Hello Friends,
Are you a huge fan of all the beautiful upholstery fabrics that are out on the market like me? They are in the center of attention lately for a few reasons. We’re experiencing shortages, long lead times and we’re also dealing with some new regulations because our lives would be too boring without those in the middle of the pandemic, right? So let’s talk about them a little...
I'd like to start with answering some common questions our clients usually ask when they are sourcing fabrics for their projects: What is the difference between a residential and commercial grade fabric? Why do we source fabrics from different types of yarns for outdoor use? What are the Martindale and Wyzenbeek indexes? What do we offer when it’s about fabrics? I’ll answer them all, just keep reading.
Residential vs. Commercial
The fabrics we use for commercial and hospitality projects have to be way more durable than residential ones because of the high-use environment. There can also be special requirements toward the fabrics. In a healthcare environment a fabric may be required to be anti-microbial, a fabric used in a hotel may be required to meet stringent non-flammability requirements.
Commercial grade fabrics can be woven ( nylon, polyester, wool, acrylic or olefin ) and non-woven ( Vinyl, Faux Leather, Bonded and Genuine Leather ).
A fabric used in a commercial exterior will require that the fabric is mildew, UV and water resistant. The yarn that fabric manufacturers use to make outdoor fabrics is synthetic, most of the time solution dyed acrylic or olefin. I’m really not here to promote Sunbrella fabrics, but those guys really know what they're doing. No surprise that many fabric suppliers use Sunbrella yarn for their collections of performance fabrics. ( not a really good thing right now when Sunbrella yarn is a high-demand material and there’s not enough of it )
Timea Botyanszki
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