Christian Rathbone

September 27, 2017

My 550sqft: A textile designer fits a studio and warehouse into his railroad Ridgewood home

For most New Yorkers, 550 square feet would be a fairly comfortable one-bedroom apartment, but for textile designer Christian Rathbone it's that, plus his studio and warehouse. For the past 15 years, Christian has been working with native dyers and weavers in Turkey, who help bring his organic Kilim designs to life, using traditional vegetation dyes and hand-spun wool. And for the past six years, he's been running his business out of his apartment in Ridgewood, Queens. Not only has he built his own extensive shelving systems, but he's done so in a narrow, railroad unit. 6sqft recently paid Christian a visit to get a first-hand look at how he makes this live-work setup work and to learn more about his process and inspirations.
Take the tour and hear from Christian