Where there’s a will, there’s a weave. That’s what Tara Chapas of Chapas Textiles believes. Her New York firm produces handwoven fabrics for decorators. Tara has been in business for more than a decade. Interviewed by Elle Decor, she said she learned her craft at her Greek great-grandmother’s knee. “We had an unspoken bond over making fabric,” Chapas says. Designs are created in the Brooklyn studio then sent to the production facility in the Pacific northwest. She points out that it’s not about doing a volume business but about getting the right fabric for the right job and delivered on time. That’s one savvy lady!
Because each textile is custom made (I really think “bespoke” has been over-used of late), fibers and color choices abound.
New York designer, Steven Gambrel finds her textiles especially suitable for country homes. “The quality of the weave and the clarity of color are so special,” he says. Chapas adds, “We dip in and out of different aesthetics”.
She orders a thousand pounds of Belgian linen at a time. There’s a recycled-paper yarn wrapped in silver and hand-spun cashmere chenille. How exotic is that? Lately, she’s been getting requests for horsehair. Lara’s reaction to that is, “If I can get my hands on it, we can figure it out.” Horsehair? I remember my grandmother had a horsehair couch which I found prickly. Horsehair was first used in the mid-1800s for upholstered goods. It has even been used for wallcovering. Hmmm, I wonder if it has any future with Casart Coverings!
We happen to have an Organics line of removable and reusable wallcovering .
– Lorre Lei
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