Studio Visit: Clay McLaurin Studio

Clay McLaurin and partner Todd Piercy.

The textile artist

His loft’s concrete backdrop becomes a gallery wall (and litmus test) for his latest designs.

Hues informing McLaurin’s color variations.

Rolls of fresh fabric include Medallion, Rain, Wave, Arch and Edo.

Like a work of art, each pattern begins with a brushstroke and India ink.

Pillows covered in Hay Bales and Elana.

The popular Arch and Brush patterns.

Earlier this spring, Clay McLaurin Studio’s hand-drawn collection became available on the Left Coast at West Hollywood Design District’s Nicky Rising Ltd., and this month, an exclusive line of “ready-to-wear” cottons debuts locally at Westside design stalwart Bungalow Classic. That’s in addition to the cheery patterns McLaurin employed in the breakfast room at last month’s Atlanta Symphony Decorators’ Show House & Gardens—a collaboration with aunt and interior designer Maria McLaurin Nutt—being received with much fanfare.

Both in the Goldenrod colorway, the fabrics: Rain, influenced by the movement of water,  and Elana, a floral pattern named after McLaurin’s grandmother, were complemented by a framed original sketch that ultimately inspired another new pattern, Weeping Willow. (Nutt and McLaurin also just installed a designer-curated vignette for ADAC’s freshest incarnation of Behind the Windows.)

It’s evident, though, that McLaurin and Piercy, who lauched the brand out of their cozy studio apartment in Atlanta’s  Old Fourth Ward, are taking the brand’s seemingly overnight success in stride.

While the pair would love to introduce the collection to design centers in New York, and foresee increasing brand offerings to include wallpaper in the not-so-distant future, the young men maintain a laser-like focus on their core business—and the boutique, hand-designed quality that is part and parcel of the collection.