Upholstery is a good way of making a soft sitting experience that is relatively easy to maintain and also provides a wide range of colour and texture choices.
The comfort and longevity of the upholstery depends for one part on the choice of fabric or leather, but more important is the underlying construction and materials.
At PP Møbler we prefer to build up gradually the shapes using traditional and natural upholstery materials. This requires a lot of experience, and it often takes days of manual work before the upholstery work is finished.
Tow
Plant fibre material is used to make the basic shapes. This material creates a dense compound as a foundation for softer materials.
Tow is a waste product of yarn production. At PP we use tow made of either hemp or flax, one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history.
Horse hair
Has a springy effect and is used to mould the shapes. Horsehair is used as raw heat-treated or as moulded into sheets of natural rubber.
Horsehair is naturally fire resistant, ventilates well and is extremely durable.
Cotton
Is used as the final layer before the fabric. The cotton softens the touch of the upholstery and evens out the surface.
Dried palm leaves
Are used as filler because it can be shaped but remains quite stiff. The palm leaves are only used on the backside of chairs where there is a minimum of wear from daily use.
Coil springs
Are fundamental to the comfortable support for the back in the Papa Bear Chair. The coil springs are sewn into bags of linen fabric and then attached to jute straps that are stretched down the length of the back.