Emily Malino papers

Emily Malino was a contract and residential interior designer, design consultant, and national lecturer--an unapolgetically dynamic and boundlessly creative woman working in the mid-to-late 20th century, in what at the time was more of a man's world. Upon graduatation from Vassar College in the mid 1940s with a degree in Economics, she founded a window display and decorating company in New York City called Paper Display with a few of her former classmates, all women. The company focused on using paper mache, sculptural and hand-painted elements in their display designs. After a number of years designing interiors for model apartments and hospitals, in 1956, Malino established her interior design firm, Emily Malino Associates--early projects focused on bringing good design to low-income housing and accessible design solutions for the average American on a budget. She married U.S. Congressman to the Bronx Jim Scheuer (who she met while studying at Fieldston), and was the mother of four; for decades she and Scheuer commuted between New York and Washington D.C. Over her prolific career she designed urban housing, hospital wards and facilities, schools, state and federal institutional buildings, residential interiors, and commercial interiors. She also consulted for Monsanto, Dupont and Sears Roebuck and Co., giving lectures and conducting workshops across the US. Her approach to design was without fail democratic--always with a passion for working on a tight budget and coming up with simple solutions to everyday problems. For over 25 years she wrote a weekly column, "Design for People", that was nationally syndicated in newspapers such as the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune; with this platform, she brought clever, modern design to every home across America.

Other highlights of her career include her book, "Super Living Rooms" (Random House, 1976); multiple pilots and pitches for Mediavision and other corporations suggesting TV and radio series about various interior design topics; time spent as a member of President Richard Nixon's National Design Counsel and Federal Design Assembly (she traveled to Moscow on behalf of the federal government to help design an "American" art collection there); years as Vice-President of Interiors at Perkins and Will's eastern offices and affiliated with HOK architects, and lectures to groups, schools and at conferences across North America, among many other achievements. Malino's biography while VP at Perkins and Will highlights that she was "particularly interested new uses of color and the promotion of good design. Training in economics and a strong sense of civic duty have evolved a Malino philosophy based on a belief in the importance of saving what was good in the past and creating new designs that strive for aesthetic distinction while meeting functional, maintenance and budgetary requirements." She was a multi-talented, socially conscious voice for cost-effective innovation across the design industry, whose work is still relevant and deserves greater recognition than it receives.

Career timeline:

1925: Emily Malino born in NYC

Attends Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx, where she meets James Scheuer 1945/46: Graduates from Vassar College with a Bachelors of Art in Economics

1946: Founds Paper Display Inc. in NYC at 56-62 Cooper Square, with funding from family and friends

1948: Marries James H. Scheuer; takes a year off from work

1949-50: Works with Richard V. Hare, Malino's former set design professor at Vassar.

1950: Works on model apartments for NY builder--gets contract to design interiors at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.

Wins "Institutions" magazine award; established as hospital/healthcare designer 1955-56: Columbia University, School of Architecture, courses in construction

1956: Malino establishes her own firm, Emily Malino Associates, on Madison Ave New York, NY

1959: Malino runs for office as District Leader in Chelsea, NY; loses

1963: Lectures: "Interior Design in Transition", "Ideas for Interiors", "Wallpaper in Hotel Renovation", "Vinyl Wall Coverings", "Color in Contract Design"

1963-64: Color consultant for the University Construction Fund of New York

1964: James Scheuer elected to US House of Representatives; family moves to Washington DC (business stays in NYC)

Bridgeport Hospital Auxiliary lecture, "The relationship of institutional and residential design"

1964-65: Project: Capitol Park Apartments

1965: Lectures: "New Ideas for Decorating: How to use patterns effectively"

1966: Lectures: Western Home Furnishings Mart, "The Future of the Home Fashions Industry"; "Designing for Hospitals"

1967: Interiors article: Pediatric hospital designed by Emily Malino

1968: Lectures: "Art, it's impact on our environment" (BMA); "Flair and Folly in Decorating"

1969- : Consults for Monsanto, including designing show houses and lecturing around the country

1970-84: Writes weekly column "Design for People"; published in The Washington Post and syndicated throughout the country

1971: On design team for Spaso House, Leningrad. Takes research trip to Russia

A.I.D./N.S.I.D. symposium lecture, "Man and His Shelter: accomodating individual needs" Project: Prototype hospital room Lecture: "The Role of Graphics and Color in Elementary Education" for the General Learning Corporation 1971-74: Sears "Decorating clinics" and design workshops, presented at various locations across the US

1971-72: Project for Sears: Inner City School Design curriculum

1972: Project: Georgetown University Law Center

1972-73: First Federal Design Assembly (for President Richard Nixon)

1973: Project: Bank Street College

1974: Contributed to two Sears publications (binders): "How to Decorate Your Home, advanced classes" and "Advanced Interior Decorating School"

Proposes 13-part TV series "Home Decor" to Mediavision; finally rejected in 1978 Conference keynote: "Designing for Education: flexible interior systems and furnishings for educational programs", Council of Educational Facility Planners Project: Redesign of Capital Park Apartments 1975-78: Series of lectures at the Smithsonian, one given in 1975 was "Giants of Contemporary Interior Design", "Designing for Chiildren" in 1977

1976: "Super Living Rooms" is published by Random House

Project: DC Bicentennial Headquarters Project: Maldon Government Center 1977: A.S.I.D. lecture, "Architecture and Interior Design"

Project: Heart House 1978: Joins Perkins and Will as vice-president of interior design services for New York and DC offices. Projects include: American College of Cardiology, headquarters and continuing education center Wilmington Medical Center's replacement hospital Keller Army Replacement Hospital Fairfax Hospital Montefiore-Beth Abraham Hospital Montgomery General Hospital New York Hospital Pediatric Outpatient Clinic Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital Hospital for Special Surgery Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

Lecture at I.F.I. Conference: "The Interior Design of Government Hospitals and Health Facilities"

National Endowment for the Arts, panelist and consultant for Architecture, Design and Planning Programs 1980: Lectures: "How Hospitals Work with Designers", "How I Work at Perkins and Will", "Design and Function"

1981: NY AIA chaper Lecture: "Harmony in Healthcare Design"

1983-85: Project: Condominio El Monte

1984: Consulting designer on Time Life book series, "Your Home" (unclear if it was ever published)

1988: ASID Washington Metropolitan Chapter 1988 Designer of Distinction award (accompanying speech in archives)

1989?: Works with HOK Architects

2001: Graduates George Washington University, Masters of Art in American Literature

Professional affilitations and other: Member of ASID Vice President of the Architectural League Treasurer and Program Chairman of National Home Fashion League Co-Chairman of the A.S.I.D. Committees on Trade Relations and Education Member of the Color Marketing Group Member of the Federal Design Task Force through NEA (National Endowment of the Arts), and consultant/panelist for their Division of Architecture, Planning and Design Fellow at Aspen International Design Conference Consultant to: University Construction Fund of NY (on color) Monsanto Textile Division (1969-?) The General Learning Corp. NYC Time-Life Books Sears Roebuck and Co. (circa 1971 - 1975)

Awards: "Institutions Magazine" annual award for excellence in interior design, received 7 consecutive years and including special awards in health-related institutions.

Burlington Award for Outstanding Design in Non-residential Interiors