At the recent London Design Festival, Israel-based digital textile production company Kornit Digital debuted a new product partnership designed to improve the circularity of upholstered furnishings.
The company collaborated with furniture startup Cozmo and London design studio Raw-Edges to create a line of digitally printed custom sofa covers dubbed “Cheek Prints.” The covers were designed to allow consumers to easily and affordably extend the life of their upholstered furniture, reducing waste.
“The ability to transform a generic fabric with custom prints creates a sofa that can change with the owner’s tastes and provides a lifetime of value,” said Phil Oakley, director of UK and Ireland for Kornit Digital.
Cozmo used Kornit’s Presto direct-to-fabric digital printer to produce textiles featuring Raw-Edges’ large-scale design in everything from bold combos of coral and burgundy to neutral color ways. Kornit’s Presto system also allowed the company to print white patterns on colored fabrics. And through digital printing, the company can produce one-offs or small batches more cost-effectively.
“Working with Kornit, we’re not only putting creativity in the buyer’s hands, but also allowing the market to respond quickly to changing customer demand,” said Jacob Peres, Cozmo co-founder. We’re very pleased of our collaboration with Kornit and Raw-Edges, which is unlocking new levels of creativity with highly sustainable digital production.”
And while the digital fabric printing process makes greater creativity possible, it also allows Cozmo and other companies who partner with Kornit to lengthen the lifespan of their products, improving circularity. That’s a major push for many in the home goods industry nowadays, with companies like Ikea, Macy’s and Parachute making concerted efforts to improve the circularity of their products.
“With digital production technology, there’s no need to throw away older sofas,” Oakley said. “It allows owners to redesign the furniture’s look and feel quickly, easily, and cost-effectively.”