The Woolmark Company recently announced the winners of its nineteenth Golden Thread Awards for interior textiles – annual awards that recognise technical innovation, creative styling and use of colour in new wool products and are open to the latest bedding, carpet, furnishing fabric ranges and yarn developments from global brand partners of The Woolmark Company.
Interior textile ranges were received from Poland, Portugal, Italy, England, USA, India, New Zealand and Australia.
In addition to the ongoing and expanding product categories of the Golden Thread Awards, Woolmark introduced a GTA Student Award category to encourage emerging textile design talent. Trialled in 2002 with students from RMIT University, Melbourne, it is hoped that this category will expand internationally in the future.
"The quality of the products entered for the awards this year is of a very high standard and the invited judging panel found their task incredibly difficult," said David Calvert, Furnishings Manager at The Woolmark Company. "The judges were very selective in their decision making, declining to make awards in some categories.”
"Overall the range of products entered is diverse, with styling options differing considerably between residential and commercial end-use products. Many of those for the home offer handcrafted looks while the commercial products tend towards a finer, smoother appearance. As was the case in 2001, there is a mix of the modern with the traditional. There are new and different colour combinations, textures and weave structures and high-level detail in fabric and carpet design is evident," added Mr. Calvert.
Most entries include the new season’s colours in their ranges and display an interesting mix of trend-leading styles that are becoming more and more varied. These new colours for interior textiles are presented in the 'face the future' colour and styling directions from Woolmark, distributed to licensees last year in which individualism, singular ideas, extensive variety and 'old becoming new again, re-inventing the future' were key elements of the forecast proposition. While recent global happenings could have promoted a conservative approach in the use of colour, it is the strong and bright tones that are surfacing - offering vitality and a lifting of spirits. Colours are lighter and brighter and the mood is full of fun, freedom and emotion.
Golden Thread Awards 2002
Blankets and Throws
The Residential award was made to two products - Modulo - a pure new lambswool, extremely soft patterned pile Blanket from Marzotto S.p.A. of Italy and the ultra light, pure new wool - Azov - Jacquard Throw from another Italian entrant, Cecchi e Cecchi s.r.l.
The Savana Collection of four themed designs in pure new wool blankets and throws featuring exotic colourations from Zambaiti Copertificio S.p.A of Italy is judged a worthy winner of the Contract Hospitality product award.
Furnishing Fabrics
Moon Grove - heavy-duty, wool rich blend upholstery fabric by Lantal Textiles, Inc. of the USA, considered to be an excellent example of its type, in structure, design and colouration, consequently wins the Contract Hospitality award.
Instyle Contract Fabrics of Australia are the recipients of awards for two fabrics from their recently released 'Kool Collection'. The General Contract award goes to their aptly-named Fab wool rich blend fabric range and the judges selected another design from the same collection - Lava - as eminently suitable for use on domestic furniture (although developed as a contract fabric) and gave it the Residential award.
Carpets
Although nominated in contract categories, the Residential Award winner for 2002 is Raffia, a pure new wool, fine gauge textured patterned tufted carpet by Cavalier Bremworth of New Zealand that features an interesting combination of yarns in seven colourways.
The Hospitality award goes to Brintons Fine Carpet of Australia for their wool rich blend woven Axminster design – Kudos 1124 – one of three colour co-ordinating designs in this range.
Godfrey Hirst Australia is also successful in 2002 with its excellent example of pure new wool fine gauge loop pile tufted carpet, Netcorp, successful in the General Contract category.