Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Brinton!

4:45…that was the meeting time for us to gitty up and go Birmingham to see the amazing Brinton factory…being a design nut, this was as exciting for me to see carpet being made, as it is for most people to see a celeb! So even though I was so exhausted I wanted to curl up and die, it was incredible, and side note…they are the darn dang nicest folks!
After a couple hours sleeping on the train and another hour or so on a bus…we arrive with a day full of fibers! They started us with some briskets and said we needed coffee too, cause we all looked a little pooped I guess..sorry buddy no can do! Then we split up to see the entire process. Starting with the ideas that come out of the design studio, this would be dream job if you ask me, coming up with the designs that wil fill the carpets of Cruises, Lavish Homes, Hotels, Stores…oh, my young design heart beat rapidly at the idea! Next was off to the archives…okay let start with the fact that she was pretty much the coolest lady…and again a job that I would love, the Brinton company has collected millions of samples of fabrics, of archives of books, of art that became carpets, everything and this little sweet lady collects it all and distributes it out when needed to the designers. I loved how well this idea fits in with us doing pattern designs, their isn’t really reinventing the wheel, theirs just changing it, manipulating what has been done. Learning from the past and becoming inspired by future ideas they create some of the most gorgeous designs for carpet.
Brinton then procured us a lovely English meal… Lovely tea sandwiches, sausage lump covered in pastry, OJ, and other little nibbles of pastry with a foreign insides! After a nice break…a little cap nap on the plush carpet samples we were off to see the programs they use to make huge insulations of carpet with elaborate patterns possible. At the time they were working on a new hotel in Atlanta…an ornate pattern with a seashell motif! So amazing…my little corporate designer want-a-be tried to just soak it up…oh to design a lavish expensive hotel…dream baby..dream! Then it was off to the factory to see the massive dying instruments, the enormous lumps, the attention to detail as they fix mistakes my hand…in classes that we studied carpet I just never understood, just exactly how it all comes together and makes something that will last as long as carpet does, now the light bulb is on! This was absolutely the most amazing experience in my carpet loving life…
After returning home, pretty much zombie like…I decided that I would adorn a lovely ensemble to do laundry in…we call it the Ghost of London…just remember, the Bec is tired she doesn’t think straight!