Hable Construction: an interview with textile designer, Susan

Hable Construction, a company that creates beautiful pillows, notebooks, bags and just about everything you can imagine for your home and garden (see below), just introduced three new fabric patterns to their collection. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to talk to their textile designer, Susan Hable Smith, to learn about what inspires her, how the fabrics are made and where we can find them by the yard.

Susan, how do you choose the colors for your patterns? Do you follow fashion trends?

We try to not follow color trends, but intuitively follow/create our own colors based on seasons, emotion and style. We do think about how a pattern will fall into the [existing] collection so color plays an important role when choosing with that parameter or structure.

However, fashion does inspire me. I think it’s because I am often not inspired by the subtleties of the home market where everything is washed out. Colors in fashion more often catch your eye, so it does play an important role when doing research for interior fabrics. We want to stand out in the home market and create patterns that designers remember, especially because it’s such a vast and competitive market.

What was your inspiration for the new patterns?

The three patterns (Ball + Chain, Birds, Trellis) were all inspired at different times and under different circumstances.

The Ball+Chain was a fusion between two very different cultures, and also those that I personally love: Scandinavian and Japanese. I love the scale and rows of balls and chains. I can envision this print being applied to curtains. I couldn’t wait to see it printed once back from the mill.

The Birds Print was a long time coming. It’s been lingering here for a while and I didn’t want it to fall into the birds craze, but I couldn’t control the timing clearly! It’s a soaring bird that will be re-colored in some wild palettes in the future. My hope is that it will become a timeless motif and pattern someday.

The Trellis is also a pattern that has been on the burner for a while. I spotted a gorgeous, stately rose pattern of a jacquard fabric on a sofa in Italy many years ago. I’ve never stopped thinking about it and now it’s has finally crept into our collection! I wanted it to be read simply as a print, so I decided to solely place emphasis on simple lines in the design. It’s starting its long life here and I have big plans for it.

Where are your fabrics made?

Our fabrics are screen-printed by hand in Rhode Island. We support a factory that still hand-prints all of the fabrics and uses a vat dye process. There are men and women screen-printers! All of our other products (with the exception of the wool felt collection) are made in the U.S.

I love your appliqu?©d pillows. Where did the idea for using appliqu?© come from?

We decided to try our hand at appliqu?© after seeing how beautiful the technique looked when executed by a women‚Äôs cooperative in Hungary. There was no plan before seeing the work. We met a nice couple whose mission was to work with these women and support them, so we decided to give it a try.

The technique is traditional to their culture. They use hammers and chisels to complete the designs. That technique and idea was a great fit with our design target and aesthetic. There was no strategy here except for the price point falling in line with our collection and color palette complementing our collection. The result exceeded our craftsmanship and aesthetic expectations!!! A new collection was born.

Do you have a design strategy for Hable Construction’s look?

We do have a design strategy, even though we never phrase it as such. We focus on creating unique and fresh, usable patterns for the use of fabrics in residential design. We also develop patterns for finished products that we manufacture primarily in the United States.

We look first in the U.S. for manufacturing before looking elsewhere. Manufacturing is as important to us as the art itself. It also defines us. We have a core group of patterns that are re-colored periodically for some freshness, but we try to build on our collection by adding three to four new patterns yearly.

Where can we purchase your fabrics? Are they sold solely through design showrooms?

Yes, showrooms!  Here’s the link to all of the showrooms. Our fabrics are available to the trade only. The exception is that sometimes we’ll have sample sales and sell remnants and discontinued fabrics at various venues during specific times of the year in limited styles and prints. The best way to be notified of these sales is to sign up on our mailing list. You can visit this link to be added to the list:

We have about 12 showrooms that carry our fabrics. Plus, we just joined the George Smith showroom in the U.K. There is an online resource for our fabric. Decorati is great! They put the public in touch with designers, so it’s a great resource if you’re not a part of the trade, but need resources to get you access!

Fabric pricing is only available to the trade. So if you’re a designer, you can call a showroom and ask about specific fabric pricing. The fabric CANNOT be purchased through our website. We just list info about the fabrics here.

Susan thanks for taking the time to talk to us about your inspiration and for giving us a behind the scenes look at Hable Construction’s beautiful designs.

If anyone is interested in purchasing fabrics from Hable Construction, you can email me via the contact link. Let me know the town you live in (for shipping charges) and the quantity you need. I’ll send you a quote.

Personally, I love Ball+Chain. What’s your favorite?

UPDATE: I just received and email from Hable. They’re offering a nice discount (30%) on all their merchandise. Enter the code MARCH at checkout. Cheers!

Oh Suzani!

Anyone who is a regular readers of design Hole knows that I’ve lately fallen in love with Suzani prints. I love the playful patterns and , especially, the bold colors. So when I heard that a lighting company was interested in new patterns, I had to try my hand at designing my own version. I’ve never done this before, but I felt truly inspired.

Here’s my 5-color Suzani.

Sadly, my ultra-refined sense of design (dahlink) must wait for the company to enable screening. Right now they print only 4-color. (A screen creates a lighter color of the purple on top of the purple but uses the same color.) So I submitted a 4-color version, as well as a 2-color.

Here’s my 4-color Suzani.

I removed the gray and lilac. Do you think it makes a big difference?

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I want curtains for Chum Bucket with this print!

My Passion for Suzani

I saw this fabric of loveliness at Le Petit Cabinet de Curiosit?©s – a new favorite blog of mine featuring all things French and from Provence.

The Suzani pattern is by Rubelli. It’s sold by Bergamo Fabrics.

Gotta get a price on it later today.

Illuminating News at Alluminare

Sorry, couldn’t resist the bad pun. Alluminare has expanded their custom repertoire to include fabric by the yard. The introductory price is $6 per yard.

Here’s how it works. You choose the pattern, then add your favorite background and foreground colors to create your own custom fabric. Currently the color choices are limited to two, but a little Hawaiian bird told me they’re working on four-color.

You can also order a matching pendant light fixture and pillows.

Don’t you love our new global market? This was a laughable dream only five years ago.

High-Low: Custom Online Curtains

Today let’s take a look at the new kid in the custom online curtain world. The Natural Curtain Company, which hails from the UK, is now making their service available to the US market. Let’s see how they compare to an older kid, Smith+Noble.

I designed two similar sets of draperies from both companies. Here are the details.

The tab-top curtains (on the left) are from Smith+Noble. They’re made with a 100% linen fabric (below, left), and are lined with a privacy lining. No details were given as to the fabric content. The tab-top curtains (on the right) are from The Natural Curtain Co. These are also made with a 100% linen fabric (below, right) and are lined in 100% cotton.

The price? Smith+Noble’s price is $692, which includes shipping within the contiguous US. The Natural Curtain Company’s curtains are $321. Add $98 for 2 – 4 day delivery to the US and the total price comes to $419.

The Natural Curtain Company wins by $273, or 40%.

Which would you buy?

Don’t answer yet! Here are some more details to help you decide. Both companies offer a free swatch service. Smith+Noble will give you ten. The Natural Curtain Co. sends six. Both have similar headings to choose from (though Smith+Noble has more) and both offer a variety of linings. Their return policies are the same and they both offer good customer support if you have questions.

However, I found three major differences (other than the price) worth noting:

Fabrics: On Smith+Noble’s side, they have a much larger selection of fabrics. The Natural Curtain Co. offers fewer choices, but I really liked them. they get an A+ on taste. Their natural fabrics are very well edited (see a small sampling, below). Both sites offer their fabrics by the yard.

Trims: Smith+Noble offers lots of trims and lots of ways to apply them. That’s a definite plus. The Natural Curtain Co. doesn’t have trim, but they will add a border if you call or email. Smith+Noble wins here.

Ease of Ordering: I have to say the The Natural Curtain Co’s site is extremely well organized and gets a solid PASS on this. They just need to add their prices in US dollars so customers don’t need to do their own conversion. Smith+Noble’s site was so confusing it made me jittery. Example? I assumed my curtains would be made as a pair. Not so on both sites. But TNC Co. (I’m getting tired of typing that long name) read my mind and asked me if I wanted a set or just one. I had to go searching at S+N to find the scoop.

Time to vote

Who wins? My vote (if you couldn’t guess) goes to The Natural Curtain Company. (And, just for the record, I’m not being paid for my rant/rave.) I might order a set of grommet-headed draperies for Chum Bucket from this company. I like their price and in a rental property that’s what rules.

How about you? Which company do you prefer?