Heathered shades
or back to textiles

The way the heathered shades were conceived is a good example of an industrial design project, in which the appearance, function and use of a product are governed by a principle of frugal use and implementation of materials.
The Cushions, Pads, Cones, Cubes and Totems of the Abso collection are designed to be moved around. Detached from the architecture as such, they are simply positioned on the floor like a piece of furniture or seat, or suspended from the ceiling like a light or a mobile. Made from a super-light absorbent foam covered with our Aeria fabric, they are quite unique in that they associate mobility and flexibility of use with robustness. The fabric cover is run-resistant and treated to avoid stains. It is knitted using a yarn that is specially selected for its fire-resistant qualities.
Its only disadvantage is that when dyed the colour lacks uniformity. This unforeseeable issue appears when the yarn is knitted. To achieve the level of quality Texaa aspires to, it would mean implementing drastic colour checks and eliminating large quantities of material to ensure a strictly uniform colour. Producing a heathered fabric from two yarns of different colours is a way to avoid the economic loss and significantly reduce the ecological impact of our processes.
Producing heathered fabrics is thus fully justified. It took more than a year to finetune the new range. What started out as a defect triggered innovation. The engineer pirated an old knitting machine that produces samples in record time, and put it back to work, reducing production from eight weeks to three days.
It became easier to develop fabrics with specially requested colours. Our knitters, like sauce chefs, have demonstrated their expertise in combining yarns with the Maille Ronde stitch. Our graphic designers have enlisted the help of printers’ colour specialists to digitally calibrate the process. Printed digital prototypes have made our colourist’s job of choosing between different compositions easier. Our designers are working on a new display tool.

By mobilising everyone in the whole production process, these heathered fabrics have become a symbol of the Texaa spirit and way of doing things with the firm ambition of putting our expertise at the service of architectural design. It shows how we can be in line with a company vision, when the method of achieving it is by sharing our skills.
Our heathered fabrics are the technical proof of our Texaa brand promise, energetically and joyfully illustrated in colour. Available in four shades of grey, ranging from the lightest to the darkest anthracite, these colour combinations lend discretion to the objects they cover, in spaces that are already filled with other objects. Shapes are effaced by an elegant, vibrant fabric. The Maille Ronde and its depth are highlighted giving the objects an atmospheric quality.