“WOOL LIBRARY”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 June 1939, Page 3

“WOOL LIBRARY”

SOME NEW PRINTED FABRICS. The International Wool Secretariat, one of whose chief aims is to maintain liasion between the three Empire wool-growing Dominions, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and the manufacturers in Britain and on the Continent, has built up a “wool library” of many hundreds of specimens and fabrics, and though the library is more of a direct and technical importance to buyers and designers, than to the general public it still has a wide interest, if only to show what an amazing variety of woollen fabrics is now available from British and European manufacturers. On January 1 the Secretariat asked for new issues for the season; by January 25 new fabrics •received totalled two hundred and fifty. Most interesting of all were the new printed cloths, remarkable not only for the range, but for the brilliance and clarity of the colours, and many visitors to Bush House, the London home of the Secretariat, said that they had previously been unaware that printing on wool had been so perfected.

The showroom at Bush House is itself a clever example of design and planning to make the most efficient use of limited space. Running the length of one side of the showroom is the wool library and cupboards which house specialised information which must always be available.

The choice of materials had to be very carefully considered in order to show woollen fabrics at their best. For this reason the room contains no metal. Tables, chairs and cupboards are of sycamore and birch, which with the white walls, emphasises the warmth of wool. The polished wood and corked floor throw,up its texture, while the only colours used, dark green and light blue, both of them natural out-door colours, cannot conflict with any colours used during an exhibition.