FilzFelt

Traci Roloff, on a little street in the South End of Boston. Kelly had discovered German felt when, while working as an intern architect, she began making laptop bags for coworkers and design-savvy friends. She fell in love with wool felt immediately: it was modern, durable, and vegetarian. She founded Etcetera Media in 2005, manufacturing a line of home goods and personal accessories made from this magical material. Meanwhile across town, Traci worked in corporate interior design and historic preservation but had the itch to strike out on her own. She and Kelly met through a fortuitous t-shirt transaction on Etsy.com and soon an opportunity arose to import and distribute the felt that Kelly had worked with for years. With a few thousand dollars and a very cozy 100-square-foot studio space, Kelly and Traci began their business. Their mission: to bring this previously difficult-to-source material to the masses, specifically the design community. They wore many hats along the way, doing everything from hand cutting samples to receiving shipments to being the customer service department. Kelly and Traci continued to work part-time at other design offices in order to sustain FilzFelt, until 2011 when Knoll, Inc. + Spinneybeck acquired the company. Since then, the business has grown by leaps and bounds. Kelly and Traci continue to maintain integral directorial roles at FilzFelt and are still very much felt sellers at heart. Having come from design backgrounds, they have the knowledge and experience to work with architects, designers, and contractors to provide innovative solutions to common (and uncommon) design challenges.