors, the architecture, the local dress, and the antique shops. Coming from a fine arts background, I think I view the world as material for designs/art and work with the textures of the world to create designs."
YOU ARE KNOWN FOR YOUR KEEN (SOME SAY RAVISHING) SENSE OF COLOR.  TELL US ABOUT THAT.
"Colors are about depths, tones, light, and combinations. Some colors can look horrible when they are viewed on their own, but when they are combined with another specific tone, they can sing. Colors also change so much depending on the type of light -- colors in India look warm filtered through the dust, versus their cooler appearance when seen in the cold bright light of winter in New York."
WHAT DOES MODERNISM MEAN TO YOU?
"There is so much more out there than modern. I understand the appeal of shutting out the world, but I want to embrace the world -- and get lost in it.  To me, traditional customs and arts offer so much narrative and context: They are hard not to notice and listen to!''
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF FABRIC IN DECORATING?
"I fear I am not a decorator -- and I truly respect how they work with interiors.   I design textiles from a painterly point of view, excluding any thought of how they will be used out in the world. I see my textiles as stand alone drawings, paintings, and ideas. Frankly, I am bored in a room with no prints. I am always looking for patterns wherever I am--from the stones of an old fortress to the pattern on a piece of silk or cotton."