Written by Ellen Sinclair – Sales 11/20/19
What Kind of Samples Are Right for Upholstery Fabric?
Whether it is woven, leather or vinyl, all upholstery fabrics look great on a sample card. Large displays of styles, colors, texture and more can be arranged in a compact one, two or three-panel sample card, and can be easily carried by a salesperson or sent in a mailing.
One variation on the sample card is the “hang tag”. Here, each sku gets its own card, usually a small 2” x 4”, 3” x 5” or similar small card. The tag is printed and the slightly smaller swatch is glued on, either fully glued down or glued at the top only, “feeler” style. The hang tag may be flat, or the top may fold over and enclose the top of the swatch. There’s usually a hole punched, possibly with an eyelet or grommet, so the hang tags can be assembled on a ring or chain. They can also be handed out or mailed out a few at a time, to show just a few of your offerings to a potential customer.
Memos are a larger sample, cut to any size you choose, with a tag or label attached. Memos are especially suitable for upholstery fabric, as they can be used to show a large example of the fabric. Memos can be carried to view in various lighting conditions or to match against various items, and are large enough to represent the texture and pattern of the product. A ring set of memos is an excellent salesman’s tool or showroom sample set.
Upholstery fabric also has its own traditional type of fabric swatch, commonly referred to as the upholstery page. This is a printed header piece of tear-resistant card stock, with a large fabric swatch sewn on, and often with several color line swatches also attached. Upholstery pages are assembled on large rings with a handle, making it easy to flip through dozens of styles, in all available colors . If upholstery pages are your showroom go-to, call on LSC to help you create or update an upholstery page set.
