Swatches : A Sourcebook of Patterns with More Than 400 Fabric Designs
By Dorsey Sitley Adler and Robert D. Adler Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $29.95 This pleasingly chunky book is sized perfectly for flipping through, making the job of zeroing in on the right fabric for that chair or pair of drapes much less burdensome than lugging around unruly sample books. In fact, you’d have to juggle quite a stack to see the range of fabrics pictured in this excellent resource, compiled by a husband-and-wife textile-expert team. The Adlers are the founders of the largest privately owned textile library in the country, and their archives are bursting with more than 4 million pattern swatches, ranging from nineteenth-century historical patterns to contemporary fabrics. Though the book offers a mere fraction of those archives, the 400 fabric swatches pictured are well edited and helpfully organized by pattern type, including stripes (ombre, ticking, variegated, twist yarn), geometrics (polka dots, deco, op-art, foulard), ethnics (tropical, paisley, batik, overprinted madras) and plaids (tattersall check, herringbone, houndstooth). What’s more, there’s just one full swatch pictured per page, making it easier to see. The text is spare—this is a look book on the order of a fan of paint chips—but what little accompanies each chapter may help the truly undecided; it describes the origins of and typical uses for each pattern.
-
I think it's safe to say that Swatches rock. Cheap, creative and fun, they make perfect accessories to match your mood. Women can find an infinite variety of styles to add a little fun flair to their outfits (though perhaps not th... I think it's safe to say that Swatches rock. Cheap, creative and fun, they make perfect accessories to match your mood. Women can find an infinite variety of styles to add a little fun flair to their outfits (though perhaps not their little black dresses), and men not required to wear ties to work can play around with the steel, chronograph, and what the heck, neon orange models as well. But, as anyone who has ever bought a Swatch in an airport terminal only to never find it again ever knows, Swatch is kinda cool/evil in that they release new models and designs every season -just like fashion houses - but retire the old ones, never to see the light of a production line again. Enter the Squiggly Swatch Store. Essentially a group of hardcore Swatch fans, the company's mission it to stock at least one of EVERY SWATCH EVER MADE. Of course they never meet this goal, but they come pretty darn close. So if you've ever passed by a mall kiosk without buying only to regret it later, or just need a strap to replace your inevitably torn one, turn to Squiggly. Their service is professional and efficient, and I've been reunited with many a lost Skin model through them. A word of warning though: They're located in the Netherlands, so prices are in Euros. Their site is not terribly easy to navigate either, but if you know the basic color, shape, or better yet, model name of the swatch in question, you'll find yours in no time.
Added 4 Years Ago from Squiggly -
Ah, color swatches, porcelain, and function! I'm in love.
Added 4 Years Ago from Designboom -
Elegant, flowing font which can be utilized in many different ways.
Added 5 Years Ago from Veer
