Monday, August 29, 2011

Surprising New Luxury Fabric Discovery: Alta Pampa, Handwoven in Argentina

Wow! Alta Pampa’s new textiles collection woven seduces the senses with its quiet elegance, traditional weaves, handcrafted details, and inventive use of alpaca, Merino wool, silk, and sexy, silken baby alpaca. I adore this quiet luxury, the soft sensuality, the beauty of natural fibers, and the sheer beauty. Glorious. 




Paris designer Jean-Louis Deniot first introduced me to the luxurious new Alta Pampa textiles collection when he selected the company’s baby alpaca fabric for a pale grey hand-finished throw for a chic Paris bedroom. He also used it for simple curtains. Subtle luxury. So beautiful to the touch. So original. Light as air. So unexpected. 


Jean-Louis noted the softness of the Alta Pampa fabrics, and its pleasing, timeless hue of undyed alpaca. Natural, and so chic.


Interior by Jean-Louis Deniot
Come with me to meet the creators of the divine new Alta Pampa collection, and to see the lovely weaves, the soft colors, the subtle edges and stripes. 

You’ll get a first look at understated luxury at its finest. And see below for all images—as well as where to find this line. They will be showing their collections at Maison & Objet in Paris in September. See all contact details below.


I’d been impatient to see the new Alta Pampa collection—and then recently my friends William and Analuz alerted me that Alta Pampa owner Eduardo Ardiles would be visiting San Francisco. We quickly arranged dinner. I asked him to bring all of his samples, and it was love at first sight and touch. Oh, the baby alpaca! It’s like fine cashmere—but silkier.

Alta Pampa is a fabulous new resource for designers. It’s now available in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, along with other cities. Designers can order the lovely alpaca fabrics, the Merino weaves, and the wild new chunky wool design that looks like woven cotton balls, in lengths for curtains, bedspreads, pillows, throws and other decorative uses. 



Eduardo Ardiles and Diego Garcia Scaro are Argentine designers living and working in Europe and America. They first met in London at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. After their studies, they gained experience in different fields. Eduardo worked as a residential designer for David Collins Studio, and Diego was architecture and design editor at Phaidon Press, both in London.


In 2006, they traveled together to Salta, Diego’s hometown in Argentina. This area in the northwest of the country is renowned for its remarkable artisanal heritage, resulting from the mix of local and European culture. The breadth of crafts ranges from hand-woven textiles to ceramics, woodturning and silverware. The fascination for the experienced craftsmanship and incredible quality of the material was the starting point for the 2006 creation of a line of home accessories that Eduardo and Diego named Alta Pampa.

“We make our products with natural and noble materials, and we take time and care crafting them with traditional and expert skills. We are obsessed with quality—and authenticity.” — Eduardo Ardiles

“We believe home accessories should be beautiful as well as practical, helping to bring out the soul of everyday moments. Our products are timeless, understated. We are passionate about well-made objects that are built to last. — Diego Scaro 



With Alta Pampa, they aim to blend a contemporary design sensibility with fine, classical artisanal techniques. Handicrafts are used for the quality that they bring to products, in an attempt to recreate the old-school tradition of workshops (such as the ones still to be found in haute-couture houses). Their research led them to set up their own textile workshop, where local craftspeople are trained in the use of refined fibers, such as silk and alpaca, to achieve products suitable for modern luxury markets in Europe, America and other fast-developing regions.



The first collection presented was a textile line of finished products (throws and blankets) and fabrics by the yard. Today, this collection is represented by Holland & Sherry in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and soon in Los Angeles (www.hollandandsherry.com).

In September 2010, Alta Pampa presented a tabletop collection made of hand-turned wood. This collection had a great reception and it was quickly adopted by shops like VitraHaus in Germany and Le Bon Marché in France. 

Alta Pampa also has a small bespoke collection of curtain tiebacks and wall-lights made of hammered German silver, inlaid with onyx and other finishes, which has been specified in important residential and commercial projects in London, Los Angeles and Switzerland. 


Eduardo Ardiles and Diego Scaro founded Alta Pampa in 2006 and now produce all of the textiles and wood designs in the company’s workshop in northwest Argentina. “We work closely with artisans across the region, so the Alta Pampa collections are authentic descendants of Argentina’s heritage,” said Ardiles.
“We source the best available materials—fine Merino wool from Patagonia, handspun silk from Argentina, baby alpaca from Peru—and we use traditional techniques to make light throws, blankets, bedspreads, pillows and fabrics by the yard that are luxurious, with a contemporary feel for colors and shapes.”

Alta Pampa weaves include classics such as herringbone twill and more adventurous fabrics such as chunky hand spun merino.  New to the Alta Pampa line are objects made of wood, ceramic, a variety of stones including onyx, and metals, such as bronze and German silver. 




Where to buy: 

Worldwide: 
Holland & Sherry represents the Alta Pampa fabric collection as well as finished products in the following cities: London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and soon in Los Angeles (www.hollandandsherry.com)

Paris: Le Bon Marche (www.lebonmarche.com)

London: L&B (www.lblondon.com)

New York: Dmitriy & Co. (www.dmitriyco.com)

Alta Pampa will be presenting the collection at Maison & Objet in Paris, from September 9-13 (www.maison-objet.com). Stand Location: Hall 7, Stand D74

Recommended retail prices start at US$245, for a Rizo throw hand-woven in pure lambswool and go up to US$1,070 for a Nube throw made of hand spun Merino wool. 



Alta Pampa Limited

10 John Street
London WC1N 2EB

Design Studio 
51 Cadogan Square
London SW1X 0HY

T +44 (0)20 7235 1179
F + 44 (0)20 7235 0083
M +44 (0)771 574 9405



3 comments:

A Poetry of a Home said...

This is when textiles are the best......I can feel the soft texture!!
Alta Pampa's collections and materials may blend beautifully with Swedish design, antiques as well as modernism.
Traditional colors of lime paint......what do you think?

They are not represented in Scandinavia I guess...they really should be!!!

My best,
Ingela

LA CONTESSA said...

Gorgeous,good quality is a rarity these days.Thanks for sharing.I may have to jump on a plane and head for the PARIS gift show!

Mark Newman said...

I love these sumptuous, elegant textiles, and can't wait to see the rest of the collection at Maison & Objet next Sunday! By the way...I spent this morning catching up on posts that I had missed - what a pleasure! Thank you for your always elegant, intelligent, insightful writing. You are ever an inspiration.