Textile Swatches

Les Toiles du Soleil

In NYC now is the first U.S. outpost of the French Catalan company- 'Les Toiles du Soleil' which means 'Cloth of the Sun'. Consists of bright, colorful primarily cotton stripes. Fabric by the yard and accessories- including pillows, aprons, tote bags, etc. Also espadrilles- which is how the company started 150 years ago!

                               261 W. 19th street, NYC

                                                                                                           

MERCI a new deco shop in Paris

1500 m2 of ideas and good intentions : terrific boutique "MERCI", a new address which provides inspiration for fashion and design addicts... Stocks furniture, fashion and other home design items donated by designers. Customers can fill their own bottles of perfume by Annick Goutal or have a coffee while browsing the used-books in the cafe.

A former factory in the Marais houses this charitable retail store. This timely concept is the brainchild  of Marie-France Cohen, director of famed chic, children's brand 'Bonpoint'.

It provides 'guilt free' shopping... All profits after deducting production costs go to a children's charity in Madagascar

Please give us feedback if you've been there !

MERCI, 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris 3eme

T. 01.42.77.00.33 

*photos courtesy flickr

Back to the Blog!

So here I am!

I've been away traveling... To India for product development and Paris for inspiration.

But I'm back in Boston now and back to Textile Swatches! I will be sharing images and profiles from my trip over the next few posts.

Here are some of my favorite color inspiration images..

 

Riedizioni: Luisa Cevese

One of my favorite possessions are bags made by Milan- based, Luisa Cevese- produced using textile waste from industrial textile production. When Ms. Cevese worked as research director for a silk mill in Como, Italy, she was shocked by the quantity of waste generated. Through her company 'Riedizioni', founded in 1994, she collects these scraps, arranges them by hand in a flat composition and encases them in plastic sheets to create a composite material that is durable and visually intriguing. This 'fabric' is then made into accessory products including- bags, placemats, floormats, etc. These can be purchased through the MoMa design store and select retailers and online stores.

She also did a collection of textiles called 'Ply' for textile company Maharam. It features interlocking yarns (jute, chenile & tweed) encased between layers of polyurethane.

ECOPRINT: India Flint

                          

The Ecoprint is a water-based printing process using relatively small amounts of plant material as compared to traditional dye methods.

India Flint, a Melbourne native, who is settled on a small family farm in South Australia, devised this method by applying vegetable color to cloth using small amounts of plant material in a recycled dye-bath. All of the vegetation comes from her farm, while the cloth is woven from the wool of her own flock of sheep.

The result is an eco chic look of luxurious tie-dye and one can notice the imprint and patterns of the leaves and plants used. She creates a collection of clothing and commissioned textiles from her Ecoprints.

To keep an ecological balance, she plants a tree in Hope Springs for each item she sells!

ALETA artisan fabrics for Interior Design

Aleta Bartel-Orton, a Canadian living in London, founded her fabric company Aleta in 2003. She is best known for specializing in fabrics inspired by the decorative arts of 17th century Mughal India, from the finest reproductions of ancient textiles to contemporary reinterpretations of classic motifs. The 'Aleta' line consists of 100% natural fiber fabrics- cottons and linens and is manufactured in England. 

                        

                                                

In addition she distributes the renowned block printed floral textiles of Brigitte Singh and she has a specialty paint collection with bespoke paint company- Francesca's Paint. The colors coordinate with Aleta's fabric collection. Colors such as Mughal Spring, Indian Summer and Monsoon Rains.