Tundra upholstery fabric by Kvadrat

In 1997 architect Erik Ole Jørgensen created Tundra and Flora. The combination of mélange colours and weaving techniques peculiar to these two upholstery fabrics makes them quite unique, unlike any others on the market. The collections have now been revised, and as a result, Tundra and Flora are now available in nearly twice as many colourways as in the original collection.

Tundra and Flora are made of New Zealand wool, with the raw wool being dyed in 12 bright, brilliant colours. To achieve the coloursetting of a particular fabric, a main colour is mixed with two accent colours and toned with black or white, after which the mixture is spun into a thick curl yarn. This method can only be used with wool, but at the same time it is a time-consuming process and one which requires an extensive knowledge of colour on the part of the designer. For this reason, Erik Ole Jørgensen had to construct a “colour wheel” before he could systematise the possible combinations of base and accent colours. Only then was it possible to begin the actual process of determining in what relative proportions the various colours should be combined for individual upholstery fabrics.
The two upholstery fabrics are identical in their coloursetting, but look different due to Tundra being a bouclé weave and Flora a crepe weave.

Tundra is woven as a bouclé, with the coloured yarn spun round a black central thread. This construction give a somewhat darker colour tone overall, compared with Flora. At the same time, the weaving technique produces a heavy, textured surface, which brings out the particular mélange colours. The heavy texture makes this upholstery fabric particularly suitable for large, soft, padded areas. Flora is woven with a normal twisted yarn in a crepe binding, which gives a lighter surface texture than Tundra, making the fabric suitable for firm upholstering and part-upholstering of small areas, such as conference chairs.

85% new wood, 15% nylon
37 colours 1
50 cm wide