ABOUT KAREN

Karen is an artist of unusual versatility. Her skills run the gamut from fashion design to interior design and the graphic arts.

She began her professional life as an apparel designer, winning a national competition while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, for the design of the U.S. Olympics parade uniforms. The uniforms were proudly worn by our U.S. Olympics team at the traditional opening ceremonies in Grenoble, France.

After earning a BFA from RISD, Karen was awarded the Textron Fellowship. She was invited to apprentice two well known European designers: Irene Galitzine in Milan and Alberto Fabiani in Rome. She opted to spend a year in Rome, Italy, apprenticing haute couture designer Alberto Fabiani.

Since then she has been the recipient of many prestigious industry awards, including the DuPont Award for Design Excellence for menswear, as well as women's sportswear, and the Sylvia De Gay Award.

After returning to New York she designed sportswear for B.H.Wragge, Bill Atkinson, White Stag, Crazy Horse, and Bill Tice.

During these years, Karen, and her sister, Joan, worked separately in parallel fields. The notion of working together one day was a dream they shared.

An opportunity finally presented itself, and the two designing sisters were able to collaborate on collections of printed fabrics, bedding ensembles, rugs, accessories, dinnerware, wallcoverings, paper products, paper tabletop, giftwraps, stationery, and greeting cards, which were designed and licensed to major companies in their respective industries.

The collaboration proved to be a successful one. Karen and Joan Saloomey infused the home furnishings industry with their unique whimsy. They were the recipients of many major industry awards.

Karen thrived on the exhilarating challenges of her long design career. She is now looking forward with great enthusiasm to a new chapter, devoted to the Fine Arts, and the freedom to explore with abandon wherever her imagination takes her.