Welcome to the Wonderful World of Textiles!

The world of design is a highly creative place and creative people need inspiration. Those who develop product, be it for something one would wear or use at home or office, are always looking for a new idea: perhaps a fresh color concept, scale of design, structural balance or a construction to mix with the style demands for a given season. But before a designer puts pen to paper, paint to canvas, or fingers to a computer keyboard it is most helpful to first visualize an idea in the mind’s eye – and the quality of one’s source material can make all the difference.

Perhaps you can imagine the sheer volume of source material used by designers of women’s wear – and menswear – or in the creation of the “exclusively ours” patterns that retailers use to distinguish themselves from one another. But think about the difficulty of visually gathering all of the complimentary components that make up a coordinated bedding ensemble; or the umbrella maker looking for new designs in body protection; or the finest Italian shoemaker looking for the most distinctive silk foulard print to trim and finish the inside of handmade leather loafers – and don’t forget the designer or stylist who must constantly create those adorable non-skid designs found on the bottom of baby’s hosiery. Where do all of these designs come from?

As consumers, most of us rarely think about how the pattern, color or texture of our possessions has come about. For companies who develop large selections of designs for their collections, the process of creating hundreds of intricate textile designs is often too complicated and time intensive. We, and our company, are here to help turn their intangible visions into something graphic and concrete.

Our business, The Textile Design Group, Inc. (known in the fashion and home industries as T.D.G.), is a collection of nearly 4 million textile swatch designs that are catalogued into 2500 categories of design classes that span across two centuries of creative thought.

The accumulation of these designs was generated by our sister company, Saddle Row Fabrics, and it’s predecessors, Coachford / R.W.J. Inc., who worked as a textile converter with many clients in the apparel field. In order to find the most innovative and delicious use of colored yarns, we would set a yarn dyed warp design on a loom and then continually change the weft (or fill) colors in the design to create a multitude of different color effects throughout what the trade calls a “blanket.” A “blanket” shows hundreds of different versions of the same plaid or stripe in a piece of cloth 3 yards long by 44-60 inches wide. This allows a client to quickly see how a pattern or stripe would be affected if just one color were changed in the pattern.

After our customers made their selections, there was a lot of fabric – in a lot of different colors – left over. What, asked ourselves, could we do with all of it? We cut up the blankets into 5 inch squares, mounted them on cards and began a library of designs.

When we saw that our idea was of benefit to designers, we traveled the world and began accumulating an endless variety of designs from mills, libraries, remnant shops, antique stores – anywhere that fabric could be found. We searched for textile ideas that represented the widest variety of seasonal, conceptual or thematic trends: from something as specific as Ukrainian housecoat print designs or the habadashery appeal of Bond Street, to Bloomsbury florals, art deco geometrics, Persian paisleys, Asian kimono designs, Louis XV tapestries, and on and on.

Today, T.D.G. is a reference library used by more than 3000 clients around the world involved in the design of fabric, garments, accessories, and home furnishings. Poring through our library offers them an inspirational overview of graphic history dating back to the early 1800’s. There’s a phrase we often use to describe the purpose of our library: “ the innovation of today through the renovation of yesterday”. Most design work that has been accomplished throughout the centuries relies greatly upon looking at what has been done in the past and modifying it for current and future styles.

For almost 15,000 years, we humans have wanted to enhance our environment with color and pattern. Whether it be wall paintings, well arranged leaves or shells, or stones placed in layouts that please the eye, we have always used creativity to make our lives more attractive. Thus did the arts of weaving and printing come about.

First there was color. After all, it is considered by most the first thing that attracts the eye. The natural pigment dyes from the earth throughout Europe and Asia were used to offer a variety of color in the muslin cloth woven and used to clothe the masses, or the rich velvets for the privileged. Then came the addition of pattern work for the heavy brocades or taffetas. Design expanded into the creation of stripes, checks, plaids, paisleys, florals and geometrics and all the many variations there are on any one of those themes. Imagine what each artisan had to and still has to do to create something unique that provides diversity within a class of design. Then you can imagine hundreds of thousands of swatches and consider what a rich source of creativity and beauty is available to our customers - and gain an understanding of how new style and fashion is developed.

Another of our favorite phrases is “Everybody is a Designer”. That is true of each of us. We all have very definite ideas about how we want to present ourselves to the world, both in the way we dress and how we wish to live; from the design of the home we choose, to how we decorate it. So we hope our library offers inspiration toward finding expression for the many different design styles that you may have lurking in your designer’s brain.

We have always felt that the world of textiles is filled with extraordinary art and beauty and we have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many clients who represent the best and brightest in their fields. We welcome you to come and see the myriad options available in this truly stunning world of woven and print fabrics and experience the richness of design ideas available.