In the office furniture industry, it’s the little things that thrill us. Some of us get excited by chairs, others by height-adjustable solutions, and then for some of us – it’s the fabrics. Maybe it’s the bright patterns, maybe it’s the performance of the materials; whatever the case may be, fabrics are a fascinating topic.
There seems to be an infinite number of patterns and colorways available from manufacturers and mills alike, and HON is no exception. However, in keeping with our tradition of rapid continuous improvement, we’ve made a commitment to introducing and discontinuing fabrics just twice a year: July and January. Today, we wanted to share with you a peak into our fabric strategy, showcase our latest set of introductions, and give you a sneak peek of what’s to come in July!
 

HON Core Fabric Updates
When specifying a HON project, we make sure that you have a good variety of options stocked in house and readily available. These core fabrics are the types of patterns and colorways that are timeless classics, and aren’t going to be a ‘flash in the pan’ trend. So, at the beginning of the year, we introduced a few new patterns and updated some of our existing, best-selling fabrics. Click on the names below to see them on HON.com!
Hamilton (Seating, Grade 1)

• Sophisticated texture in 21 colorways, pairing softness and comfort with performance
• Fun fact: Hamilton is made from recycled bottles! For every yard, 13 plastic bottles are saved from the landfill. Talk about green!

Rush (Seating, Grade 2)

• Elegant texture in 24 diverse colorways
• Add a touch of residential feel to the modern office

Dotty (Seating, Grade 2)

• New colorways added! Modernized with some fresh and on-trend colors, this is one of our best-selling patterns.

Purl (Seating, Grade 3)

• Give your soft seating some texture with this velvety, nubby texture
• Twelve neutral palette colorways available!

Disperse (Panel, Grade B)

• Introduce some movement and texture to your panels or tack boards!
• Sixteen versatile colors, available in both neutrals and color accents

 

Partnership Textiles
For something a little trendier, or for alternative patterns that HON doesn’t offer in our core lineup, we partner with some fantastic fabric mills. Our most recent additions include patterns from CF Stinson, Maharam, Camira, and Ultrafabrics.
 

CF Stinson
We heard your pleas for partnership cards split out by grade, so our two new Stinson cards have just that: one with smaller to medium scale patterns in grades 3-5, and one with larger scale patterns in grades 5-10. Many of these are performance fabrics, and there are even some Crypton fabrics available for an added fluid barrier at a mid-range price point.  Order the Flow and Edge card on our literature site today!
 

Maharam
We are very excited to offer two new fabrics from Maharam for several reasons. First, we’re able to offer a Maharam fabric at a grade 2 price point. Meld is part of an initiative to expand Maharam’s offering of core fabrics that appeal to the design world. Even better, it’s available in 43 different colorways, so you have plenty to choose from! Second, we’ve added Maharam Apt, a grade 8 silicone fabric. Coming in at a lower cost than other silicone based fabrics, you can now offer your customer that durability and cleanability at an ideal price point.

Camira
Camira, based in the UK, is a new partner for us and we’re thrilled to be offering some of their fabrics. If you’re looking for 100% wool fabric, Blazer is now available for your soft seating needs. Even better, it’s only a grade 5, so it won’t break the bank! Additionally, if you want to add some visual interest to a panel or tack board, you can use Blazer Lite: a lightweight wool with that same felted finish.
 

Ultrafabrics
While Ultrafabrics isn’t a new partner for us, we love their Ultraleather Pro for its feel and durability and had to add it to our lineup. This polyurethane fabric is known for cleanability—so we put it to the test. We made three seats in the purest white color we could find and tested its metal against a sandbag dressed in a pair of jeans. We repeatedly dropped those sandbags on the seats until there was enough dye transfer that they started to turn blue. After sitting for 30, 60, and 90 days, and a simple wipe with isopropyl alcohol made them all good as new—even the seat that was left for three months!

Photo Credit: Ultrafabrics

 

But that’s not all, folks; keep an eye out for July! We’ll be adding 13 new colors to Contourett; three new colors to our most durable fabric, Centurion; one new panel fabric; and introduce another Maharam card!
What’s your favorite fabric from our new offerings? Let us know in the comments!