This is who I am.
Traci Roloff grew up on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan and moved to New England after college. Some of her favorite things are Finnish textiles, photography, northern coastal towns, good coffee, nordic crime dramas, baking shows, old (and new) houses, quirky films, and warm cat bellies. She lives with an architect in Portland, Maine.
After a 10-year career in corporate interior design and historic preservation, Traci co-founded a felt company called FilzFelt. The company sells German-milled wool felt and felt products and was acquired by Knoll (the iconic American furniture company) in 2012. Following the acquisition, she continued as Vice President of Marketing + Communications for the specialty brands of Spinneybeck and FilzFelt under MillerKnoll. While holding her integral role, Traci and the architect had an opportunity to purchase and renovate an old house in Maine and turn it into an Airbnb. The property was named The Bracy House (in honor of the family who brought it into being), and they welcomed guests from all over the world.
Three years after renovating The Bracy House, Traci and the architect designed a tiny black cottage on the property called The Bracy Cottage, where they resided for three years. In 2022, the pair sold the property and moved to Portland, Maine. They recently purchased a nineteenth-century rowhouse and are in the process of its restoration and renovation. And because she’s got more in her, Traci left FilzFelt in 2023 and has a new career chapter in the works!
This is what I've done.
Following a career in corporate interior design and historic preservation, Traci Roloff founded FilzFelt in Boston, Massachusetts with like-minded designer Kelly Harris Smith. FilzFelt imports 100% Wool Design Felt from Germany and retails yardage, high-performing acoustic & architectural products, and provides custom fabrication services to the trade and end user. In December 2011, Knoll acquired FilzFelt through their subsidiary, Spinneybeck; however, Traci remained an integral member as Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Spinneybeck | FilzFelt until her departure in 2023.
In 2017, Traci founded The Bracy House, a vacation rental in Cape Neddick, Maine. With her architect husband, Adam Yothers, the historic house built in 1890 by the Bracy family was completely renovated and reconfigured into two two-bedroom, two-bathroom vacation rental units. The decidedly contemporary interiors provided a unique hospitality experience in southern Maine. In 2019, the pair built a contemporary black caretaker’s cottage. The Bracy Cottage (as it was endearingly referred to) was featured in the Jan/Feb 2021 issue of Maine magazine.
Experience
Co-Founder &
Vice President of Marketing + Communications
FilzFelt
Boston, Massachusetts /
Getzville, New York
Jul 2008 – Sep 2023
Vice President of Marketing + Communications
Spinneybeck for MillerKnoll
Getzville, New York
Sep 2013 – Sep 2023
Founder & Co-Designer
The Bracy House
Cape Neddick, Maine
Dec 2015 – Jul 2022
Co-Designer
The Bracy Cottage
Cape Neddick, Maine
Oct 2018 – Jul 2019
Interior Designer
PH Partners
Boston, Massachusetts
Sep 2005 – Apr 2008
Interior / Preservation Designer
CBT Architects
Boston, Massachusetts
Sep 1997 – May 2002
Jan 2005 – Sep 2005
Interior Designer
Shepley Bulfinch
Boston, Massachusetts
Feb 2004 – Jan 2005
Architectural Conservator
Building Conservation Associates
Dedham, Massachusetts
Sep 2002 – Feb 2004
US/ICOMOS Summer Intern
Pamiatkovy Ustav
(Institute of Monuments)
Banská Stiavnica, Slovakia
May 2002 – Aug 2002
Education
M.A. Preservation Studies
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
May 2004
B.S. Environment, Textiles, & Design
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
May 1997
Preservation Certificate, Historic Preservation and Conservation
Preservation Institute: Nantucket
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Aug 1997
Volunteering
Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland
Portland, Maine
Sep 2023 – Present
Mills Gallery at Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, Massachusetts
Apr 2006 – Oct 2009
Press
Maine Magazine, Jan/Feb 2021
”New Life: An architect and a felt company founder revitalize a rundown property in Cape Neddick”
Read article ⟶
Boston Globe, Jan 2009
”The oldest textile, new again”
Read article ⟶