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FROM FABRIC TO FURNITURE

JOURNEY OF AUSTRALIAN DESIGN Photography by Kate Ballis

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Fabric to Furniture - Journey of Australian Design, is a beautiful, unglossed portrayal of the people, practices and processes of our local industry.

The series, documented by fine art photographer Kate Ballis, captures the raw beauty of an industry rich in skilled craftspeople and quality manufacturing, as seen from two of the industry’s most experienced operators, Arthur G and Instyle.

The series of images follows the journey of one textile, Instyle’s Source from its benchmark LIFE Sustainable Textiles® collection and its eventual use, upholstered onto one of Arthur G’s designs, the Carmen MKII.

INTRODUCTION

Kate Ballis captures the raw beauty of an industry rich in skilled craftspeople and quality manufacturing

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Instyle was established in 1987 by Michael Fitzsimons with the aim to support and promote quality local textile design and manufacturing.

“Most of Instyle’s textiles are designed by our inhouse design studio and woven by local mills. This often surprises many people, given the industry’s competitive and challenging environment, however these long-term partnerships provide a consistent and reliable supply of high quality textiles for our clients” says Fitzsimons.

Today, Instyle has grown into an internationally recognised brand renowned for developing sophisticated, high quality interior finishes made with integrity including textiles, leathers, acoustic solutions and wallcoverings.

INSTYLEThis campaign was created through Instyle and Arthur G’s dedication to local design and manufacturing

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The centrality of textiles in society has ensured that the industry is at the forefront of technological development, it was one of the first industries to be mechanised in the Industrial Revolution.

While technology has evolved and many processes are now automated, human touch and skill continue to be an integral part in producing textiles.

FABRIC PRODUCTION

Yarn cones prepared for dyeing, up to 585kg of yarn can be dyed at one time

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Mixing dyes in the dyehouse laboratory to match colours selected by Instyle Design Studio

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Piece dyeing machine for dyeing rolls of fabric such as Atlas from Instyle’s LIFE Sustainable Textiles® collection

Manager Tom has worked at the dyehouse since 1997

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The weaving mill operates in the historic Returned Soldiers Mill situated on the bank of the Barwon River, this site was opened by Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1922

Piece or roll dyeing machine for dyeing rolls of fabric such

as Atlas from Instyle’s LIFE Sustainable Textiles® collection

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Winding machine used for yarn preparation in order to create different sizes of yarn cones suitable for production

Warping Operator Sandra has worked at the mill since 2002. Warping involves preparing the yarn to feed through the weaving loom,

a job that requires attention to detail, good eye sight and nimble hand skills

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Cones of raw white yarn ready to put into the thermal splicing machine

Thermal splicing machine used to untwist and join weft yarns to create larger cones

by using compressed air and heat

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Thermal splicing machine

A warp creel used in the preparation of yarns for the warping machine

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Warping machine drum, the number of warp yarns determines the width of the fabric, Source has 2800 warp ends (individual vertical yarns in the fabric)

Starting a new section on the warping machine, a process that requires dedication

and a skilful knot-tying hand

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Start of beaming-off process, Jacky removes the knots and attaches each section to a warp beam by placing the yarns into the holes and twisting around the warp beam

Beaming off a new warp, after the knots are tied the drum is turned and then placed at the back

of the weaving loom

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Lease device on warping machine to keep yarns in sequential order and separated to avoid yarn tangling

The other side of the lease reed on the warping machine

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Drawing in involves threading each warp end through the heddles. Today this process is automated and takes half a day, here Gines is doing this process manually, which takes one and a half days

Heddle wires, heddles are an integral part of a weaving loom

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Warp ends collected for the tie-in process in order to change to a new warp. Each old warp yarn is tied to a new warp yarn to be pulled through each heddle

Rear view of Jacquard weaving loom used for

more complex patterns

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Warp beams

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All yarns are fed through the weft accumulator on the loom to control the yarn

tension during weaving to optimise efficiency and maintain quality of the fabric

The leno and selvedge device on weaving loom produces a false selvedge that is cut off so that the sides of the fabric roll remains intact

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Weaving loom heddle frame, the heddles are connected to

shafts that go up and down to allow for the interlacing of

the weft yarns through the warp

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Threading a broken end through the reed on the weaving loom, when a warp yarn end breaks this causes a ‘dropper’ to fall onto a device that triggers the machine to stop, the broken warp yarn is carefully repaired by a weaver

Ready to start weaving after repairing the broken warp yarn

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Tensioned warp yarns in perfect alignment on beam in the weaving loom

Rear view of weaving loom

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Weaving loom

Spare yarn ready for repairing any broken threads

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Selvedge waste can be recycled to make felt

Fabric Mender Petra has worked at the mill since 2010. Fabric mending requires a good eye and attention to

detail in order to skilfully darn any fabric flaws

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Each roll of fabric is inspected for flaws and mended by hand to ensure the highest quality

Inspecting fabric for faults, Petra can check up to 20 rolls per day

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“I like the notion of making the

unseen, seen. I experiment with

the patterns and textures found

in the environment, combining

scale and context to create images

that, while being wholly grounded

in reality, feel other-worldly.”

Kate Ballis

Manager Derek has worked at the mill since 1985

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Arthur G is an Australian furniture company dedicated to the creation and production of classic design. In 1979, Arthur Georgopoulos designed his first lounge suite from the garage of his Melbourne home. With no prior furniture making experience, but an unbridled desire to produce his designs, he did. In short succession, Arthur G was established.

Almost four decades later, Arthur G is now one of Australia’s longest operating, family-owned, furniture manufacturers. Today, Leonard Georgopoulos is the driving force behind the company’s evolution, which continues to manufacture solely from Huntingdale, Victoria.

ARTHUR G

Leonard Georgopoulos, son of founder, Arthur Georgopoulos.

Leonard has been Managing Director since 2002

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All Arthur G furniture is made to order in Melbourne. Each piece is manufactured from solid hardwood and finished by hand. While technological advancements have improved the efficiency of manufacture, the success of a completed design still relies on the skilled hands of a trained craftsman.

Uniquely, the upholstery process is one of the few manufacturing steps which requires individual interpretation; each design dictates a different order of assemblage and relies heavily upon the upholsterer’s expertise.

FURNITURE MAKING

In contrast to the production of Instyle’s fabric Source, each piece of Arthur G’s furniture is made individually by hand

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Stacks of Victorian Ash

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A bandsaw slices the wing of the Carmen MKII from a piece of Plywood

Frame pieces cut to size and ready for assemblage: Victorian Ash and Plywood are used

in the construction of all Arthur G frames

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Frame assemblage process: a combination square marks the centre of the Carmen MKII leg

A biscuit joiner cuts a hole in the leg

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Wafers of wood, known as biscuits, are glued and inserted into the leg

Biscuits align the leg joints at the correct angle during gluing. These are secured firstly by hand

before being clamped together

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Wes marks the point where a dowel is to be inserted

Using a drill press, Wes drills a hole into the Carmen MKII leg

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Once drilled, dowels are glued, inserted and hammered into place to provide

strength and stability to the frame

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To prevent the upholstery being cut by the timber frame, a random orbital sander is

used to smooth sharp edges

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A belt sander efficiently removes any rough areas from

the outside of the frame

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Carmen MKII frame

Head Joiner, Wesley. Hailing from Mauritius, Wes has worked

at Arthur G since 2011

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Plywood frame patterns

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The upholstery process: Source is unfurled on the cutting table, and the Carmen MKII pattern is placed and traced

Peter operates the fabric cutter, slicing each pattern piece to size

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After the individual pattern pieces have been overlocked, Peng sews the panels together. Peng has worked at Arthur G since 2007

Loan operates the twin needle sewing machine, responsible for all top stitches. She has been

working at Arthur G since 2012

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Fabricating the frame: Aaron commences this process by covering each leg in 10mL thick foam. A ‘skirt’ of Source is then placed over the legs

Source is cut and wrapped around each leg

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Staples secure the fabric in place

To finish each upholstered leg, Aaron ‘back-tacks’ the fabric to the frame.

The method of ‘back-tacking’ allows the fabric to be adhered almost invisibly

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Two different types of webbing are used in the Carmen MKII; Elastobelt webbing is used on the back, and the heavy duty Black Cat webbing is used on the seat

Remnants of fabric from the upholstered wing are tucked into the frame

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High density premium foam is applied over the framework giving the Carmen MKII its comfort

The order to which a frame is fabricated, depends on the design. This decision is

made by the upholsterer. Fabricating the Carmen MKII begins with the leg,

followed by the wing, seat and back

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High density premium foam is secured to the seat back

Arthur G lining is applied to the edges of fabric, which is then tucked in and pulled taught,

ensuring a smooth finish

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Aaron folds the fabric over the inside back of the framework

Aaron has been an upholsterer at Arthur G since 2009

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The upholsterer’s role exceeds simply covering the frame. Here Aaron drills into the base, allowing the seat to be attached

The seat and base are aligned and screwed together

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‘No Sag’ steel springs

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Carmen MKII upholstered in Instyle's Source Peace fabric

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Kate Ballis is a Melbourne-based portrait, lifestyle, travel and fine art photographer.

A natural aestheticist, Kate plays with light, complexity and finding beauty in the darkness and shadows.

KATE BALLIS