Get to Know twenty2 Wallpaper + Textiles

twenty2 founders and owners Kyra and Robertson Hartnett.

A quality-control check for textile company Radish Moon, one of twenty2’s manufacturing partners.

Artist Rebecca Atwood’s designs are printed by twenty2.

Compared to traditional screen printing, where different colors of a pattern are applied—often by hand—to a surface via a series of screens, digital printing allows for multiple colors to be applied at once. Seen here: a suzani-inspired pattern by St. Frank.

The designers review patterns by artist Kelly Ventura.

The twenty2 team holds textile standards to the highest caliber.

Designs in the works by textile company Virginia Kraft, another one of twenty2’s collaborators.

You might not immediately recognize the company known as twenty2 Wallpaper + Textiles, but chances are you’ve seen its eye-catching wares adorning some of the chicest houses, hotels, and boutiques. The Bantam-based brand has become a go-to source for design cognoscenti looking to expand their ethos into signature collections of textiles and wallcoverings.

“We initially started as a multidisciplinary design firm,” says cofounder Kyra Hartnett, who created twenty2 with her husband, Robertson Hartnett, in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York. “We were doing branding, graphic design, and commercial and residential interior design.” (Regarding the company’s name,
twenty-two is Robertson’s lucky number, and the couple met when they were both twenty-two years old.)

From the start, the Hartnetts were interested in wall treatments and how they can change a space and tell a story. They quickly realized, however, that wallpaper had fallen out of favor. But that didn’t deter the duo. “We forecasted that there would be a resurgence of layered personalization,” says Kyra. “We started exploring how our design vernacular would work in the world of wallpaper.”

In 2003, Kyra and Robertson debuted their first wallpaper collection. Ten years and numerous accolades later, twenty2 established an in-house printing division and became a private label manufacturer. In 2020, with the introduction of its digital textile printing division, the company had grown into a full-service private label design and print studio for both wallpapers and textiles.

Located on the banks of the Bantam River—but soon to expand to an even bigger facility in Naugatuck—twenty2 is now a fifty-plus person company that helps designers realize their fabric and wallpaper dreams using the most sophisticated technology. Over time, they’ve collaborated with some names you might recognize, including Kelly Wearstler, Caitlin McGauley, Sarah Von Dreele, and Rebecca Atwood.

A certain set of core values has helped the company grow over the past two decades. Regardless of the collaborator, for instance, little ever goes to waste.

“All of the materials that we print on are either recyclable or biodegradable,” says Robertson. Kyra adds: “One of our traits is innovation, whether it’s in our systems or our workflows or the way we relate as a team, and certainly expanding our technology. It’s constant evolution and striving to be at the leading edge.”

twenty2 Wallpaper + Textiles, Bantam, twenty2.net