The Power of Working Together, Camira’s New Inspiration Book Pays Tribute to Collaboration

In their recent digital inspiration book, New Perspectives, global textile manufacturer Camira pay tribute to creativity, cooperation and community in a trend titled ‘The Collaborator.’ A celebration of their past, present and future collaborative partners, the story is filled with fabrics and products created in harmony with multi-disciplinary designers and manufacturers.

We spoke with Lynn Kingdon, Head of Creative at Camira, to explore why she feels collaboration is such a driving force in interiors, now more than ever before.

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The third story from New Perspectives, The Collaborator is inspired by the people Camira has worked with throughout its history, could you tell us a little about who they are, and what you’ve created together?

Of course – we’ve worked with some truly amazing designers and industry leaders through the years, and there really are too many to mention here, however, in New Perspectives, we highlighted just a few of these to illustrate the breadth and variety of collaboration.

From textile design studio, Wallace Sewell, with whom we’ve had a long and fruitful partnership in creating the iconic moquette fabrics featured across the London Underground, and Ella Doran, a designer & photographer, who we worked with to produce a jacquard wool fabric featuring her Waterlake design for an installation at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, through to our incredible collaboration with the Jens Risom estate, which saw us re-imagine two of his iconic mid-century fabrics, Zap and Armadillo, for today’s interiors, there really are so many ways in which we’ve worked with others to create truly amazing textiles.

We also have a very exciting new collaborative development in the pipeline with contemporary landscape artist Maggie Cochran, which we can’t wait to share later on this year!

Why do you feel collaboration will be key in the interiors industry in the coming months and years?

It may seem cliché, but the past 18 months have really shown that working together is so important in ensuring our industry thrives. Not only from a practical perspective in terms of material sourcing and supply chains, but also from a creative point of view – connecting and collaborating with others sparks fresh ideas, solves problems, and delivers solutions which we may never have found in isolation. As mentioned in ‘The Collaborator’ story, we are greater than the sum of our parts – and this has never felt more true or apt than it does following the pandemic.

Are your fabrics often inspired by or created in collaboration?

They are, and not just with other designers or manufacturers, we also create in collaboration with other materials. I think this goes to the heart of New Perspectives actually, we don’t design our fabrics in a vacuum – they are very much considered in harmony with the finishes that we feel will be influential in spaces. So, as we see in ‘The Collaborator’ story, our textured wools – such as Blazer and Main Line Flax – in deep, rich tones work beautifully when paired with stitched leather, polished walnut, and even a pop of glossy ceramic. Our fabrics are one element within an interior scheme, and it’s so important to ensure that they work in harmony with the textures and finishes that will be featured elsewhere. In essence, we are continuously collaborating and inspired by others.

To request your digital copy of New Perspectives, visit https://www.camirafabrics.com/en/inspiration/new-perspectives

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