The Remix; Fiber Optics
By ALEXANDRA ZISSU

Architects don't often become weavers. But Jorge Lizarazo did just that when he founded de Rhodes Hechizoo, a Colombian textile company, with the weaver Mónica de Rhodes. ''Jorge sees his textiles as his buildings, only in different materials,'' says Cristina Grajales, a decorative-arts consultant who is their New York representative. The two have been using a combination of natural materials to create carpets, fabrics and panels since 2002. Cumare, agave, yare reed and fique, a hand-hewn, biodegradable fiber from the Andes, are woven by Bogotá artisans with tin, glass, aluminum and nonharmful copper. The result is decidedly modern. Metal panels that can be fashioned as wallcoverings, table mats or room dividers are their most experimental offering. Grajales uses agave panels as curtains; they create unusual light. ''You have transparency and opacity,'' she says. ''There's a very warm feeling.'' ALEXANDRA ZISSU