Don't Look Abroad For Fabrics
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday August 17, 1988
PEOPLE planning a fabric design will often spend a fortune on imported products, perhaps not realising that there is a local market in fabrics to choose from.
Indeed, there are a number of top Australian designers based in Sydney who will help you select a fabric which will create an interesting and colourful interior design.
But note, if you do consider opting for local talent, be prepared to make bold and often unconventional statements with colour and texture.
Three years ago, a group of local fabric designers decided to form a company with the intention that their work would not feature spots, stripes or floral motifs.
Out of this came Tex Independent Designers, an atelier of five studios based in Paddington and specialising in hand-produced furnishing fabric.
There are five designers in Tex. Their work shows bold departure from the beige school of fabric design so prevalent in Australia.
Tex does not operate on a retail level, but co-ordinator Jeffery Hardy can act as an interior consultant if required - recommending fabric designers to suit specific needs.
Otherwise, it is up to interior designers or architects to contact Tex and book a designer to suit their client.
Mr Hardy says there are dozens of good designers in this country.
"Linda Jackson and Ken Done are the most highly recognised in the furnishing field, and (their profile) has enabled people to see that there is an Australian design industry," he said.
He claims that the fabric artists he works with are less well-known, but are as good, if not better.
"We do everything from artist's houses, nightclubs, resorts and restaurants," said Mr Hardy.
The material Tex designers use tends to be weighty, 100 per cent cotton moleskin, which according to Mr Hardy, does not bag or twist and is extremely washable.
Who are the designers in question?
Michael Doherty, a screenprinter who produced a collection under the name Ockapella, including a print with lime palm trees and engraved native heads on a sea of bright yellow. (Not for the faint-hearted or overly serious.)
Glenda Morgan, Reptilia Studios, has a wall of curtains on display at the Powerhouse museum. Her designs are evocative of the Australian bush.
Nigel Sparrow and Jan Van Meer, Sparrow Textiles, have come up with an interesting range of subtle, marbelled prints, reminiscent of the marbelling children are often taught to do with inks on paper.
Kathy McKinnon, whose collection includes exotic designs drawn from the myths of other civilisations.
Jill Yates, who recently exhibited at the National Gallery in Canberra. Her aim is to apply art to utilitarian objects such as furnishings, questioning the distinction between fine and decorative arts.
Her designs are hard-edged in style and have a slightly pop-art feel. While some of them are tongue-in-cheek and very bold, others are subtle and done in pastels.
She says while gold is becoming popular, which can have quite a charged effect, people still favour classic colours such as boring business shirt blue and beige.
"Basically, Australians are unimaginative," she said. "I would like to see imagination studies taught at school. You have to work hard to get verve out of people."
Another designer, Antony Bullimore, has created a series of chairs with 18th-century frames, but replacing the traditional upholstery with his own modern designs.
He uses canvas for his chairs, but will also take brush to walls, ceramic, tiles or whatever needs a design on it.
© 1988 Sydney Morning Herald