#HTE

Designing Your Own Textiles Just Got Simpler

Computer powered weaving goes back to the 1800s and it’s getting a decidedly modern update on the new platform Wovns. 

At heart, the Wovns goal is to get more designers into textile design. But that’s bigger than it sounds, since a customized weave is a bit more involved than getting fabric printed. Custom weaving isn’t new or even necessarily difficult, but it does take research, dealing with oldschool producers, vetting, requesting samples, expensive minimum orders, and a whole lot of time. What Wovns does is compress all of those elements by handling the sourcing/production and offering an approachable platform for textilizing your graphics. 

The project is currently Kickstarting, but they’re already offering two fabric types: Divan quality, suited for upholstery and heavier use, and Talma quality, which works well for apparel and lighter soft goods. 

Beyond the egotistical appeal of personalized materials, the big selling point is flexibility of scale. While it revolutionized the world of fabric, modern Jacquard weaving is neither easy nor affordable to source in small quantities. Through Wovns, a minimum order on a custom weave can be as small as a single yard. 

The campaign’s “how it works” graphics are universally terrible, but they do offer several reasonable tutorials on making Wovns-ready designs with common programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. 

Wow, helpful 

At $45 per yard even their early bird deal won’t appeal to dedicatedly DIY or low budget producers, but for designers with small production runs or custom commissions it’s a reasonable and exciting option. Sexy new prints always demand serious scratch, and anyone who’s designed quality soft goods or furniture knows that cheap new material is a lie.  

Like most Kickstartery platforms they’re also offering a cache of existing designs, and the library will get bigger with time and future partnerships. 

Much like Print All Over Me has made printed textiles more available to creatives (or Society6 for that matter), Wovns could create a new outlet and resource for multi-mode designers. For interior, fashion and furniture designers particularly, the promise of personalized fabric could add a powerful business edge.

The Wovns team has real roots in the textiles industry, architecture, interior design, and maker tech. With their funding goal well reached with more than 2 weeks to go, I’d say their campaign and platform are worth keeping an eye on.