The newest kid on the New York City trade show block, DG Expo, is growing rapidly. Indigo and Printsource recently showed print ideas for Spring/Summer 2014.
Celebrating its second year, DG Expo now has about 80 exhibitors showing fabrics and trims that have low minimums and flexible ordering options. Apparel fabrics dominated, but home fabrics, buttons, beads, labels, appliqués, zippers, buckles and ribbons also were on display.
Hemp Traders, Carson, Calif., has knitted and woven fabrics of hemp, cotton and blends. At the moment, hemp comes from China and Romania. It is hoped that growing hemp will soon be legal in the United States. Some of the most popular apparel fabrics are jersey knits. Canvas is going into apparel and selling to artists.
Premier Prints Inc., Sherman, Miss., has a 1,000-yard minimum. Its fabrics are going into bedding, draperies and pillows. All are woven in North Carolina and printed in Mississippi. Cotton twill printed pillows were on display. The outdoor line is woven of polyester.
Purplethum Design shows its fabrics to attendees at Printsource.
Warp knitter Darlington Fabrics, Westerly, R.I., a division of The Moore Company, sells to athletic, swimwear and intimate apparel markets. Production is done in Rhode Island and El Salvador. Most fabrics have performance finishes, including moisture-wicking, soil-release and anti-odor; and are available solid or printed. Constructions include tricot, raschel, satin, power net and mesh.
James Thompson & Co. Inc., New York City, sells custom-dyed and -finished woven fabrics, shipped from its mill in Delaware. Most are basic solids in cotton and blends including burlap, canvas, flannel, muslin, sheeting, ticking and 10-ounce denim.
Stylecrest Fabrics Ltd., Hoboken, N.J., is easing out of French laces and concentrating on yarn-dyed woven cotton, linen, silk, wool, rayon and microfiber shirtings; and small ditsy prints, and novelties. Today, half of its line comes from Europe.
Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Los Angeles, is bullish about stretch denim, cotton/spandex knits, yarn dyes and prints. Prints include florals, abstracts, geometrics and conversationals. Most of the fabrics are from Asia; prints are produced in Japan and Korea.
Philips-Boyne Corp., Farmingdale, N.Y., sells yarn-dyed shirtings, most of which are woven in Japan. The collection is enormous, and minimums are low. The company also sells fabrics for dresses, accessories, childrenswear and linings. With most fabrics warehoused on Long Island, deliveries generally are fast.
Prints
While there is overlapping at the two surface design shows, Indigo's strength is apparel fabrics, while the majority of Printsource exhibitors concentrate on home fabrics. For apparel, there are trends to smaller designs, clean looks, watercolor florals, and bright color plus black-and-white.
At Tom Cody Design, New York City and London, simple abstract and geometric designs and conversationals, especially bird patterns, caught customers' eyes, along with smaller florals, clean and crisp geometrics, tiny no-print designs and bright colors.
Owens & Kim pointed out small flowers, painted flowers, ethnics, skins and black-and-white designs. Amanda Kelly had orientals, scrolly ornamentals, scenics and Aztec-inspired designs. Gather No Moss showed nautical conversationals; black-and-white dot, stripe and box combinations; and paisleys.
