Waverly Fabrics

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Waverly, a manufacturer of beautiful, stylish, and well-designed window, wallpaper and furnishing fabrics, has evolved into a leading force in the home décor market. Waverly fabrics have become synonymous with style and value and a top fabric brand. But the company itself has an interesting history- one that links the great textile designer to American history and that influences the designs you’re familiar with today.

The Waverly Fabrics Mill

Waverly Fabrics was launched as a company in the mid 19th century with a single mill in Patterson, New Jersey. A manufacturer of printed textiles, woven textiles and silk dress fabric, Waverley had already established a reputation for its apparel and furnishing fabrics by the time the F. Scumacher Company, a fabric importer purchased it in 1895. Schumacher, until then unable to produce its own fabric domestically, viewed Waverly curtain, Waverly upholstery, and other Waverly fabrics as a way to solidify it’s supply chain within the U.S.

A New Opportunity For Visibility

But the acquisition of Waverly provided Schumacher with more than an ample supply of domestically produced woven and printed textiles. It provided them an unprecedented opportunity to showcase their fabrics.

Waverly meant that Schumacher could now produce domestically-made special commission fabrics – fabrics that could be commissioned by the U.S. government and military. And they in fact were. Waverly upholstery fabric was used in the offices of Presidents Woodrow Wilson, and Calvin Coolidge, and Waverly drapery fabric was used in the offices of Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.

A World-Class Textile Designer Becomes Popular

With a now firm reputation and history, Waverly began to attract world-class designers, including such design pioneers as Dorothy Draper, Vera, and Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s next step was to begin to more fully enter American homes. 1926 was the year that began to happen, beginning with a promotional campaign in popular magazines. Through the pages of House and Garden, House Beautiful, Town & Country, and Vogue, the message of Waverly fabrics was brought to middle America and with the success of the campaign, Waverly Decorative Fabric division was established. Through the new division, Waverly drapery fabric and Waverly Upholstery fabric became widely available to decorators and shop owners and gained a deeper foothold inside American homes.

A Commitment To American Culture

By the beginning of World War II, Schumacher had come to realize the value in deepening the connection between Waverly fabrics and American culture; that through the medium of decorator fabric, Waverly could both preserve and promote unique elements of American history. So Schumacher begin to recreate textile designs that had been preserved by American historical societies, including those of still well-known Colonial Williamsburg. Waverly fabrics ended up being heavily influenced by these designs and the relationships proved so key for Schumacher that they continue to this day, with a substantial portion of the decorator fabric Waverly now produces (Waverly toile fabric being a notable example) coming directly from these designs.

Continuing Popularity

In the years since World War II, Waverly decorator fabric has become one of the most widely appreciated decorator fabric brands, rivaling equally respected companies such as Robert Allen Fabric, Michael Miller Fabric, and Alexander Henry Fabric. And with startlingly popular successes- Waverly print and woven designs such as Country Life, Waverly Tuscany, Paddock Shawl, Waverly Concello, Ballad Bouquet and others, Waverly fabrics are certain to delight home decorators for years to come.

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