A Touching Moment

Recently I had the opportunity to pinch hit in the sampling process.  What a joy! I was instantly transported to that wonderful place where vision begins and creativity takes over.  Just the ability to feel the whole experience of each fabric is so transformative.

Insert photo of layout here. Woops, we lost it…you’ll have to use your imagination on this one.

My office is filled with fabric samples…some are small scraps of solids, others are about 10 inches square,  most are about ½ yard strips.

Receiving strips help with copywriting

These receiving strips help me when I write the copy for the mailers and the web store. It is enough fabric to identify colors, motifs, drape, and hand.

I never write the copy without a look at the full piece.  I take seriously the responsibility I have to be the “eyes” of my customers.

Pairing coordinates

The full view allows me to see what is not visible in a small strip of a print…the overall effect of the print. You will find words to that effect in my copy, but nothing can replace the benefits of a good photo…thanks Colleen! Look at the swatch in the middle of the box above.  The print paired with a solid purple is our viscose knit from France.  Now look at the photo below for the full impact.

Jagged--viscose jersey knit

What is harder to explain is the experience of handling the fabric. If you have a swatch of the fabric, you miss out on the full display of the print, but you win in that you can judge the hand of the sample.  I do my best with words like soft, creamy, crisp, substantial, etc. to help our customers understand the drape and we use “matilda” our resident model.

Watch the fall from the shoulders to judge the drape

It sounds like I’m making a case for shopping locally…well, in a way I am.  Wouldn’t all of us prefer to view the full piece in our own location, even at home if we could?  But this isn’t possible for most of our customers.  They rely on us and have come to trust us with that responsibility.

Here are two fabrications that I think look somewhat similar in the photos, but are very different fabrics.

Burnt Cork Close Up

Treebark-Close Up

The yarns in Burnt Cork, above, are thick and soft, woven with textural contrasting wide ribbon-like sections. The resulting weave is slightly loose making it ideal for less constructed jackets.

Treebark features a rustic tweed in tan and white alternating with fine yarns in sesame tan.  Separated  by thick earthy brown variegated yarns that are stitched together giving a rough hewn look to the stripe. Crisp with lots of surface interest, this stunning jacketing will work up in  structured top or suit.

Best Match Service

We are always available for questions.  We can match two fabrics that you’ve chosen and tell you if it works.  We can respond to questions about drape and applicability to a certain silhouette.  We can match thread, lining, interfacing, zippers and buttons.

We do our best to give you a virtual touching moment.