Craftsmanship

The complexity of Edward Fields creations calls for exceptional artisanal skills. The standard of excellence that has defined Edward Fields since 1935 is evidence not only in the company’s exquisitely handcrafted products but also in the spirit and commitment of its workers at all levels of design and execution.

On a daily basis, Edward Fields artisans transform the most complicated custom designs into works of art that exceed the expectations of discerning customers worldwide. Edward Fields’ ethos of community, longevity and employee care began in the 1935 and it proudly continues today.

Design

An Edward Fields custom project typically starts with design development. The client may propose their own ideas, or may use a Edward Fields edition, or they may simply have a colour palette and genre in mind and leave the rest to the Edward Fields design team. Edward Fields offers 80+ different material choices, including wool, silk, cashmere, flax and cotton. The standard pom chain contains 288 colour choices, although each year over 2,000 unique colours are produced.

Sampling

During the design development process, custom handmade samples are generally prepared for the client’s review and approval, based on which, the order is placed. Edward Fields typically produces 3,000-4,000 samples per month. Samples offer clients the opportunity to see and feel the precise aesthetic of the custom product they are creating. Texture, density, softness and colours are among the many traits that can be experienced through the sampling process.

Template Production

The first step in the production of a Edward Fields carpet is to enlarge the design to actual size and create a full-size template. The design is mapped onto large acetate sheets by laser plotting, with the design outline traced as a line of tiny perforations. Once the template is prepared, it is attached to a large vertically stretched canvas, and the pattern outline is transferred to the canvas by brushing ink onto the acetate, which seeps through the holes. Then an artist finishes the pattern on the canvas by hand.

Yarn Preparation

In parallel to the preparation and inking of the template and canvas, preparation of the requisite yarn is initiated. Frequently this involves blending different materials, such as wool and silk, with the batch of yarn produced individually for each individual order. From here, the baton is passed to the craftspeople.

Dyeing

Dyeing is a critical process and among the most demanding challenges faced by TaiPing: discerning design-oriented clients require precision colour-matching … not made easier by the fact that people see color differently! The recipe for any new colour is developed using a computer-controlled recipe formulations machine. This calculates the types, quantities and combination of dyestuffs to deliver the required colour. Then it prepares the recipe, which is scaled up to produce the production batch in the dye house. All completed yarn batches are also visually assessed by skilled colourists, using four different types of light – daylight, fluorescent, UV and infrared.

Tufting

Once the inked canvas and dyed yarn preparation stages are complete, the carpet is created by skilled artisans with many years of training in the hand-tufting process. The canvas is stretched vertically, and the artisans use special hand-tufting guns designed by Edward Fields to apply the yarns to the canvas, with each colour applied individually in turn. While the design outlines on the canvas provide an overall guide, the artisan relies on experience and carefully-structured training to ensure the correct pile height, direction, cut or loop. In addition, many fine details depend on the artisan’s hand-to-eye coordination and artistic interpretation. The more complex designs require immense skill, with only a small proportion of the tufters qualified to perform this work.

Finishing

Artisans on the finishing floor start by finely hand-shearing the carpet’s surface to give it smooth, consistent finish. Many orders feature a complex texture with varying pile heights along with special carving, sculpting or embossing effects. The most skilled finishing artisans, with years of experience, perform these intricate operations with hand shears and scissors. A final inspection takes place to verify the dimensions, design execution, aesthetic and all technical parameters such as weight and pile height.