Benevent

Cotton is made from the vegetal fibres surrounding the seeds of the cotton plant. Traces of cotton were found in Ancient Egypt and in Mexico, possibly over 7,000 years old. Cotton culture developed in America, Africa and Eurasia. While it reached Europe as early as the IInd century BC, its history on that continent truly began with the creation of the West India trading companies. From then on, the culture of cotton never stopped growing and it is now the most used natural fibre in the world. More difficult to weave than linen because of its short fibres, it has a higher density. Cotton is a very good insulation material thanks, in particular, to its exceptional moisture absorption properties. It is warm, soft, comfortable. PINTON weaves this staple of the textile industry on its own or combined with other materials for the Couture as well as the Diffusion lines. In tapestry making, cotton is very rarely used on its own and is most often combined with other materials. It is generally the material used for the warp thread.

Cotton can be used in loop weave where the continuous thread forms loops on the surface of the rug, or in pile weave where the threads on the surface of the rug are cut. It can also be woven as loop and cut which combines both techniques.

A few thousand years before Christ, Roman, Chinese, Persian and Egyptian craftsmen used to cover in gold leaf the threads that they were going to weave for the rich and powerful. Later, weavers used gold and silver threads to embellish tapestries woven out of wool or silk. These threads were difficult to work and extended production times. They required particular skills, passed from generation to generation. From the XVIIth century onward, new techniques made it possible to create very fine metal threads able to go through fabric. Today, the metals used with textile fibres are silver, gold and copper, but also aluminium, iron or stainless steel, and come in every colour. In PINTON’s Couture collection, these fabulous threads are inserted alongside traditional wool or silk yarns, to create poetic and graphic pieces imagined in partnership with contemporary artists and designers.

Linen is a plant-based natural fibre derived from flax. It is possibly one of the first fibres used by man: fragments of twisted and dyed linen fibres were found, allegedly over 30,000 years old. In France, Charlemagne developed the culture of flax, which reached its peak in the XVIIIth century with over 300,000 hectares dedicated to its culture. A quintessential natural material, flax requires neither fertiliser nor irrigation. Transforming the flax plant into linen yarn involves no chemical process. Finally, the linen fibre stands the test of time and traffic. All these qualities led PINTON to offer rugs and carpets made in this material, used on its own or in combination with others.

Linen can be used in loop weave where the continuous thread forms loops on the surface of the rug, or in pile weave where the threads on the surface of the rug are cut. It can also be woven as loop and cut which combines both techniques.

While the history of PINTON is punctuated with fruitful collaborations and fascinating encounters, it is also marked by the wealth of talents in its midst. For over a decade, a team of 4 creatives coming from diverse backgrounds devote their time to designing rugs and carpets for the PINTON manufactory. Driven by shared curiosity, constant research and dialogue, the team is continually enriching the firm’s collections with new patterns or designs, combinations of materials and colours, as well colour variations. Capturing trends, listening to customers’ wishes, in direct connection with the company’s history and located under the same roof as the craftspeople and the workshops, at the crossroad of the creative and production processes, the PINTON team of designers are at the heart of the business.

The hand tufting technique is a process combining centuries-old skills and modern weaving tools. The canvas is perfectly stretched over an upright loom and the craftsperson transfers by hand the future design of the rug with the utmost precision. Threads are inserted manually, one by one, working with a gun on the back of the canvas, following the colours, the drawing and the different tuft heights. PINTON was one of the first manufactories to use the gun tufting technique to produce some of its rugs and carpets and is the only French workshop offering very high quality tufted rugs. With this technique, production times are reduced compared to the knotted stitch weave or point noué. Finally, hand tufting offers a large range of possible depths. Carving is the technique that consists in sculpting the wool and creating textures within the woven rug. Since the early 1990s, PINTON has been specialising in the production of hand tufted rugs for which it also collaborates with famous designers and artists.