TEXTILES.ORG
By Holly O’Dell
For a nightclub in New York City, Color X printed a massive 30-foot-by-40-foot curtain made of poly-poplin fabric used to separate the entryway from the venue. Inside, separate lounge areas feature giant fabric prints (also made of the poly-poplin and printed via dye sublimation) that stretched and wrapped on the wall, with the image continuing on a leather tufted couch.
In Washington state, Stella Color produces gaming table fabrics for casinos. “The casino operators like something that feels good when you touch it, like suede,” says Krinsky, who uses polyester for these applications. There is opportunity for repeat business—if you can persuade the client. “They should be changed every so often because there is no way to keep these fabrics clean with spilled drinks and people putting cigarettes out on them. Owners, though, don’t always want to replace them.”
In spring 2011, the Experience Music Project in Seattle contracted with Rainier to produce a fabric mural for its Nirvana exhibition. The client’s designer initially wanted a textured canvas look to go with the black and white photography slated for the exhibit, but Rainier offered alternatives. “We tested a couple of different materials because we needed a product that had some elasticity yet did not stretch too much and had still some opacity to it,” Zinsmeyer explains. The company settled on Power Stretch from Fisher Textiles, printed using dye sublimation. The end product measured 26 feet tall and 30 feet wide.
Eventscape Inc. crafted a series of structures for a condo sales center in Toronto. The space—a combination of hospitality, retail, and gallery—features printed fabric wall panels that soften up the space while adding pops of color. (The graphics were designed by students at the adjacent Ontario College of Art and Design University.)