I once had a boyfriend tell me that I shopped for clothes like I shopped for fruit: “I just don’t understand why you have to touch everything in a store.” I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t want to feel the texture, but maybe I should’ve been dating the geniuses at Kravet instead, because they definitely understand why a tactile experience matters. “Texture is everything,” says Patricia Kramer, a self-described “fabric geek” who manages Kravet’s new showroom in the Armoury District.

Oh, pardon me, that’s “workspace,” not showroom: the for-the-trades fabric centre is what Kramer describes as a “disruptor,” designed to allow design professionals to get hands on with grab-and-go samples from the colour-sorted display cases, or use a touch-screen to compose drag and drop printable mood-boards. A high-tech self-serve scanning station allows users to check pricing, find alternative colours, or share virtually with clients. 

Nearly 15,000 samples are available in the Kravet Workspace library, from subtle grasscloth to hand-blocked tropical Lee Jofa prints. Kravet’s large wallpaper library is available to explore (and touch!) here too, and the furniture line is available for order.

This hands-on designer-focused space is only the second for Kravet in the world (the first being the New York Design Center), and while you’ve got to be an industry pro to bring your favourite samples home, anyone’s welcome to pop in to explore. Maybe I’ll see you there? With the amount of fabrics out in the open here, it’s going to take me a while to get my hands on all of them.

Kravet Workspace Vancouver
101-1626 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey is a senior editor at Western Living magazine, as well as editor-in-chief of sister publication Vancouver magazine. She loves window shopping on the job: send your home accessories and furniture recommendations over to [email protected]