All About Looks

This past week my interiors class went on another field trip. This time we went to an upscale interior fabrics store called All About Looks. It was a very cool store, filled with lots of different fabrics and hardware used in residential interior settings.

We were able to meet the owner who runs the shop with her two daughters. They got started by making baby bedding and other baby related items for themselves and their friends. Before long other people began requesting their work for other things like full sized bedding and drapery. None of them received an education in the field that they are now working however they were able to learn quiet aptly through trial and error. Before long they were able to grow into the thriving business they have now.

All About Looks is a unique fabric retail store that sells a wide range of fabrics used in many different interior applications. They have printed cottons to fine silks to drapery hardware. On our tour of the shop the owner first showed us some of the more fashionable and popular fabrics this year. I took pictures of some of the ones that I found most interesting.

Above is a picture of a sample book of very stylish wallpapers. The owner of All About Looks believes that wallpaper is slowly coming back into fashion and I would have to agree with her after looking at the many options. The one shown above was very interesting. It came in a wide range of patterns and designs but it only came in the color white. This is so that after it is applied to the wall it can be painted in any color desired.

Another interesting thing I found was this pillow covered in the fabric shown above. The fabric is made out of cork. It was quite soft and comfortable which was very surprising considering that it is made out of wood.

We also talked about the many different ways that fabric can be made visually appealing. There were hides that were dyed to look like zebra skin and plain cotton fabrics that a company will print it in a variety of different patterns.

Above is a picture of one of the most interesting hides that had somehow had newspaper clippings imbedded in it.

Besides selling fabrics, All About Looks provides a number of different services including upholstery. On our tour we were shown the back room and introduced to the man that does the upholstery. He does more than recover pieces of furniture however. He can also adds changes to the frame like raising the back or adding more padding to arms. We learned that it is important to find someone who really knows what they’re doing when it comes to upholstery. If you are unlucky you can end up with unsatisfactory work that will not last as long as it should.

This was an extremely fun field trip. It was a dream being surrounded by all those really cool and fascinating fabrics, while also learning about what is in style right now. The owner and her daughters were really nice and I could tell that they know what they are doing. I was also able to learn many useful things that will be a great benefit as I pursue an education and then a career in the field of interior design.