Fabrics - Geometric Gems

Inspired by my visit to the V&A a couple of weeks ago (and that lovely kimono) I thought I would do a short post on geometric fabrics.  The definition of geometric is something which is characterised by or decorated with regular lines and shapes.  There are loads to choose from and here are some of my current favourites .......

The obvious place to start is Zoffany Kanoko which is a "meandering graphic zig zag motif inspired by a 1930's Japanese Shibori document from the Zoffany archive, once a kimono."

Zoffany Kanoko

Obvioiusly, I had to show the orange colourway but it also comes in 3 other colours.  It's part of the new Edo fabric collection which is a Japanese inspired collection of fabrics and wallpapers.

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I mentioned in my post about the V&A that Schumacher are really good for geometric fabrics, so I thought that was a good place to start.

Schumacher Betwixt

This is a weave, available in 16 fabulous colourways!
Schumacher - Betwixt

Schumacher Bukhara Ikat

I love an Ikat and, whilst not strictly a geometric, I had to include this - it's Schumacher Bukhara Ikat, a print on linen which comes in 5 colourways

This is another linen print which is also available in 5 colourways

  Schumacher Chain Link

Schumacher Chain Link

Schumacher Cordoba Embroidery

Geometrics don't have to be prints or linens - here is an embroidery (Cordoba Embroidery) which comes in an additional 2 colours.

Schumacher Kaleidescope

Here's another embroidery - Kaleidescope.  This colourway is Smoke and it also comes in Moonstone and Pearl.




This one is Luan Fretwork shown here in Sky, and also available in Porcelain Blue and Cane.

Schumacher Luan Fretwork

Schumacher Ming Fret

Here's another weave - Ming Fret which is available in a total of 6 colourways.

Schumacher Sarana Linen Embroidery

This is Sarana Linen Embroidery available in 3 colours. 

Schumacher Vail Chenille

Finally from Schumacher - Vail Chenille, which is available in 4 colours.











Schumacher are distributed in the UK via Turnell & Gigon - they have a showroom in Chelsea Harbour.  (http://www.turnellandgigongroup.com/)

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Another good source of geometric fabrics (and wallpapers) is American fabric company Thibaut (http://www.thibautdesign.com).  Helpfully, they separate them into separate collections on their website:

Thibaut Geometric Resource (Wallpapers)

Thibaut Geometric Resource 2 (Wallpapers)

Thibaut Woven 3: Geometrics (Fabrics)

Thibaut Woven 6: Geometrics (Fabrics)

Thibaut Woven 7: Companions (Fabrics)

Here are a few from the fabric collections...........

Thibaut Circuit

This is Thibaut Circuit, shown here in fuchsia and available in 10 colourways in total.

Thibaut Sumatra

On the right is Sumatra (available in 7 colours)

From Woven 6 is this weave called Maximillian (similar to Schumacher Betwixt above) - this is available in 6 colourways. 

Thibaut Maximillian

 This is Jelena from the same collection.  Available in 5 colours.

Thibaut Jelena

Thibaut has some great photography on their website too:

Check out their inspiration pages for more ideas.

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Kravet (distributed by GP&J Baker) are also good for geometrics. They also have lots of designers who have collections under the name of Kravet - designers such as:

Alexa Hampton

Barbara Barry

Calvin Klein

Check their website for a full list of the collections by other designers.  Here are some of my favourites .........

Kravet Peries

Kravet Torina

Kravet Fiscoe

First on my list from Kravet is Peries - this also comes in a lovely teal colour

Torina is from the Jonathan Adler Clarity Collection.  This comes in an additional 3 colours.

I love this - Fiscoe - which is by Thom Filicia and also comes in steel.










Desert Air is in the Michael Berman II Collection and comes in one other colourway.

Kravet Desert Air

Kravet Clef

I believe this is called Clef, but some Kravet fabrics in the UK just have a product number, rather than a name.  (The number for this one is 26380).  This comes in a further 6 colourways.

Another one with just a number is this one (33618) which comes in four colours in total.

Kravet 33618

This is an upholstery fabric from the Jonathan Adler Charade Collection and is called Cardin.  It comes in one other colourway.

Kravet Cardin

And finally, Fobes by Thom Filicia which I'm about to have made into cushions for the guest bedroom (in Tango).  Also available in one other colour.

Kravet Fobes

Notwithstanding my post about our kitchen chairs, I don't think I'm capable of writing a short post!  I could go on(!) but have probably written more than enough.  Other good sources of geometric fabrics are:

Romo - look at Ziani and Casson

Kirkby (distributed through Romo) - see Atom

Osborne & Little - Fantasque and Garnier

Designers Guild - Perrea, Borgholm and Pugin

GP&J Baker - Easton and Maughan

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't ignore the treasures on your own doorstep!

I've been lucky enough to while away many an hour at various museums and art galleries overseas such as the Uffizi in Florence, the Louvre in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York but I've missed the one which is the easiest of all to get to - the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. On Friday, a couple of friends and I spent a very enjoyable afternoon at the V&A after meeting up for lunch, but we barely scratched the surface!  A return visit is planned of course, but for now, here's a look at what we saw on Friday ........ 

The first thing which strikes you (apart from the beautiful building which goes without saying), is the fabulous Rotunda Chandelier hanging from the dome in the entrance.  It was created Chuhily in 2001 and is made from blown glass, mould-blown glass and steel.

OK, so this one has a filter on it from Instagram but it's pretty stunning!

Our first port of call was the East Asia Collection on Level 1, starting with China - plenty of things to see there but I was obviously so busy looking I didn't take any pics!  Suffice it to say, lots of artifacts, wonderful lacquered furniture and textiles.  Anyway, from there we went into Japan and the first thing that caught my eye was this stunning art sculpture by Japanese artist Ikuta Niyoko.  She uses thin sheets of plate glass and ultraviolet-reactive adhesive,  By positioning each sheet of glass a few degrees off its neighbour, she builds up fluidly rhythmic forms.  

Looks like you can see through it doesn't it, but if you look at the second photo you can see that actually it's solid!

Of course, in this section there were some wonderful Kimonos, a selection of which are shown below.....

Beautiful embroidery - must have been very heavy to wear!










This one in particular made me wonder how many soft furnishing fabrics and wallpapers have been inspired by the design and shibori technique used  ......

Quite amazing to think that this was made between 1800 and 1840.  

The beni dye from safflowers is still vibrant.

Here's one which bears some resemblance to the design of the kimono above .......





Japonica (Kravet)















Here's another  shibori style fabric - Schumacher Andromeda (Turnell & Gigon).  Available in different colourways.

I could quite easily digress here because Schumacher are great for geometric patterns (amongst other things of course!)

No exhibition of Japanese artefacts would be complete without a few Samuri Swords and suits of armour.  The costume below is in the haramaki style and is quite beautiful, considering its purpose.

The last thing to catch my eye in this section was a folding war fan - made from iron with silver and gold inlay (mica paper painted in colours).  This dates from about 1700!

On our way to another part of the museum (tapestries), we almost walked straight past this beautiful trunk.  It was quite difficult to get a good photo because of the reflection but hopefully you can just about make out the detail.

We had such a surprise when we walked into this area and saw this staircase from a large town house in Brittany.  It probably dates from between 1522 to 1530 and gave access to rooms on three floors at the front and rear.

Just to the left of the staircase were some casts of heads from Salisbury Cathedral.  The originals are still there and these were made during the restoration of 1885-6.  The information given states that each face is unique and that it is possible that the original sculptures were based on real people known to the artists who carved them.

Further round this section was this amazing facade from Sir Paul Pindar's House which dates to about 1600.  It's of oak construction and traces of paint can just be seen, though we struggled to see them. 

I love doors, particularly quirky ones and here are two for the price of one!  This door comes from a timber-framed house in Ipswich and dates from about 1500 - 30.

Still on our way to see the tapestries, we got sidetracked by some fabulous ironwork ......

This would look great in the garden!

This one is very clever - as my friend noticed, it's made from one continuous piece of wrought mild steel and apparently was intended by the artist as a free-standing room divider.

These elevator grilles (below) screened the lift shafts in the Chicago Stock Exchange Building.  

Still on the way to see the tapestries, we found ourselves on a walkway spanning the Cast Room. Although they're casts (and put together like a big jigsaw puzzle), the scale of this column is almost too big to take in!  The column on the left is the top half of the column sitting on the (huge!) plinth on the right. We didn't go down into the Cast Room and actually felt we could see more from being up high.

The other large exhibit which you can't help but notice is this one - it's a cast of the doors to the Baptistry of S. Giovanni in Florence (also known as the Porta del Paradiso or Gates of Paradise.  The actual doors were designed and made between 1425-1452 and were considered so beautiful that they were placed opposite the entrance to the Cathedral, replacing the doors which were originally designed for that position  (source - Victoria and Albert Museum).

On the right is a picture of the actual doors I took when we were in Florence last year.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Sadly, the Baptistry was closed for renovation when we were there so this was as close as we got. Maybe we will just have to go back!                                                                               

Along the walkway there were displays cases and we spotted this lovely little folding compass and dial in one of them - it dates from 1600-1700.
                                                                                                                  

We then popped into the Jewellery Exhibition but unfortunately there is no photography allowed in that section and we only had about 10 minutes in there as that level was closing for the day - needless to say, we never did make it to see the tapestries and have vowed to make a return visit!

Thanks for stopping by!