Solon, Ohio—Tarkett has launched the Woven Fringe Collection, which was the result of a happy accident.
According to the company, when the team set out to create a refined matte, flatweave surface, they were challenged to eliminate uneven color streaks, and looked for ways to diffuse or mask this undesired visual.
During early production trials, they were pushing the loom wire mechanism to its limits and caused the wire repositioning to misfire. Though the result was unintended, its visual stopped them in their tracks. The misfiring wires created a line of long, uncut face fiber—or fringe—across the weft. This effect mirrored the fringe selvedge edge that a velvet weaving loom produces on every carpet it weaves—and became a source of inspiration the design team has used as a muse for years. Though the visual was inspiring, they struggled to reproduce its effect in a predictable, safe way.
Finally, after multiple trials, they honed this technique and discovered a way to safely recreate the fringe effect in a consistent manner—paving the way for Velvet Fringebroadloom. Complementary pattern Velvet Line is a more streamlined, coordinating version to complete the series. Made with solution-dyed yarn to conserve water, the collection is well suited for workplace and hospitality environments.
As part of Tarkett North America’s sustainability measures and commitment to people-friendly spaces that perform and inspire, the Woven Fringe Collection is: fluorine free, using Eco-Ensure (C2C Gold Material Health certified as a stain resistant treatment); recyclable through the ReStart reclamation program; free of all X-Red (hazardous) dyes and chemicals in yarn dying process and replaced them with more eco-friendly alternatives; and meets new LEED v4 requirements for indoor air quality credit on low emitting flooring (CRI Green Label Plus) and low TVOCs.
