Born of Hawaiian and Lebanese parents, in the cultural melting pot of downtown Brooklyn, New York, Laura Young has been combining cultures before she was even cognizant of doing so.
Laura worked in the field of textile design for over twenty years before leaving to pursue quilt-making full-time. She received her BA in Textile Design from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and then took a MA in business applications for the fashion industry at Orange Coast College in Los Angeles.
In addition to quilting, Laura has worked as a stylist, textile and color consultant, a sportswear designer and studio director for a variety of employers, including Henry Glass & Co., H.L. , Adrianne Vittadini, Calvin Klien, and Crantex of Cranston, among others.
Combining her life-long love of fabrics and design, Young started crafting her uniquely beautiful quilts in 1996. She has traveled extensively through Europe, India and Indonesia, collecting both antique and modern fabrics, which she uses in her work. A recent trip to the Alhambra was both exhilerating and inspiring.
The architecture, rich colors and fabrics from the Middle Eastern and Renaissance eras are huge influences on Laura's work—she's particularly inspired by the majestic beauty of ancient Islamic design and 16th century clerical garments. Combining all these unlikely influences onto one quilt may sound odd, but once you see Young’s work, you’ll agree that it captures the majesty and beauty of all these disparate elements beautifully.
Her work has been featured in such publications as Casa Vogue and Mexican Vogue, and has also exhibited in numerous Arts and Crafts galleries over the past years.
You can see Laura Young's work in person at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts Gallery in Albany this Winter.
