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Decoding Performance Fabrics, What it all means!

Performance fabrics are all the rage, but what does “performance” mean? Read on about this popular upholstery cover— which Nathan Anthony customers love to specify for their furniture selections.

Photo: Khai Mai President and Chief Engineer at Nathan Anthony

What is Performance?

In the context of fabric for residential home furnishings, performance typically refers to durability or cleanability, and, in some cases, to both. Durability offers insurance against everyday wear and tear, and cleanability refers primarily to stain and odor resistance.

Why Performance?

Do your design clients have children? Pets? Are they playing host or hostess to chic soirees in the living room? Will an all-white sectional in these homes spur the biting of nails and gnashing of teeth? Relax; you’ve got this.

What to Look For?

Double Rub Count

The “double rub count” term originated with a piece of heavy canvas repeatedly rubbed using a mechanized arm. Every back and forth motion of the arm counts as one “double rub.” The motion is meant to replicate the abrasive effects of normal use, and the friction that occurs when you sit down and stand up from sitting. The test continues until there are signs of significant wear, which is defined as two yarn breaks. Fabrics with a higher double rub count will offer more durability and longer-lasting wear. Look for a high count, starting at 10,000 double rubs or greater, when covering upholstered furniture items that will be used more frequently.

Crypton Finish

Crypton offers exceptional protection from water- and oil-based stains, moisture and odors. The fibers in a Crypton fabric are permanently transformed through a chemical immersion process, which includes an impenetrable moisture barrier to protect the fabric from spills and odors. Crypton assures its antimicrobial and stain-resistance technology is good for the life of the fabric. The company produces an impressive array of colors and patterns to choose from.

Nanoclean Finish

Nanoclean is an advanced fabric protector application available for use on certain upholstery fabrics. An invisible finish penetrates and forms a protective barrier around each fiber, with no impact to the fabric’s breathability. The application delivers durable, long-lasting repellency against water and oil based stains, dust, bacteria, viruses and dry soil, without affecting the touch, feel, look and the color of the fabric.

Ultrasuede HP®

Ultrasuede® is the original high-performance fabric, invented in Japan in the late ‘60s. Interior designers ask for it by name, due to its reputation for luxurious softness combined with durability. It offers 200,000 double rubs on all 97 solid colors, which makes it twice as durable as leather. Ultrafine, yet extra strong, fibers are the starting point in a proprietary, non-woven process. The fabric’s high fiber density gives it inherently beneficial properties, including cleanability. Most stains are removed with a water dampened cloth and gentle blotting. Learn more by visiting their website

[https://www.ultrasuede.us/applications/interiors.html]

While this is not a complete list of performance fabrics available in the marketplace, we hope you’ve gained a sense for the features and benefits to look for.

Performance Fabric at Nathan Anthony

We’ll be your wingman in the game of upholstery love!

Your clients may do the happy dance when you choose from our wide, in-house selection of performance fabrics for your kid-, pet-, and wine-friendly interior design projects. We’ve expanded our offering to include items like the cozy (and popular) Bear Performance Plush fabric, available in a range of rich colors.

You may now search for performance fabric on our website. Click on the magnifying glass icon, and type “performance”, “50,000”, or “100,000” (for the desired double rub count); or, key in the performance fabric brand name.

Or simply CLICK HERE to locate your favorites!

We hope you’ve found this information useful. Please don’t hesitate to write us with any additional questions at info@nafurniture.com.

More Nathan Anthony

Keep up with the latest happenings at Nathan Anthony through our social channels. Connect with us directly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and check out our latest videos on YouTube. Or follow the hashtags #nathananthony, #nathananthonyfurniture and #uphlstryart We’d love to engage with you online!

2020 – A Year Like No Other!

2020 has turned out to be a year like no other, in many unprecedented ways. What started out as a great intro to the New Year, turned into a lockdown and a rather difficult time of life, for many, due to Covid-19 and other devastating events that have occurred throughout the year. Our hearts continue to be with those affected by this year’s happenings.

To recap the year and share some of the good that still came from it, here are our highlights of 2020.

To start off the year, we were featured on American Dream TV’s “Hidden Gems” Los Angeles edition with host Rima Shideler. We took the crew inside our 40,000-square-foot Los Angeles showroom and factory and discussed our production process and gave a little history behind our company. We were thrilled to be featured! You can watch the episode here.

With the international pandemic hitting an all time high this past March, we were forced to put a stop on production and lockdown for almost two months. We saw that in those first few months, there was a shortage of PPE. Looking at our shelves full of fabric, we decided we could help others by designing and making masks. First, we had to outfit our work areas to be safe for our employees. We built stations six-feet apart with protected shields. We pivoted our business to making masks. We donated masks to food banks, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and more. After a while, we added some masks for sale to our website. The proceeds were donated to Global Giving’s Corona Virus Relief Fund.

In April, Spring’s High Point Market, an event we spend six months preparing for, was cancelled. This was a major upset for us, as we love meeting you and debuting our newest designs . Thankfully, for technology, we could turn to webinars and lots of video production to keep the connection with you .

Our EMBRACE sofa introduced for April High Point Market was an immediate hit. Embrace was then nominated for the 2020 Product Design Award! The award voting dates have been rescheduled to February 2021. Stay tuned for links and information on how you can vote!

The Embrace Cuddle Chair and Sweetheart Ottoman

Design et al London named our Tina Nicole to the WORLD’S LEADING DESIGN NAMES LIST 2021!! Wow! Tina Nicole is our co-founder, creative director and principal designer here at Nathan Anthony. Her incredible vision, fearless approach to design, dedication and devotion to her craft makes it only fitting that she was selected for this prestigious recognition. Read here a full article including her background, philosophy, predictions for 2021 and to find out some of her favorite things! We are pinching ourselves and are so proud of her!!

Fall’s High Point Market was given a green light and we were able to continue the show, but at 70% less attendance. We still had a huge success with the introduction of our EMBRACE Collection extensions – Cuddle chair, Swivel Chair and Sweetheart ottoman and a sweet designer taught us a new way of relaxing on a sofa… and begins with “the slide.”

On December 3rd, we enjoyed the highlight of the year, the World’s First Luxury Digital Designer Showhouse, Created Entirely And Only In The Virtual World! With products highlighted in augmented reality! See here!

Seasonal Living Magazine’s Virtual Living Designer Showhouse Living Room by Carla Aston

Seasonal Living Magazine’s Virtual Living Designer Showhouse Bedroom Room by Jeanne Khoe Chung

15 amazing sponsoring brands + 11 nationally known A-List designers have come together to make this a fun, beautiful, safe and inspiring experience (((can we refer to the prior blog post for more info here))). You’ll be able to go on a 360 walk-around inside each room, peer in corners, look at ceilings, floors, zoom in, zoom out!⁠⠀

Seasonal Living Magazine’s Virtual Living Designer Showhouse Office by Gloribell Lebron

The Showhouse has product discovery built in as well as some shoppable links – so you will be able to click open every product featured by our 11 participating designers to get the stories, additional images and details you need, fast!⁠⠀⠀⁠⠀

EMBRACE SOFA in the Zoom Room by Robin Baron Design

In addition, some of the products will be highlighted in augmented reality, so you can scan the QR code and project these products in your home to see how they look!⁠

To close, 2020 has taught us to cherish health, family and friends. To be appreciative for all that we have, not matter how small. Life may not always go as planned, but the strength to adapt, grow, listen and overcome will get us through.

Co-Founders: Khai, Tina and son (namesake too) Nathan Anthony 🙂

From our family to yours. Thank you to our customers and fans for your continued support. Our hearts are with those of you who are struggling during this time.

Thank you to everyone for reading our blog. We hope you all stay safe and enjoy the new year. We look forward to seeing you next High Point Market in June 2021! To keep up with the latest happenings here at Nathan Anthony, please follow the hashtags #nathananthony, #nathananthonyfurniture and #uphlstryart or connect with us directly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Also, you can always check out our latest videos on Youtube.

Fall High Point Market 2020 Highlights

This year’s High Point Market was like no other. Attendance was optional, even for exhibitors. And, with a projected 50% to 70% drop in visitors this time, it was a difficult decision. On top of that, corona virus cases have been rising sharply day by day as the weather cools. The thought of traveling to North Carolina for us Californians caused great anxiety.

But, we did it. We went to High Point and gave it our best. It turned out to be so worth it. Visitors who came were serious about shopping. And, we met so many first-time-to-market visitors, and people who were just walking by with smiling faces, their excitement was palpable. With daily health screenings, masks and hand sanitizer in abundance, everyone seemed to feel safe and at ease.

A new designer to High Point, Olivia Shae, enjoying our EMBRACE SOFA

When you have a hit, it’s important to go with it. So, this October, we added on to our wildly popular EMBRACE. We added an Embrace Cuddle chair and a half and an Embrace swivel chair. We also designed a new SWEETHEART ottoman to go with the EMBRACE collection.

Embrace, unlike any other seating collection, is the type of sofa that one “slides” into and does not just “sit” on. We created some fun moments capturing designers showing us how to do “the slide.”

Here are some more favorite captures from High Point Market 2020!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Embrace-cuddle-and-sh-otto-20-hp-885x1024.jpg — EMBRACE CUDDLE CHAIR & SWEETHEART OTTOMAN

Our showroom colors were inspired by the blues, greens and peachy pinks found in peacock feathers and tropical prints. There was a rich layering effect of color as we expanded the spectrum within these hues to burnt sienna, berries and emerald. It was gorgeous!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_6987-1024x768.jpg — The RELAX sectional

Foreground: EMBRACE SWIVEL CHAIR, Background: LAURENT BED

As the nation’s economy struggles to put itself back together, the furniture and home furnishings industry is having an outstanding year. Americans, working from home and no longer traveling for business or pleasure, are shifting huge amounts of their disposable dollars to fixing up and decorating their personal and rental homes. This trend—combined with product stock shortages created by panic-induced order cancellations earlier in the year and factory shutdowns—created a seller’s market – excerpt from Business of home

Nathan Anthony has seen an uptick in the demand for its products and custom furniture as more people are wanting to renovate their spaces, our designer/customers are busier than ever! Because we are a domestic manufacturer, we are able to create beautiful custom furnishings and meet deadlines.

Relax sectional, new designer, first time to hpmkt!

Creative Director and Principal Designer Tina Nicole on the EMBRACE CUDDLE CHAIR, Style Spotter Rachel Moriarty’s market pick!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_7227-576x1024.jpg — Laurent Sofa, Gobi arm chair, Sabine sofa (background)

With the thanksgiving holiday upon us, we want to express our deep gratitude to our amazing team of artisans, managers, customer service team and reps for their devotion to our company. “Every day in the factory, I witness a commitment to service through the hands and hearts of our amazing craftspeople. Khai and I are incredibly grateful for their devotion.” – Tina Nicole, Co-founder, Creative Director & Principal Designer.

Thank you to our fans and customers for reading our blog, we look forward to seeing you next spring at High Point Market 2021! To keep up with the latest happenings here at Nathan Anthony, please follow the hashtags #nathananthony, #nathananthonyfurniture and #uphlstryart or connect with us directly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Also, you can always check out our latest videos on Youtube.

GIVING BACK DURING COVID-19

From all of us here at Nathan Anthony, we first want to express our deepest love to all. We are all being affected by the COVID19 pandemic, in one way or another, and because of it, we wanted to do something.

News channels during the first ten days of quarantine in Los Angeles carried numerous stories about the lack of hospital beds and staff to treat people with the virus.

Last week, we received news that a local health clinic, Androgenix Health, was asked by LA County to open their clinic to take in and treat COVID19 patients. Juan Riojas, PA-C, MPAP, the clinic’s owner & director said yes. While preparing his clinic for this next phase, he was deeply concerned for the safety of his staff because he did not have, and could not find any available, PPE (personal protective equipment) for the expected onslaught of patients.

When we heard about Juan’s story, we gathered as many N95 masks as we could and gave them to him. Juan (pictured below) was grateful and expressed sincere gratitude in his letter to Khai and Tina:

“Your generosity cannot be more appreciated nor ever repaid. It is at this time that the real heroes step up – you guys are that. With N95 masks we can continue to treat patients and feel safe!”

It’s times like these when we all need to step up and do whatever we can to make sure our caregivers are safe and protected. For those who are not in a position to donate, the best thing we can all do as a nation is #STAYHOME.

Thank you to all healthcare and front-line personnel for taking care of our great nation. We know you are exhausted, overwhelmed and concerned for your own safety and the safety of your families.

Thank you for your sacrifice and bravery.

Thank you for reading our blog. If you can do anything to help healthcare workers in your area, please do so. For more information about helping Los Angeles, visit https://www.lamayor.org or email: 90033instructionsdonateyourppe@gmail.com to donate to LAC USC Medical Center.

To keep up with us here at Nathan Anthony during this isolating time, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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