A makeover for your home
Leading designers collaborate with Jim Thompson on its home decoration and furnishings lines
NEW YORK-BASED architecture and design firm Rockwell Group is collaborating with Jim Thompson for a second time on a collection of 13 textile patterns titled “Dreams by David Rockwell” that offers an illusive and shadowy quality and is evocative of nature, animal and exotic places.
Founded by Rockwell, and led by the designer and his partners Shawn Sullivan and Greg Keffer, the firm is inspired by theatre, technology, and high-end crafts and is known for creating a unique narrative for each project, ranging from restaurants, hotels, airport terminals and hospitals to festivals, museum exhibitions, and Broadway sets.
In Dreams, Rockwell explores the world of dreams and dreamscapes, combining abstract designs with hints of figurative elements, and interpreting them with gently blurred edges, creating a hazy, misty appearance. Materials such as silk satin, lustrous cut velvet and soft wool give the fabrics a luxurious contrast of texture. The collection is at ethereally soft and mysteriously dark, enhanced with metallic effects and shimmering yarns that capture and reflect the light.
Jim Thompson is also presenting the new “Essentials” collection with four textured upholstery weaves that boast a durable quality. Designs draw their inspiration from natural elements and hand-crafted materials, which are interpreted in a contemporary blend of melange yarns, cut velvets, linen blends and soft chenille. The palette’s must-have neutrals are accented with bolder hues gathered from the glorious colours in the tropical landscape of Thailand, from cinnabar reds and saffron gold to palm greens and leafy chartreuse.
For the latest wall covering collection “Sisal”, the brand introduces hand-woven sisal grass cloth to expand the range of the brand’s artisanal offerings. Created sustainably from the lustrous fibres of the agave plant, sisal wall coverings get their hues from water-based vegetable dyes, and are then woven by hand. Dyed paper backing adds coordinating or contrasting colour backgrounds. The collection of is offered in a dazzling range of more than 40 shades, providing myriad options for adding natural texture to the walls of any interior. Class A flame rating and VOC free materials make these a versatile option for residential and commercial settings alike.
Its sister brand No 9 Thompson also introduces a collection “Jamboree Velvets” comprising of three different layouts and scales in a 100-per-cent cotton pile velvet. The colour palette of Jamboree Velvets works in sync with all previous collections. Whilst the fabric makes for excellent upholstery – with a Martindale abrasion test of 50,000 turns – it also makes for handsome as curtains.
The collection of wallpaper panels “Take the Stage” is inspired by the loose painting of theatrical backdrops that Richard Smith, the brand’s creative director, hand painted to create very different moods. They work equally well enhancing existing architectural features in an older property as making a statement in a plainer space.
Palm Court and Maharaja patterns comprise two co-ordinating panel designs that fit together. Secret Garden, Tiger Fight and Tigers in the Grass patterns are sold as rolls of three adjoining drops giving an entire panel per roll. Trellis and Trellis Panel are conventionally repeating designs sold on a 10m roll.
Another sister brand Studio B also launches a collection called “Pattern Play” featuring several traditional and modern patterns that have been interpreted by the Atlanta-based visual artist Brian Carter who believes that the imperfect and irregular are beautiful. His artist’s eye is attuned to what most of us fail to notice in our everyday surroundings, and he is able to translate this vision into the shapes and patterns that energise his work.
Carter is collaborating with Jim Thompson Fabrics on its Studio B brand, with four collections to date namely Debut, Colorbox, Sketchbook, and Pattern Play. Each collection showcases his ability to seamlessly mix various mediums, including paint, ink and pencil, and techniques such as stamping and brushwork to create unique effects.
