Living Color

Allison Eden Brings Mosaics To Life

Do you remember the moment in The Wizard of Oz when the world turns from black and white to Technicolor? Working with artist Allison Eden at Allison Eden Studios is the same experience, moving from a muted palette to a vibrant, magical world. Eden’s handmade glass and stone mosaic tiles and wall paper decorously bring homes to life. 

Of the inspiration for her thirty-year journey, Eden says, “I was studying fashion at FIT, and I walked by a store that had glass. I walked in and asked what do you do with this? I had no idea what tile was, I was making dresses. I fell in love with this medium, and also, I had always loved interior design.” She began by making a few sample mosaics and putting them by the copy machine where she worked at Nautica, sneaking in a side hustle to a captive audience, asking people who stopped by if they were looking to redecorate or renovate their homes.

What she lacked in formal training and support she made up for in sheer bravado. She took out ads in the yellow pages for anything she could think of: architect, interior designer, tile contractor. When she received a call about installing a commercial tile floor at a Burger King with a Brazilian wave in it which was needed in three weeks, she responded, “You’ve come to the right place.” She rented a car, drove to Home Depot and got a video on how to tile a floor. Not only did she successfully complete the project, she had free burgers for life.

Eden’s tiles adorn everything from kitchens to bathrooms to walls, and she has a loyal clientele of Hamptons homeowners. She comments, “Why do just a white brick wall when you can have something magnificent. Every wall is a canvas I want to cover. We specialize in fun, happy collections.”

Her creations can be found everywhere from casinos in Las Vegas like The Wynn, Mirage and Cosmopolitan to high end retail locations like Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman. She was even hand-picked as the artist to redo the beloved Serendipity 3 in Manhattan, recreating the entire interior. “They saw my vision and let me go with it. It turned out beyond my wildest dreams.” (Wonder if that comes with free frozen hot chocolate for life?)

No custom project is too large for Eden. In the Hamptons with some of the most luxurious homes in the world, clients want something unique and show stopping. “I had one owner of a 30,000 square foot home on Shinnecock Bay. He wanted me to do the interior,” she recounts. In a four-story entryway she created a huge mosaic of the moon sparkling over the bay. This was set to show above the backdrop of the actual bay, seen from the entry gates. 

Coming to her studio in Brooklyn is a real joy for Eden’s clients who get to bring their visions to her playground. It is her pride to be one of the last places that manufacture tiles by hand and also employs a host of local artisans.

Eden believes in taking inspiration from the world around her, eschewing scrolling social media on her phone to looking up at the people on the subway and fashion and nature. When she needs to recharge her batteries, she spends summers on a boat in East Hampton with her family. “It’s the most relaxing, soothing spot,” she says, “There’s nothing like waking up on the water.”

Eden shares her enthusiasm with others, even offering virtual training sessions. “If you love something and you believe in it, don’t give up.”