Lenzing Group joins Hong Kong's TextileGenesis platform to embark on blockchain technology

Increasingly in the world of fashion, consumers are regarding transparency as a major focus when we talk about sustainable development, and are looking to obtain information such as source of the materials being used from hangtags and labels. 
Bearing in mind that in terms of transparency, the first level of information plays an important role for the consumer when they are evaluating the value for money of their purchase.

The Lenzing Group, Austria-based world market leader in specialty fibres made from renewable material wood, announced at the Premiere Vision Paris trade fair this autumn (Septmber 2019) that it will use blockchain technology to support its TENCEL ™ branded fibre business as a means to strengthen its leading position in sustainability in the textile industry, and has selected to join
the platform of the Hong Kong based technology company TextileGenesis ™ to accomplish this ambition.  TextileGenesis use digital  Fibrecoins ™  and its CEO and Founder is Amit Gautam, who was previously executive vice president for the global textile business at Lenzing and board director of Lenzing China.
TextileGenesis ™ technology is built on a fiber-forwards approach to create real-time transparency across all five-tiers of textile supply chain for sustainable & premium fibers.  

Andreas Dorner, 

Lenzing's Commercial Textile Director Europe & Americas

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Lenzing’s Andreas Dorner, Commercial Textile Director Europe & Americas, said consumers increasingly want to understand the ingredients and suppliers of the products they buy, requesting a new level of transparency and traceability.  

The supply chain transparency from wood to garment and home textiles will enable all of its customers and partners to identify its TENCEL fibres and the respective wood source in each production and distribution step, thanks to a QR code on the final garment.

The first pilot was presented at a Fashion Summit held in Hong Kong in September 2019. Another pilot partner is WWF.  Lenzing expects the platform to be fully operational by 2020.

Ultra-sustainable Paints inspired by Birds, Blooms and Bedrock unveiled by Lorna Syson

As we become increasingly concerned about what impact decorative materials we choose for our homes can have on our environment, we welcome news of carbon neutral paints that appeal to environmentally-conscious interior designers, decorators, contractors and consumers.


Just announced this autumn is textile designer Lorna Syson's newly launched paint palettes - namely Birds, Blooms and Bedrock - her first collaboration with paint company Graphenstone, a manufacturer of ultra-sustainable paint based in Norfolk, UK.  

The carbon dioxide absorbing, energy saving durable paints are derived from raw natural mineral limestone.  The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paint.


Derived from raw natural mineral limestone, graphenstone paints are carbon neutral as the paints cure over their lifetime, each square metre absorbs 120 grams of carbon dioxide from the local environment.


The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage of the paints by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paints.  These qualities result in significant savings in materials consumption, maintenance, manpower, time-to-completion and overall costs.


The Graphenstone by Lorna Syson palettes feature exclusive colours mixed to Lorna's specifications at Graphenstone's new factory in Norfolk, UK.  They are consistent with the ecological themes of Lorna's designs and offer the perfect setting for her fabrics and housewares.

Paint in Coral on wall from Graphenstone by Lorna Syson forms a

formidable setting for Lorna Syson's Hummingbird fabrics and

homewares created in collaboration with the 

Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) charity.

The Birds palette includes the colours Cockatoo, Heron and Kingfisher.  The Blooms palette feature Cotton, Iris, Meadow and Silver Brunia; while the Bedrock palette is composed of Chalk, Coral, Jade and Zinc.  


"Lorna's direction has enabled us to produce unique colours that represent the simplified beauty of the British outdoors.  She pulled through a couple of neutrals as base colours for Graphenstone by Lorna Syson, but she has also highlighted the pinks and greens in the palettes, drawing out the coral, teal and mint which are trending for 2019/2020," said Graphenstone's UK Managing Director, Patrick Folkes.

Hello Birdie - Lorna Syson's new autumn range teaming up with RSPB

British textile designer Lorna Syson is known for her contemporary bird motifs as an integral part of her signature design style.  Her inspirational take on the British countryside and her ability to bring out the beauty of nature has made her prints for wallpaper and designs for home soft furnishing ever popular, and her new autumn range brings focus on two typical birds popular both in the UK and other parts of the world..


At the Top Drawer and Decorex International trade fairs held at London’s Olympia in Kensington in September and October respectively, Lorna Syson announced she is celebrating 10 years in business this autumn with a collaboration with the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) to create a new collection inspired by her favourite birds and their habitats.  

The two new fabric patterns feature two favourite British birds, the long tailed tits and hummingbirds, well chosen to celebrate the important work the RSPB do protecting birds here and abroad.  
The Blossom & Bird design shown above, in classic tones of navy, grey and soft pink, features pretty long-tailed Tits perching on English cherry blossoms.  
For the Hummingbird design below, Lorna has chosen vivid tones of teal and mint as a backdrop for her majestic hummingbirds hovering amongst honeysuckle.

The range includes curtains, furnishing fabrics, cushions and lampshades.  Made in cotton, all fabric is made and digitally printed in the UK.  The items will be available from RSPB stores and website, and from Lorna Syson's website, and 10% of sales will go to the charity.

Long-tailed Tits and Hummingbirds are popular species both here and abroad and Lorna's work with the RSPB help to raise awareness of the RSPB's work in the UK and around the world, where they run conservation projects across Africa and Asia.  

Floral Portaits by Joanna Ham project emotions and personalities.

It is fascinating to see how flowers continue to sow the seeds of inspiration for designers and artists and how they can reinvent the well-loved patterns we see in gardens and the wild and represent them in fresh approaches, giving them personalities.

Joanna Ham's Floral Portraits exhibited at Decorex in London, October 6 - 9 2019.  Her chosen subjects are placed on a pedestal and often bathed in light, separating them from reality and creating a sense of fantasy.

Above left, Coy and right, Surprise. 

Photos taken at Decorex by Lucia Carpio.

One British artist who uses photogram and mixed media to create her series of Floral Portraits is Joanna Ham, who exhibited her unique artwork at the Decorex International  trade fair for interior design professionals in London's Olympia this October.
  
Admirers are captivated by the way she captures and expresses the power of human sentiment through flowers in these portraits which are intricate botanical studies that Joanna manipulates and redraw to depict more than just their form.

Each floral portrait created by Joanna Ham projects emotions and personalities.   

Joanna explains that she draws inspiration from various sources, and has long been fascinated by the psychology behind the giving of flowers, and the act itself has become symbolic and a culturally-accepted expression of shared, frequently unspoken feeling, and this became a starting point for many of the prints in the floral collection which is a visual nod to the Dutch still-life movement.  

Her process in creating these portraits is unique, mixing traditional and contemporary techniques, always through a monochrome lens.  She photographs hundreds of flowers to find one that unlocks an idea, and then sets to work redrawing, editing and digitally manipulating to create an entirely new form.  Once complete, the image is transferred to silk screen and the final print is pulled by hand.

Each chosen subject is placed on a pedestal and often bathed in light, separating them from reality and creating a sense of fantasy.  Each floral portrait indeed projects emotions and personalities even.  

Joanna gained a BA in Fine Art with a specialism in anatomy at The Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University.  She has exhibited with Liberty London, The Other Art Fair, London Design Festival, Billy Name, The Serena Morton Gallery and Modern Art Oxford.

In 2016, her work was selected for the National Original Print Exhibition by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.  And in 2018 she was shortlisted for the Global Rise Art Print Prize and awarded the Aviva Women of Future Arts and Culture Prize.

Joanna has created bespoke artwork for Nike, Hilton, The Berkeley, We Work, Print Club London and Eurostar's 20th Anniversary,  She is also the founder and illustrator of design brand HAM.  

Mary Katrantzou's Fantastical Florals for The Rug Company

A new collection of seven rug designs from The Rug Company show off fantastical magnified florals as well as elegant motifs of sunray shades, organic shapes and contemporary graphics. The rugs are by London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou and have all the hallmarks of the bold and imaginative patterns of her eponymous brand.

Mary Katrantzou's rugs for The Rug Company were launched at Decorex in London, held at Kensington Olympia in October 2019.  Left design above is Bluebell Daydream featuring amplified florals in a spectrum of blues and purples; and right is Botanical Paradise featuring a hyper-real floral scene of blown-up flowers combined with a palette of deep and powder pinks and amaranth.  

The rugs shown above and below have been finely knotted 

by expert craftsmen in Tibetan wool and silk.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

The rugs, inspired by Katrantzou's past collections and reimagined for this collaborative collection with The Rug Company, represent the designer's first foray into the world of interiors.  It is a natural progression for Katrantzou as she is the daughter of an interior designer mother and a textile engineer father so she was exposed to the world of interiors from a very early age.

Design left is Sunray Pink depicting a dramatic sun motif with metallic rays radiating from the centre; 

and right is Garden of Eden with dramatic soft blue and white flowers.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Commenting on the new rug collection, Katrantzou says:  "We are an image-led brand and print is so transferable across different disciplines.  I chose to collaborate with The Rug Company as there was an authentic synergy between the two brands - a genuine appreciation for craftsmanship and a passion for bold patterns and unique beauty, values which we share at Mary Katrantzou."

A graduate in textile design at Central Saint Martins specialising in interiors, she followed her bachelor's degree with a Masters in fashion.  Having attained wide acclaim in the world of fashion and acquired an established following for her artistic digital prints and feminine silhouettes over the past 10 years, Katrantzou's work has been featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum, The Barbican and many others.

The rugs were showcased at Decorex trade fair held 6 - 9 October 2019 at Olympia in Kensington, London and also available for viewing in The Rug Company showrooms.

The Rug Company has a long tradition of collaborating with world renowned designers.

Première Vision Group to launch PV Awards Next Gen in 2020.

Première Vision Group has  confirmed it will launch the PV Awards Next Gen in September 2020,  a new event incorporated into its annual PV Awards, a prestigious competition that is held annually for 11 years as an important programme of the September edition of Premiere Vision Paris to recognise exceptional creativity from various sectors of established international textile industry.

Giles Lasbordes, Managing Directoir of Premiere Vision Group at TexSelect's 2019 prize-giving 

ceremony on September 8 2019 during Premiere Vision Paris.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Giles Lasbordes, Managing Director of PV Group, organisers of the international Première Vision trade shows in Paris and around the world, made the announcement at the TexSelect 2019 awards  prize-giving ceremony (held during the September 2019 edition of the Premiere Vision Paris trade show) that his organisation will take over the legacy of TexSelect which completed its voluntary winding up at the end of September. .

“The most important thing is that it will continue to be a textile competition.  We have decided that it will be an international event as we are an international player,” Mr Lasbordes told My Fashion Connect Global. “We will welcome all universities from around the world, a selection will be made and a group of finalists will be announced.  Perhaps there will be 4 - 5 prizes and will be integrated into the annual PV Awards, which we have organised for 11 years recognising innovative developments and creativity from international professional textile companies and designers.”

He said the Première Vision Group being a longstanding sponsor of UK-based TexSelect, share a common objective of supporting creativity in textile design and the two organisations have run in parallel for nearly 50 years.

September 2019 saw TexSelect’s final participation in the international PV Paris trade show, which habitually was the highlight of its annual programme when a group of 24 finalists who had been selected through a rigorous selection process conducted by design professionals would showcase their design creativity to industry experts at PV Design.  

For over 50 years, the annual TexSelect programme had championed the most creative graduate textile designers of all nationalities from the UK’s BA and MA courses, guiding their first steps into professional practice. During its history, TexSelect had  interviewed more than 10,000 young textile designers and supported more than 1,250 of them to develop their careers and launch into the industry. But, in its 50th year, the team behind TexSelect had announced its closure.due to industry changes, shrinking sponsorship budgets, and a long-serving management team reaching retirement, and faced with increasingly challenging efforts in recent years to raise the funds required. In the era of social media, designers have also evolved new ways to promote their talents and develop themselves. 

Weave Designer Jaeyong Kim, a graduate of Central Saint Martins, won

The Woolmark Company TexSelect Award in Paris on September 18 2019.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

For more information on other winners of TexSelect 2019 awards, please go to their website.

Inspiring hand-woven contemporary textiles enrich modern lives.

Thanks to modern technology, our daily life has become more efficient, and thus we should be left with more time to slow down and admire crafts that are lovingly made by hand.  As we wake up to the global crisis of throw-away plastics, hand-crafted home furnishing textiles remind us the joy of appreciating things that take time to make and indeed can last a long time.

At 100% Design trade fair in London, held in September at Olympia in Kensington, I met woven textile designer Pamela Print who had her weaving loom set up in her stand so she could demonstrate her craft.  She is the genius behind her wonderful hand-woven furnishing textile collection that included wall hangings, throws and cushions that she produces for her own brand.  

As a designer and weaver who is passionate about sustainability, Pamela Print is keen to demonstrate her eco credentials, as all her products are totally sustainable as her products are all in 100% wool.  

For example, the cushions front is made in merino lambswool and the back fabric  is in Harris Tweed while for the filling she uses eco-friendly British fleece (Dorset Horn.)

Pamela graduated from Central Saint Martins in London with a BA in Textile Design, and is an alumni of TexSelect (a London-based charity that nurtured and promoted UK textile graduates for some 50 years) through her career was launched 14 years ago after particpating at Premiere Vision trade fair in Paris.

Pamela worked for many years in textile and garment supply companies like Dewhirst and for top brands and retailers including Topshop and Marks & Spencer - before relocating to Brussels for seven years.  Recently she and family decided to move back to the UK.  

But Pamela has brought Brussels back with her through her geometric patterns that were inspired by architecture in Brussels with art deco influences.  But while on the loom, ideas are developed, she said.

With a studio set up outside London in the historical village of Writtle where her designs are developed and sampled, she has also got an agreement with Bristol Weaving Mill where small batches can be produced to order.

Also exhibiting at 100% Design was Lydia Forman, whose hand-woven upholstery fabric designs won her a place in the Design Fresh area of the trade fair held in September at Kensington Olympia in London.  

Lydia was one of 30 designers selected by curator Barbara Chandler, design editor of Homes & Property at the London Evening Standard, to showcase their breakthrough design talent. 

Lydia brings a vibrant modern aesthetic to complex traditional weaving skills, creating cushions, upholstery fabrics, hangings, and flatweave rugs in yarns that include cotton, silk and Lurex.   

She juxtaposes geometric structures with bright floral colours. Weights and textures are explored using different yarns and weaving techniques.

Inspiration ranges from the colours of Kew Gardens to the rigid repeating facades of contemporary architecture.  To showcase some of her colourful textile products was a vintage Ercol sofa and chair  at 100% Design which were covered in her fabrics.        

A graduate of Loughborough University this year with a BA degree in Textiles: Innovation and Design, specialising in Woven Textiles, Lydia Forman was also awarded First Prize in the 2019 Loughborough University Enterprise Award.

All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Artworks reflecting two British artists' love for trees and wood

Two British artists of different genres feature wood and trees in their own signature ways to demonstrate their love for this most tactile and amazing product of nature with stunning results. 

Both have long association with Wales, either being born there or having lived there for many years.

One is David Nash, who's having a major exhibition of his giant sculpture and prints at the Towner  Art Gallery in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

And the other is Thomas Perceval, whose "tree portraits" attracted many admirers at the recently concluded 100% Design fair in Kensington Olympia, London.

To read about both designers' work, click HERE.

Photos by Lucia Carpio.

London Design Festival presented more than half a million international exhibitors from around the world

A seminar on Finnish design characteristics focused

on sustainability, wellbeing and healthy living environment

at the 100% Design fair in Olympia, Kensington. 

It has been a very busy month for everyone working, involved or interested in creative works and design as between September 14 and 22, a number of international trade fairs and exhibitions, along with a full programme of product launches, design collaborations, seminars, presentations, installations and workshops turned London into one big design hub as the capital played host to the 2019 edition of London Design Festival.  

Cubitt House was dedicated to exhibiting cutting-edge design, iconic furniture and lighting brands 

as a major part of designjunction in Kings Cross Design District.

Installations at Cubitt Park featured Bim Buton's creations using enamel reused as outdoor seating in 

From Inside to Out, and

in the background BioKnit by Stephanie Chaltiel of MuDD Architects and Jane Scott showcasing new textile architecture techniques integrating colour, materials and form into a knitted Pavilion.

Designers and creatives from the UK and around the world. including newcomers, artists, craftsmen and artisans, new product developers, well-known brands and established names got together for the  Festival to give the capital a great buzz.

Samsung presented an exposition of Indiosincratico by Italian designer Martino Gamper in Samsung's

experience-led concept store in Coal Drop Yard, Kings Cross Design District.

Giant Anglepoise Lamps in The Light Tunnel in Kings Cross featured inspirational quotes 

to engage with visitors.

In total, 10 official Design Districts across the city were earmarked as special regions where concentrations of design activity and events took place.  All the Districts have their own personalities ad identities, many with partner events and special Routes for visitors.

Bill Amberg Print - a range of bull hides printed with graphics by some of the world's renowned creatives was essentially a collection of leather decoration employing specialist digital printing technology.  The hides have been developed for upholstery and interior architectural use.

SolidWool presented chairs made with not fibreglass but with WOOL, a great recycling process.  The Hembury Collection showcased at Design Junction are made in an old woollen mill in Buckfastleigh, a small market town once a thriving part of the woollen industry.  The seat is made from a composite materials made from coarse wool which is a by-product from hill-farmed, upland sheep farming.

Designs by Tom Dixon in Kings Cross Design District.

Each Design District was organised locally and independently.

New to join this year was the Kings Cross Design District which was the main venue for the ninth Design Junction trade fair.

British designer Tom Dixon's Coal Office headquarters and adjourning showrooms/shops/restaurant in Kings Cross were turned into special zones for visitors to experience various senses, under the banner Touchy Smelly Feely Noisy Tasty.  Tom Dixon was also named as London Design Medal Winner.

Bill Amberg also showcased his leather hides Print collection to demonstrate specialist digital printing technology on leather.

Also held during London Design Festival were 100% Design at Kensington Olympia, Focus/19 at Chelsea Harbour and London Design Fair at the Old Truman Brewery.

100% Design trade fair celebrated its 25th anniversary in the historical Olympia in Kensington.

A Sense of Finland in 100% Design was a specially built eco log house presenting Finnish furniture, products and lighting focused around sustainability, wellbeing and healthy living environments.

Other designated Design Districts included Bankside, Brompton, Clerkenwell, Marylebone, Mayfair, Pimlico, Shoreditch, Victoria and West Kensington.

Also at Kings Cross, 10 finalists of the Rado Star Prize winners were on display in The Light Tunnel, along with product installations by Haberdashery and Anglepoise.  The Rado Star Prize winner this year was Huw Evans for his Concertina furniture using English Ash and Cherry wood.

There were also two giant wooden block 'figures' named Talk to Me by Steuart Padwick installed in Kings Cross Design District for visitors to "React" to, a major theme in this years Design Junction show.  One of which is shown in a picture below.

An installation "Talk to Me" by Steuart Padwick

Rado Star Prize winner this year was Huw Evans
for his Consertina collection.

Designer and woven textile designer Pamela Print showcased her weaving technique during 100% Design along with 

her new collection of sustainable hand-woven designs for home furnishing including throws and cushions all in British wool (Merino lambswool).  Cushion backing is made with Harris Tweed and the filling is eco-friendly British fleece - Dorset Horn.  

This was the 17th annual festival which also marked 11 years collaborating with the Victoria and Albert Museum which was also the official Festival Hub for  a series of specially-commissioned project by international designers.

Welsh artist Thomas Perceval was on hand to discuss his unique artistic craft with visitors at 100% Design.
Based on the border of Mid Wales and Herefordshire, Thomas captures the beauty of trees - especially in the winter and early spring when absent of leaves, trees reveal the complexity of their intricate branches formed by nature.
He combines drawing techniques with laser burning technology to create amazing images of trees.  Each laser etched tree artwork meticulously takes a few months to create.

Original hand-woven upholstery fabric designs by Lydia Forman,

one of 30 designers selected by Barbara Chandler, design editor of Homes & Property at the London Evening Standard, to showcase their breakthrough design talent. 

on show at the Design Fresh area at 100% Design.

Creative China was one of the country pavilions at 100% Design.  
The China Pavilion promoted 22 companies that showcased creative design with traditional cultural elements.

All photos by Lucia Carpio.