Laitman

"Nobody believed in it, really, at the very onset," says Ms. Laitman of the museum's home at Columbus Circle.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

I like objects more than paintings on the walls, says Ms. Laitman.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

More than the building, though, the Museum of Arts and Design has "given great credibility to the artists that were considered second tier up until now," says Ms. Laitman.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

Ms. Laitman amassed her own collection during those trips—furniture and ceramics—and those pieces are all neatly displayed in her New York home alongside the, colorful modern needlepoint that Ms. Laitman has created for 50 years.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

Laitman "You know how things start in one direction and then suddenly they take on another direction?" says Ms. Laitman, 86 years old.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

But Ms. Laitman was there during those contentious years, quietly working behind the scenes to help fund and guide the museum to its new home.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

Recovery housing on its New Brunswick campus will be able to accommodate 25 students this fall, while its Newark campus has space for eight, says Lisa Laitman, director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program for Students at Rutgers.

Schools set up resources for students in recovery 2011

Recovery housing on its New Brunswick campus will be able to accommodate 25 students this fall, while its Newark campus has space for eight, says Lisa Laitman, director of the Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program for Students at Rutgers.

Schools set up resources for students in recovery 2011

The journey for Ms. Laitman has led to being among the largest benefactors to the museum.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011

Laitman says that her love of crafts has followed a long path leading up to the establishment of the Museum of Arts and Design.

Crafts Museum Gets Benefactor Melanie Grayce West 2011