He opened Kroll Handwovens in 1936, which was later renamed Boris Kroll Fabrics. By 1949, Kroll's company was housed in a 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art factory that produced everything from fiber to finished fabric. There Kroll experimented with new processes, creating the first waterproof fabric in the mid-1940s. Later in his career, he created the first flame-retardant fabric. He also was the first to use the jacquard loom in new ways to weave large tapestries. In 1973 Kroll designed fabrics for Continental Airlines.
Kroll was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science in 1971. His fabrics and tapestries are exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, Michigan. His work was featured in a 1956 exhibit entitled Textiles USA at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and is currently being exhibited at the New York School of Interior Design.
Kroll's company ceased operations in March of 1991, and he died three months later.
Scalamandré, Inc., a company from which Jacqueline Kennedy obtained fabric for the White House, acquired the entire Boris Kroll archive in the early 1990s. In November the company will launch the Boris Kroll brand textile collection.
From nysid.edu, architectsandartisans.com and nytimes.com
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| Arthur Elrod coffee table with Kroll fabric under resin psmodernway.com |
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| A-4 1972 Tapestry liveauctioneers.com |
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| Tapestry 11-C 1970 treadwaygallery.com |
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| Boris Kroll Executive Collection interiordesign.net |
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| Confetti liveauctioneers.com |
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| Salinar nysid.edu |
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| Tanabata nysid.edu |
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| Yakima nysid.edu |
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| editoratlarge.com |
