Weeks 11 - 12

Upholstery fabric. How it is currently being done...

So having come to the decision that upholstery fabric is where i see my designs working best, i began to scour the market at present to see where i could fit in. This wasn't an easy task, as finding information on designers that sell work to be used for mass sale in the upholstery sector was nigh on impossible.

It is clear that i want to be a designer of woven fabrics, but it seems that the market for individuals to sell such fabrics is none existent.

Therefore, i began to look more so at the companies that sell such fabrics. I mentioned earlier Laura Ashley's work, similar to this is Textiles company JAB Anstoetz. Specialist in the sale of woven fabrics for the home interiors market, JAB sell their products to be used for a wide range of outputs. Founded in Germany, the company is now one of the leaders in fabric houses, and is renowned worldwide for providing the very best furnishing and decorative fabrics, curtains, carpets and wall coverings. JAB sell products to over 80 countries around the world.

Serving both UK and International clients, JAB is a company that i find inspirational and exciting to watch.

Images below taken from JAB's website.

 Above - JAB Anstoetz. London showroom. JAB Ltd. [Online images] [Assessed 15.12.2013] http://www.jab-uk.co.uk/en/about_jab/london_showroom/London-Showroom1.html

Week 10

Further developments / inspirations.

Three weeks into this weave 'block' and some samples are beginning to appear that could work for the upholstery market i was talking about previously.

Again although 50 percent wool based, the samples are starting to feel more rigid and tougher and hold the thickness qualities i have been desiring. Adding purely cotton yarns to the weft has enabled me to change the feel of the cloth. Initial samples were all created using wool wefts, which led to a very fluffy fabric, something that didn't fit in to what i was trying to achieve. This one simple change to the way i have been working has enabled the work to be pushed forward, leading to new ideas and possible extra warps that i could aim to make.

The samples are, as you can see, almost entirely white. The way in which i have threaded has enabled me to interchange from top to bottom cloth effortlessly. The majority of my patterning appears to the left hand side of the samples, as from my development works, i found that composition was best kept tight and restrained to merely one side.

Here are a selection of the samples, that for me, best show my concept. Urban shapes.

The colours are reflective of the work and developments done up to now, i plan to next move on to look at potentially creating a woven fabric with a white cotton brocade section. To try and replicate my card overlay work in a different, more challenging way.

Weeks 8 - 9

Looking into commercial fabrics and possible contexts for my work at this stage.

This week i have been reflecting back on my work so far. I want to hone down on where in the market my work fits. I have been exploring and researching into designers that work in the home furnishing/interiors/upholstery market.

As well as previously talked about Holly Berry and Annah Legg, whose work is more focused towards the soft furnishings market, i have wanted to look at the other end of the spectrum. I feel the samples i am creating at the moment would fit well into the soft furnishings market; cushions, soft woolen throws etc, but i feel my talent lies in the harder, denser samples that came about from the cotton double cloth made earlier in the project.

Currently (and thinking into the future) i am aiming to create samples that would be sold as a fabric the metre, in furnishings and upholstery stores. I would initially sell my design to the company, who would then be free to do with it as they wish.

Perhaps similar to Laura Ashley, Designers Guild and John Lewis. The high street market seems achievable at this point, but i remain open minded about where the work could fit as i move further on with my sampling.

With fabric being sold by the metre, Laura Ashely charge around £28-£40. This seems like a reasonable starting point and a figure of which i would be happy to charge at this stage.

Above - Laura Ashley. Sample swatches for upholstery. Laura Ashley LTD. [Online images] [assessed 17.10.2013] http://www.lauraashley.com/fabrics/upholstery-fabrics/icat/hfupholstery?esp_viewall=y

First selection of Wool / cotton double cloth samples.