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August 2009 Issue

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Features

Upholstery fabric design trends

Fashionable fabric designs can live within a challenging economy.
Refurbishing an antique Turkish chaise

A veteran antique upholsterer uses original materials and new methods to restore an 1867 Turkish chaise.
Health Savings Accounts for small businesses

What you need to know about Health Savings Accounts.

News

Four-fifths of consumers shop online for furniture

Online search engine Google has researched and reported that 81 percent of consumers indicate the internet is their top source of information for home furnishings.
Textile opportunities highlighted

Textiles Intelligence published an article by MarketResearch.com in February, 2009, describing forms of textile recycling and businesses making it work.
Sales increased in May

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that sales increased in May over April.
IFAI State-of-the-Industry 2009

In April 2009, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) released a digital version of its two-part State-of-the-Industry series, published in the February and March issues of Specialty Fabrics Review.
Global textile demand to increase

Analysts are expecting global textile demand to increase in the future.
Fabric sample room

The International Textile Market Association (ITMA) has debuted its Market Square Textile Sample Sale Room to allow year-round sales of fabric, leather and trimming.
Foamex sold

Polyurethane foam supplier Foamex Intl. has sold its assets to a pair of private equity firms for $155 million.
New green, antimicrobial technologies at Crypton

Crypton Fabrics is launching several new products and technologies for fabrics, bedding and carpeting.
Furniture donated to flood victims

Sauder Woodworking has donated furniture to victims recovering from last year's flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Repreve contracted for health care curtains

Repreve FR from Unifi has been selected by textile supplier Momentum Textiles for a line of health care privacy curtains.
Upholstery fabric design trends

Fashionable fabric designs can live within a challenging economy.

Products

Fabrics in a trendy color palette

The Horizons collection from Silver State Fabrics and Sunbrella combines clean, bold designs with an elegant color palette.
Simulated leathers

The Ultra Lifestyle Collection from Tri Vantage simulates leather fabric suitable for marine and outdoor use.
Faux animal hides

The Celebrity line of vinyls from Silver State Fabrics is inspired by high fashion runway trends. Patterns and textures include a basketweave, boa, python and leather and many colors are available.
Socially conscious handmade rugs

The Cadrys Florence Broadhurst handmade rug collection from Signature Prints is woven in Nepal using Tibetan Highland wool, silk, hemp, nettle and bamboo silk.
Eco-conscious printing capabilities

Rubie Green upholstery fabrics use eco-friendly printing methods and materials.
Runway-inspired fabrics

The latest Joe Ruggiero collection from Sunbrella includes contemporary patterns and color palettes.
3-D modeling software

TouchCAD 3-D modeling software converts complex three-dimensional models into drawings and cut files ready for production.

Projects

Refurbishing an antique Turkish chaise

A veteran antique upholsterer uses original materials and new methods to restore an 1867 Turkish chaise.
Repurposing chairs, fabric

An upholstery team recycles and reinvents discarded chairs and fabric scraps.
Dining hall seating created using CAD software

Round booths, straight banquettes and back cushions required vertical darts to eliminate wrinkles, creating a challenge in pattern matching.
Pattern-matched around curves of chair

This chair would have been a simple "fluff and puff" but the curves and the plaid made pattern matching difficult.
Design changed from T-cushion to square cushion

The arms were restyled without pillows.
Chair completely upcycled

The chair frame and upholstery was done from memory. Total price of materials was $15.
Design matches from seat to back

An experimental technique was used to upcycle the piece.
Turkish chairs revived

These chairs will be the centerpieces in an all Middle-Eastern decorated entertaining parlor.
Chair fits time period

This piece is approximately 100 years old and is used in business expos to showcase the upholsterer's workmanship.
Chair coordinates with client's decor

This piece coordinates with the client's sofa, done in the same fabric, and complements a wall of red-tone artwork.
Difficult pattern matched over entire piece

The pattern repeat was centered on the sofa instead of on the individual cushion sections.
Italian tufts created uniformly

A Capitonne, or Italian, tufting technique was used wherein each square of leather is individually cut and sewn together to create deep, luxurious tufting.
Attention to detail creates expert pattern-matching

Careful precision and attention to detail was required to achieve the pattern matching.
Historical methods revitalizes recamier

Historical methods with some modern materials were used to restore this circa-1855 antique rosewood recamier.
Leather tufting adds historical details

Two hides were used for this antique settee.
Eight-way hand-tied springs rejuvenates fainting couch

This Stickley-Brandt circa-1900 fainting couch has eight-way tied springs covered with burlap.
'63 Impala seats rebuilt

The seats in this 1963 Chevy Impala were stripped down to the metal.
'67 Camaro seats match vehicles paint job

These custom seats for a 1967 Chevy Camaro show car incorporate the vehicle's red paint.
Detailing hand-sewn, embossed on truck seats

The ram heads and lettering were sewn.
'38 Chevy shines with custom leather interior

This 1938 Chevy includes a custom leather interior.
Piano-inspired interior for '35 Chevy street rod

This vehicle's owner dedicated his life to playing piano and requested his 1935 Chevy street rod's interior to emulate his new piano.
Hand-cut basket weave door panels

These door panels were hand-formed in multiple sections to fit integrated lines.
Motorcycle seat extended, sculpted

This seat pan was extended five inches in the rear and two inches in the front with welded-in sheet metal.
"Snappy" faux alligator jazzes up footstools

Leather welts were glued into rabbets and each stool includes six hidden planetary casters.
Custom ice fishing house chairs

Cup holders were hand made, built into the frame and are removable.
Custom-created numbers on bench

This custom-designed bench used experimental techniques.
Sofa custom-built around turret

This three-piece sectional sofa and round tufted ottoman were built to fit into a turret-shaped room in a new Marin County, Calif., home.
Custom-created deep couch

The clients wanted a very deep couch and loveseat.