9th April 2024 | IN EXPERT INSIGHT | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedIn Deborah Franklin, Design Manager and Special Projects Manager at Skopos Fabrics, has given her insights into the industry. With more than 50 years of specialist design and manufacturing experience, Skopos provides high-quality flame-retardant fabrics and soft furnishings to the contract market. Offering full-service (design, measure, make-up and install), or fabric-only options, Skopos specialises in innovative flame-retardant fabrics which lead the way in the contract sector. Fabrics meet the requirements of various sectors with attributes, such as antimicrobial, acoustic, soil and stain-resist and new recycled fabrics. With a Bespoke design and colour matching service Skopos can provide customers with the opportunity to create unique statement solutions. Defining signature styles of flagship hotels and cruise-liners, working with key brands within the commercial sector, Skopos prides itself in leading the way in fabric innovation. What are the origins of the business? Skopos was started in the early 70’s by Art College students, Stephen Battye and David Richards. Skopos began by hand-printing Greek inspired geometric designs onto lengths of cotton fabric. It wasn’t until a couple of years later, when joined by a third partner, Bernard Thomas that the company decided upon the name Skopos, roughly meaning ‘design’ or ‘range’ in Greek. In the mid’ 70s the company started making up curtains and in the late 70’s developed a process to produce fabrics that were flame retardant, initially, specifically for the healthcare market. The first export market for the company was the Middle East, with project teams wanting to specify British product. In the 80s Skopos explored the retail sector. Roll ends and small leftover quantities were sold here to ensure nothing was wasted. Until 2015 Skopos wet-printed fabrics on site at Providence Mills. Now printing takes place down the road, all via the transfer print method. Skopos Fabrics How do your products and services enhance interior design projects? Skopos’ fabrics, and expertly made soft furnishings, provide the finishing touch to interior design projects across the globe. Providing flagship schemes for hotels, cruise-liners and a vast array of commercial environments, Skopos are the leaders in textile design, bringing new ideas and innovations into interiors. Designs are not limited to collection fabrics. With the offer of Bespoke Design, the Skopos team are ready to create something new and unique for brands that like to stand out. Designers can specify Skopos fabrics with the knowledge that style comes hand in hand with quality: beautiful fabrics that meet stringent technical requirements and soft furnishings produced by a skilled team of craftsmen. Skopos Fabrics What value does your specialist sector add to the industry? Innovations within textile design, production and supply, mean that fabrics are a key part of the interior architecture of any space. Designers can knit together schemes knowing that they have on-hand knowledge including acoustic properties, light reflective values, thermal properties etc…to make informed decisions when creating schemes. All Skopos products are flame retardant as standard, without the need for extra treatments. The contract fabrics sector is ever-evolving and an exciting and key part of the design industry. Skopos’ purpose is to assist the role of the specifier, offering design and colour, enabling the creation of beautiful and functional interiors. Skopos Fabrics How do you work with interior designers? Our next day sampling service is a core tool for designers. Fabrics are tactile and therefore mood-boards with textures and surfaces are a key precursor to decision making or confirming any fabrics or soft-furnishings order. We provide designers with key tools, including sample books and cards or swatches for their library and via our website we allow fabric swatch downloads or the tools to visualise patterns and designs on 3D models…. a bit of a try before you buy idea. Our website also provides designers with downloads of ready-made surfaces that can be adopted straight into AutoCad or other 3D modelling software models. Skopos Fabrics What has been your most significant company highlight or success from the past year? In 2023 Skopos achieved Carbon Neutral status as an organisation, recognising the business’ commitment to supporting our environment. A lot of effort has been made to reduce carbon emission and set achievable goals for the future, offsetting any remaining emissions, to assist worthwhile environmental projects in the UK and overseas. Everything is measured. Every journey, whether person or product, is recorded, to ensure we are realising those efforts for a cleaner future. Alongside Skopos’ wider sustainability drive we are focussing on new recycled product, as a key part of the portfolio ongoing. New recycled fabrics, which re-engineer waste products are a key part to our portfolio. Skopos also make an effort to utlise local suppliers to minimise the carbon footprint of their products. Skopos is an ISO 9001 company, focussed on delivering the best for its customers. Skopos Fabrics What are the latest trends you’ve noticed in your client’s requests? Customers are increasingly aware of sustainability, but also the need to create designs which can be owned by a brand. There are a huge variety of textures being requested. Customers are also keener than ever to understand the architectural qualities of fabrics. Elements which are a consideration in the interior architecture of a room. Colours are a little braver with straight neutrals becoming warmer and used alongside stronger yet muted tones. We are also seeing an increased use of bolder, brighter colours and the injection of more pattern, with brands striving to reinforce their identities. Skopos Fabrics How do you see the interior design industry evolving in the year ahead? There are some exciting trends running side by side at the moment. The maximalist look is still very much apparent, with an abundance of textures and layers in a room filled with colour and the contrast of dark and light. Texture is a big part of the finishing touches. Higher piles with a natural woolly look sit alongside metallics, velvets, woods and stone. Biophilia is still very relevant, bringing the outdoors in, goes hand in hand with sustainability. Shapes in print are often irregular and organic, yet bold and confident. Skopos Fabrics Is there anything new you are excited to be working on? We are working on an exciting new project for later in the year, with the idea that we are virtually inviting the specifier to have a peek into the Skopos studio, to choose from a special library of prints for a variety of end uses. What does being an SBID Accredited Industry Partner mean to you? The SBID Industry partnership gives us access to a broader scope of people in the industry. Designers who have previously concentrated on more domestic projects are branching into commercial challenges, rather than limiting their talents. We are ready to take the challenge and embrace SBID members and work with them to realise their visions. Deborah Franklin, Design Manager and Special Projects Manager at Skopos Fabrics About Skopos Fabrics Ltd Skopos has over 50 year’s experience of supplying innovative statement fabrics and soft furnishings into flagship hotels, marine interiors and other commercial spaces. Working globally with designers and specifiers, the Skopos brand thrives on innovation. Skopos fabrics deliver on style but also meet the needs of customers looking for technical assurance and key attributes, such as acoustic options, impervious upholstery fabrics, antimicrobial and blackout; providing a fabric-only, or made-to-measure and installation service. Accredited as a Carbon Neutral organisation in 2023, sustainable operations go hand in hand with the development of new recycled products and the use of local suppliers. Visit Profile If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.