Fabric is where design begins. The patterns, colors and textures allow the spaces to emerge with lush, decorative form. For Rockville Interiors, fabric weaves through a community and establishes shared ground.
Rockville Interiors began weaving those communal threads in 1971, shortly after Tom Fulop, the founder, emigrated to the states from Hungary. Fulop began modestly, going door to door to create handcrafted plastic slipcovers for neighbors in the community. Eventually, Fulop’s exquisite craftsmanship evolved to fit his neighbors’ needs, and, from there, he began working with the reupholstery of furniture and crafting everything from pillows to headboards. “It’s a true American success story,” says Ilan Fulop, Fulop’s son and co-principal of Rockville Interiors, “and it’s amazing how deeply embedded we are within the community.”
Now, after 50 years of craftsmanship, Rockville Interiors operates multiple workrooms around Maryland, where a team of dedicated artisans pair state-of-the-art technology with Tom Fulop’s classic fabrication techniques. By combining new approaches with tradition, Rockville Interiors can weave a client’s decorative vision into a reality. “Our interior designers help clients imagine the product, our workrooms bring the design to life, and our technicians oversee the installation,” says Ilan Fulop. “To make sure everything is seamless, we have the in-house capability to work closely with architects and builders so that a home is constructed around our project.”
And it’s this practice of maintaining traditions while looking to the future that has made Rockville Interiors an industry leader for half a century. The popularity of their handcrafted custom pillows, for example, has compelled Ilan to digitize the design and ordering process. The company’s website, PillowPunk.com, gives customers the chance to send in their own fabric and receive high-quality pillows days later. “The service has been so popular among interior designers that we decided to make the process available on a national scale,” Ilan says. “Designers can send us their fabric, design their pillow with specific trim and border information, and our tailors then make and ship the pillows within five days.”
So, yes, even when the design is digital, the fabrication is crafted by hand. “What I care about,” Ilan says, “is taking care of our customers and crafting a gorgeous product that lasts forever. The hand-crafted fabrication reveals human effort, and in that effort, there’s beauty in each thread.” The genesis of Rockville Interiors is fabric—reupholstery, drapery, pillows, blinds, shades—and that genesis has made its way from Hungary into countless local homes. “When I go out to a restaurant, I sometimes end up running into a customer,” Ilan says. “I always stop to talk to them. It’s amazing how many people you meet—the network of families you connect with.” Life is a series of connections, woven together. For the Fulop family, it’s even a way to bring beauty into our homes.
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