Dream weaver: Meet the New York-based Irish designer Claire McGovern

The Dublin native knits everything from ancient Irish monasticism to storm-chasing art themes into her luxury rugs

Fri, 22 Mar, 2024 - 18:45

Ruth O'Connor

Claire McGovern is the founder of Rhyme Studio — a New York design consultancy based in Brooklyn. Her range of Irish wool rugs had their Irish debut at the recent Showcase 2024 trade fair in Dublin and she also won the Showcase Best in Category Award in the Home category.

Before moving to New York from her native Dublin, McGovern spent many years living in San Francisco working with designers and artists through a business which evolved into the consultancy she operates today from NYC.

“After a stint in museums and galleries, I cut my teeth working on hotel and spa designs for a West Coast-based firm and went on to develop interiors for projects ranging from San Francisco and Silicon Valley residences and offices to New York City restaurants and residences. I’ve worked on projects with Lexus, Google, and Facebook and even the Ambassador of Ireland to the US, Geraldine Byrne-Nason.”

Rhyme Studio designs pictured at the launch of Showcase 2024.

Closer to home, Rhyme Studio is currently working on the design for a new sustainable, five-star hotel and spa in Northern Ireland. “Our partner, Rory McCreesh of Duce, a luxury construction company responsible for some exceptional building and renovation projects here, is developing the project in his home county of Armagh.

The brief is to not only create a leading destination for sustainable luxury hospitality and wellness but also to celebrate the best of contemporary Irish design, native materials and craftsmanship.”

While McGovern launched her own range of rugs in the States six years ago, the Showcase 2024 event was the European debut of her products. The designer is influenced by Irish art, history, and culture — merging classic Irish iconography with contemporary aesthetics to create beautiful rugs that are sustainably and ethically produced here in Ireland from Irish wool.

Rhyme Studio’s rugs are designed for use on the floor, certainly, but also function as wall hangings.

The Croi rug from the Insula Series by Rhyme Studio.

The range includes the stunning Insula collection which features contemporary takes on Irish motifs drawn from insular art — the seventh-century artistic movement that emerged during early Irish monasticism.

Another collection, Modernity, is inspired by the work of modernist artist Kasimir Malevich, said to have had a profound influence on the work of iconic Irish furniture designer, architect, and rug designer Eileen Gray.

Another, the Black Sheep, utilises the undyed wool of Irish zwartbles sheep — wool once considered useless because it could not be dyed yet that is even more sustainable and better for use in interior environments precisely because it does not need to be dyed.

“Clients often purchase the works as fibre art or tapestry,” says McGovern. “While I always knew, as an interior designer, that wool was one of the most sustainable and regenerative materials available, we have since uncovered its extraordinary array of health and wellness benefits for the home. Our carpets or wall hangings, in the right proportions, offer significant air purifying and acoustic properties.”

Conscious of the fact that the rug industry is awash with products made of synthetic fibres — essentially nylon derived from fossil fuels — McGovern says that it was important to her to source genuine Irish wool for her rugs from the outset.

Claire McGovern, founder of Rhyme Studio in New York.

This is no mean feat due to the collapse of the Irish wool industry which sees the majority of yarn that’s spun here made from imported fibres.

“We had no idea the extent of the market problems when we first started working with this material in 2017,” she says.

“It’s a complicated situation but our design intent was to celebrate authentic Irish materials and craftsmanship so we persevered in buying Irish wool initially from Kerry Woollen Mills and Cushendale or directly from Irish sheep farmers. While we know small operators in Ireland who clean wool, there is no large commercial facility for this and almost all Irish wool harvested is sent to the UK for cleaning. We now partner with Donegal Yarns which has taken a prominent stand on supporting native Irish wool and is very aligned with us in terms of the need for greater sustainability in design.”

Are her discerning and affluent American clients particularly interested in the fact that the products are made from wool sourced in Ireland?

“To date, most of our clients are interested primarily in the design quality, the story, and the fact that we are producing exclusively in Ireland.”

Rug and cushion designs by Rhyme Studio.

While in Dublin in January, McGovern was one of the organisers of a series of events at Showcase with the recently formed Irish Grown Wool Council — a voluntary body with an all-island approach to reinvigorating the Irish-grown wool industry here. McGovern believes it’s important for her to be part of the conversation here as an advocate for native Irish wool in the US.

“The point of our Dublin debut was not only to illustrate the design potential of this resilient wool for carpeting and health but to connect with public and private sector investors interested in supporting sustainable Irish design,” she says passionately.

“There is no justifiable reason for the extraordinary wool waste that occurs, not just in Ireland, but in many countries around the world. All wool has a value and it makes no sense that the manufacturing world invests so heavily in producing synthetics while a material from nature that outperforms every other fibre goes to waste.”

The daughter of the late architect Sean McGovern and poet Cecilia McGovern, Claire McGovern now resides in the historic brownstone neighbourhood of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, where her son attends school.

Heal - the St Brigid's Cross-inspired rug in Irish wool by Rhyme Studio.

She lives in a converted brownstone surrounded by many of the pieces of art and furniture she has collected over the years as well as the recent rugs of her own design.

AT HOME

Some of McGovern’s favourite items in her home are her own Heal carpet design which is inspired by the traditional St Brigid’s Cross: “I love the connotations of bringing healing into the home and the neuroaesthetic implications of an air purifying wool design that also means protection,” she says. One of her most precious pieces of furniture is her timeless Egg chair — that classic piece by Danish design legend Arne Jacobsen.

“We have quite a bit of art that rotates around between the studio, our Brooklyn home and the family home in Dublin too,” she says. “A new addition to the current inventory that I love is by our favourite storm-chaser oil painter Ian Sheldon — a piece called Tangolunda Moods.”

When it comes to McGovern’s favourite New York design destinations she says it’s difficult to choose in a city so vibrant however she cites the craftsmanship and ethos of Atelier Courbet and the Carpenters Workshop Gallery New York. “I love the Noguchi Museum too for its timeless design and sculpture amidst a zen-like oasis,” she says.

“One of my favourite art movements has always been Land Art and I adore Walter del Maria’s Earth Room in Soho commissioned by the incredible Dia Art Foundation.”

When paying a visit to New York, it’s always worth checking the latest happenings of the Public Art Fund which “curate and sponsor some of the most incredible public art installations in the city”, she says.

As an interior designer does McGovern have any tips in terms of how to achieve a luxe look on a limited budget?

“If funds are limited we always advise you to do your best to acquire a few key pieces of affordable art while focusing on low-cost furnishings that are not recognisably from any one manufacturer or company,” she says.

“Invest in a paint colour consultation with an expert while keeping the furniture design and fabrics to clean, minimal geometric lines, natural fibres and neutral colours.

“It’s not hard to find affordable original oil on canvas paintings, and juxtaposed with a series of art prints or giclees, this will help to create the overall feel of a more luxe interior that doesn’t have to feature expensive furniture design.”

Oh, and a Rhyme Studio rug in the mix might pull it all together, we think.

www.rhymestudio.com