Can designers & architects commission custom woven textiles?

The start of an idea, it almost always begins with a conversation about what inspires the client and what their favourite fabric is. Not a brief in the formal sense, but a genuine exchange about the space, the history, the client, and what the fabric needs to do. From there, we can talk about design, colour, structure and scale. We bring the technical knowledge; you bring the vision. That dialogue is where the best commissions begin, and it is something we find interior designers, particularly those working with historic or architecturally significant spaces, more accessible than they expected.

One of our most treasured American commissions is the work we completed for George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia. Working closely with the estate’s Associate Curator, we were asked to supply new woven fabric for the upholstery of a sofa and eight Mahogany Marlborough chairs in the Front Parlour, the most formal room in the Mansion. The fabric, a silk and worsted wool damask in a striking Saxon blue, was the result of extensive historical research, with multiple custom-dyed samples trialled before the exact shade was approved. It is a project that captures everything we love about this kind of work precision, patience, and the quiet satisfaction of returning something important to how it was first intended to be seen. If you are in Virginia, we would highly recommend a visit to their site.