upholstry
our dining chairs needed re-upholstering. we commissioned a friend, a talented designer and weaver, to make a textile for us. his idea was to weave a continuous piece of cloth that would yield six unique pieces when it was cut. he chose the color palette based on the art and objects in the room… things like the natural linen drapes,
a photograph by crystal liu
and a painting by stefan kürten:
he wove it on an eight-shaft floor loom.
for the warp he used a natural-color mercerized cotton (a finishing process that gives the fibers strength and sheen). the weft is wool from denmark that was minimally processed, leaving the natural lanolin in the wool (it improves the hand and durability of the yarn).
the pattern, a point twill, was inspired by hella jongerius’ textile “repeat.” the colors transition gradually and gracefully and light plays on the slight sheen of the fibers, making the texture advance or recede depending on time of day and your point of view.
the fabric took 24 hours to make… half of that measuring the yarn and setting up the loom.
without actually going through my cabinets (or maybe he did), he managed to make a textile that is gorgeous with a whole range of my very varied tableware…
when it was cut it became six different cushions.
and look what a great dinner party they make!
to see more of his artfully hand-crafted textiles, visit www.arbitertrade.com.
beautiful!
You are the best. What else do you have to show us?
Perfect and the best part is that it lays out differently on each chair.
Nina