Bainbridge Blues hemp fabrics make over your home in luxury and sustainability

I aspire to do many things: repaint my kitchen, wallpaper my bathroom and reupholster some immense wingback chairs that are currently catching dust in my attic. While I have the best of intentions to get all those tasks accomplished, they keep getting pushed lower and lower on my to-do list as things like parenting, working and sleeping take precedence.

When I do get around to reupholstering those chairs, though, the fabric will most definitely be coming from Bainbridge Blues, a Bainbridge Island-based textile company run by friends and business partners Liz Le Dorze, Mudge Mair and Frances Nunes.

Designed by Le Dorze and manufactured in Italy, these hemp textiles are classic, understated and reflect a kind of relaxed but upscale "French farmhouse chic" that I admire.

The trio launched their first fabric collection in September 2008, after working together for seven years at Le Dorze's (now closed) Bainbridge Island interiors shop, also called Bainbridge Blues. With Mair handling the business end, Nunes heading up public relations and Le Dorze as designer, their inaugural collection features coordinating patterns of houndstooth, ticking, plaid, stripes and sweet birds perched on branches in shades of red, blue, brown and the natural creamy color of the hemp itself. The collection ranges in price from $68 to $96 per yard.

Fabric made from hemp is durable and antimicrobial, perfect for upholstery. Bainbridge Blues uses no starchy finishes, so the fabric is soft enough for bedding (of which the trio plans to launch a line in the next few months).

With a strong commitment to a high-quality, luxury product and fair labor practices, the trio developed a relationship with a small family-run textile factory outside of Florence, Italy, and was able to visit the factory to oversee the manufacturing process. According to them, every aspect of their business, from the fabric itself to their promotional material, is sustainably produced, recycled or recyclable.

Le Dorze wants customers to feel like they can "be their own designer" and offers 4 1/2-square-inch fabric swatches ($5 each when purchased online, and free from one of their retail outlets) for intrepid do-it-yourselfers who want to see the fabrics in their home before they buy.

Bainbridge Blues textiles are sold at Red Ticking, Embellish on Bainbridge Island and online at bainbridgeblues.com. The trio recommends Doran Patrick's Custom Upholstery on Eastlake Avenue East for any reupholstery project.

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