ITMA Textile Industry Tour.. Day one

Our first stop on our ITMA educational industry tour was Valdese, the largest jacquard factory in the United States. This factory does everything from designing textiles to custom vat dyeing of the yarns to the weaving itself. The factory is filled with jacquard looms that hum along pumping out textiles.

Bolts of yarns ready to be dyed.

Bolts of yarns stacked to be vat dyed.

Bolts of yarn in the vat dyes.

The jacquard looms at work.

Some of the textiles being produced.

The extra selvedge being stripped off and recycled.

The selvedge and extra selvedge.

Some of the final products. Great textures and patterns being produced.

Our next stop was Wesley Mancini. His studio is located in Charlotte, NC. The studio was rustic, moder and inspiring. Their vast collection and library of textiles are references for new and contemporary patterns and textures. All of their designs are translated into jacquard textiles and tapestries.

Samples of yarns for their hand knotted rug collection. A lot of time and creativity goes into rug design.

Animals filled the studio creating a fun and energetic environment.

It was very inspiring to see the design process and the production of the textiles. All of the elements of the industry are starting to piece together. 

Be Inspired. Be Bold. 

peace&love

Rebecca