Easy Living Made Easy

Friends:

It’s the Madcap Cottage gents, Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, your Calico brand ambassadors and “hosts with the most.” Are you looking for high-function fabrics packed with heaps of style? Head to your local Calico outpost, and embrace the myriad pleasures of performance fabrics.

“Performance fabrics take the worry out of everyday living and entertaining. It means you don’t have to choose between beautiful furnishings and pets or kids.”

So says social media superstar and fabric designer Justina Blakeney whose Justina Blakeney Performance Fabrics with Crypton —all available at Calico—are packed with multi-colored patterns that will whisk you off to far-off inspiration locales such as Morocco.

Designer and Instagram star Justina Blakeney brings high style and function to her performance fabric selections for Crypton.

And indeed, performance fabrics have come a long way from their hardworking-but-bland background in commercial design. Performance fabrics are now home-design staples thanks to their hardwearing qualities paired with high-design characteristics.

Notes John, “We love using performance fabrics in our interiors projects from California to Connecticut. Performance options have really evolved from the day when the ‘hand’ of performance fabrics was often heavy and anything but soft. Design wise, today’s performance fabrics are indistinguishable from non-performance options but have so many value-added characteristics. So go ahead and spill some wine without the worry. Performance fabrics make our lives no fuss, no muss.”

Says Angela LaBounty, the Store Manager of Calico Edina in Minnesota, “Performance fabric is no longer the stiff, scratchy fabric that used to be used for cushions by the pool. Performance fabrics are being brought indoors for all of the active living areas inside the home.  The improvements in the soft hand of performance fabrics paired with the amazing and easy clean-ability make them beautiful, durable, and worry free for indoor use: Think mudrooms, dining chairs and banquettes, and bedding ensembles!”    

Take a trip to exotic, colorful lands with the Justina Blakeney Performance Fabrics with Crypton collection.

But how to decide which performance fabric is right for the application at hand?

Of course, the talented team at Calico outposts from coast to coast can guide you through the various performance brands and their qualities. For example, Sunbrella works for both indoor and outdoor applications and can be spot cleaned with soap and water or with bleach. It is suitable for heavy-duty use and has moderate resistance to pilling. Polyester prints and wovens are for indoor-outdoor use, too, but you don’t want to clean them with bleach. Crypton is for heavy-duty indoor use, as is Sensuede and the faux leathers. For more information, turn to the Calico “Comparing Performance Fabrics” chart on the Calico website to find out which fabric is right for you!

Comments Kathy Fickert, the Store Manager of Calico Cherry Creek in Denver, “In Colorado the lifestyle is a blend of family, friends, pets, outdoor activities, entertaining, and easy living. Performance fabrics make the ‘easy living’ that much easier. When there is a spill, performance fabrics clean up quickly. When there are muddy paws, performance fabrics clean up quickly. When snowy skis, snowboards and boots make their way indoors, performance fabrics clean up quickly. Performance fabrics used both indoors and outdoors are a MUST for beautiful living!”