I just got back from Korea where Riley Blake Designs fabric is made. It was incredible and I learned so much. They are truly artists in the industry of making fabric. Their eye for detail and precision is amazing. This is a picture of the raw fabric getting ready to be cleaned and bleached to be the foundation for a great fabric.
This is the fabric bleached and getting ready for print.
This is where the dyes are mixed and prepared for the printing of the fabric.
As you can see the factory is so clean. You can see below the screens being prepared for printing.
This is one of our screens from our Christmas line Be Merry.
This is the first screen where glue is applied to the fabric to help the dye adhere to the fabric.
Next you can see the ink being applied by windshield wipers that move back and forth. The fabric runs underneath these screens as they lift and move in a synchronized order.
The fabric is then dried and the ink set.
Next the fabric is washed and given the shriners finish which makes it nice and soft.
It is then dried and steamed.
It then awaits inspection.
It is inspected here and put on rolls.
From here it is shipped to Los Angeles where we have a mill that cuts and rolls it.
You can see Nantucket Summer ready to be shipped. It will be in the stores in June. It will sit on the water for 2 weeks and then in Los Angeles for another 2 weeks of cutting and shipping.
I hope you enjoyed a very little tour of the many hundreds of pictures I took. It was just incredible to be able to see the process and understand what it takes to make fabric. The Korean people take great pride in their art of making fabric. They are family run businesses passed down through the generations.
Absolutely fascinating! I had know idea, how fabric was made. Glad to see the factories are so clean. You must have had a wonderful informative time.
Thanks for the tour! What an opportunity for you guys!! You're lucky!
Mary