BELMONT, North Carolina — While overseas suppliers have had a good run recently, when it comes to furniture and fabric design it appears that local, domestic manufacturing relationships are taking hold. Even before shopping for the latest looks in fabric at Showtime, more furniture manufacturers are choosing to manufacture domestically and therefore rely on key local supplier relationships for greater fabric design flexibility as well as control of color, feel, fit, style, turnaround, consistency, and shelf life.  Barnabas Martonffy, owner of Marlatex

“Some of the best furniture craftsmen, with generations of experience, are right here in North Carolina,” says Holly Blalock, Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing for CR Laine, a Hickory, North Carolina-based custom upholstered furniture manufacturer and style innovator that has built locally since 1958. “To stay ahead of the design curve in fabric, we look to local collaborators who can provide more design flexibility than overseas suppliers with long lead times, complex logistics, different languages and time zones.” 

While cut-rate overseas suppliers may offer the lowest prices, relying on them for fabric innovation to complement showroom offerings can be problematic. Domestic furniture manufacturers are finding that the best design collaboration is done not long distance, but face-to-face, with fabric in hand, in the context of a long-term relationship. 

“If you’re a color innovator you need the actual fabric, since color tone must be perfect and you can’t set a color palette via computer monitor,” says Blalock. “The feel should be soft, pliable, and responsive, not coarse or abrasive – and you can’t tell that from a catalog. You’ll also want to put the fabric up against your furniture frame to ensure it has the right fit and style because there are many undertones represented in both wood finishes and textiles.” 

According to Blalock, when she’s reaching for cutting edge design, relying on a long-term relationship with a local fabric collaborator is essential. “When you want a certain look that’s not off-the-shelf, you need a relationship with a mill like Marlatex, where you can take an idea and get help,” she says. “I may give them samples of carpet or vintage fabric, then ask ‘How close can you get to this coloration?’ and they’re on it.” 

Marlatex Corp., a Belmont, N.C.-based upholstery fabric manufacturer known for its plaids, stripes, plains, and textures made from natural fibers, is close to many furniture manufacturers in Hickory and High Point N.C., allowing easy face-to-face meetings between furniture and fabric designers. 

“We like to work one-on-one to create custom fabric designs with furniture manufacturers,” says Gail Richard, a Marlatex fabric designer. “We pride ourselves on coming up with new designs, new constructions, and new color directions that work with whatever they’re running to individualize their showrooms.” 

Recently, for example, when Blalock needed a unique plaid for a High Point Market upholstered furniture collection, she asked Gail Richard for help. “Gail found an intriguing plaid in her company’s historic archives, but I needed it opened up so it didn’t feel too dense, too old school,” says Blalock. “I told her the scale and colors I was looking for, and she had a digital mock up of the design as well as yarn samples for color to me within a week. It was executed, delivered, and received so well by our retail base that we just did a second coloration.” 

“The folks at Marlatex know us, our look, how we operate,” says Blalock. “Since they’re close, they visit us and we visit them. They’re in our High Point showroom every six months so I can say, ‘Remember how we had this kind of look,’ and they remember. They consistently meet our needs, price points, delivery windows, and quality requirements.” 

Regarding fabric quality today, there is a big gap in quality between low-end and middle to high end. Low-end fabrics, which are often thread bare to save cost and weight, are typically held together by unappealing, heavy latex backing. At the middle to high end are tightly woven, “honest weaves” that use enough yarn and fiber to provide a soft, appealing texture. 

“Our fabrics hang on a display in our retail and designer stores, so when a customer pulls a swatch, they often consider both the front and back,” says Blalock. “We won’t buy any fabrics so thin that they need 50% backing. Our relationship with local fabric partners is essential to providing consumers with a total quality experience with CR Laine.” 

According to Blalock, once a furniture manufacturer or retailer has chosen a fabric for their collection, product shelf life becomes a critical issue. 

After a potential buyer has spent hours in a retail showroom painstakingly picking their furniture and fabric, the last thing they want to hear is that the fabric is no longer is stock, or has been discontinued altogether. Understandably, retailers want to avoid breaking that bad news to residential consumers and potentially losing the sale. But it is not uncommon for some fabric manufacturers, particularly those overseas, to drop certain fabrics every couple of years. 

“Once we’ve invested the time and money to get a fabric on the shelf and swatched to all our dealers, we need it to stay fully stocked for at least four years, our average cycle,” says Blalock. “One of the things we appreciate about Marlatex is how they commit to their yarn bank. Some of their fabrics have been with us for 15 years. Once we add a pattern, we know it’ll be available when the homeowner chooses it.” 

“We value our local fabric collaborators like Marlatex,” says Blalock. “They’re an important part of our business and help us stay on top of the latest trends, from men’s and women’s wear looks to eco-friendly cotton-linen blends.”