A guest checking into a well-designed hotel today has probably already seen that exact look somewhere else. The same neutral linen, same rattan chair and the same three "statement" prints that show up in every boutique property's mood board this year, because they all came from the same three catalogs.
That's the real problem performance fabric has created for itself. It got so good, and so consistent, that the fabric stopped being the thing that made a room feel different from the one down the street. What's replaced it is a much less technical question: where did this actually come from, who made it, and can the hotel two blocks away order the exact same thing tomorrow?
What makes a fabric feel exclusive instead of just expensive?
A higher price per yard doesn't automatically make a fabric feel exclusive. Treating cost as a stand-in for exclusivity is a common, and often expensive, mistake.
A fabric will, in fact, seem genuinely exclusive if it is associated with a limited production run, a particular design studio, or with a recorded process explaining how it was made, rather than merely being more expensive than the standard option which is next to it on the shelf.
Two fabrics can have almost the same technical performance and yet end up very different in a finished room. One of them could be from a small print run carried out by a certain studio. The other might just be a mass-produced fabric that has been given a higher price.
What is hand block printing, and why does it look different from machine printing?
Hand block printing is a method for working with textiles in which a design is cut into a wooden block, dipped in color, and then pressed onto the fabric by hand, one pattern at a time, rather than using a mechanical roller or a digital printing process.
This technique has for a long time been recorded in certain areas of India, most notably in the Rajasthan region, where it is said to have been carried on for many generations in particular family workshops and craft communities.
Because each impression is placed by hand, block-printed fabric usually carries small, natural variations from one repeat to the next. Machine printing doesn't reproduce this, since automated printing is built specifically to remove that kind of variation so every yard comes out identical. That's part of why block-printed textiles tend to be positioned differently in the market than a standard printed pattern: the process is slower and more labor-intensive, and it depends on a specific craft tradition and group of skilled workers rather than an automated line.
Turning a hand-printed textile into an actual outdoor performance fabric isn't a simple pairing, since the two traditions come from very different manufacturing worlds. A hand-printed pattern usually starts life as an indoor design, on lighter fabric, for decorative use, never built to handle sun, moisture, or heavy daily contact. Adapting that same look onto a weather-resistant, solution-dyed base means redeveloping the pattern for a completely different material and finishing process. A fabric like our Sunbrella Canvas Charcoal Cushion is a good example of what that solution-dyed base actually looks like in practice, since the color runs through the fiber itself rather than sitting on the surface the way a hand-block dye does, which is exactly the difference a collaboration like Hollyhock has to work around. This is the kind of work a fabric brand and an independent design studio have to solve together, not something either could do alone.
What should you check before using a new collaboration fabric in a real project?
A limited or newly launched collaboration fabric is worth real scrutiny before it goes into a working space rather than a showroom display, regardless of which studio or brand made it. A few questions are worth putting directly to your supplier before a design gets finalized around one pattern:
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Does this particular pattern really have the rating you're thinking of using it for? Just because a collection is labeled 'performance fabric' doesn't mean that every print in it has the same rating for heavy-contact upholstery as compared to lighter-use drapery or decorative accents.
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Will it still be available after the launch window closes? A fabric a client falls in love with for a full property rollout needs to remain orderable months later, not just during an initial release.
Neither of these requires design expertise, only a habit of confirming specifications before committing to a full order. Our guide on what designers know about choosing the right upholstery covers a few more of these practical checks in more depth.
What is the Block Shop x Sunbrella Hollyhock Collection?
One recent addition to the performance fabric space is the Hollyhock Collection, a collaboration between Block Shop and Sunbrella. According to Sunbrella's own account of the collaboration, the two teams developed the collection together over an extended process of adapting Block Shop's hand-printed patterns to Sunbrella's performance fabric base.
Block Shop is a textile and design studio based in Los Angeles and was established by the sisters Hopie Stockman Hill and Grier Stockman; according to the studio itself, its designs are based on traditional hand block-printing methods which originate in Rajasthan, India and are carried out via continuous partnerships with artisan workshops. The studio also says that it puts 5 percent of its profits towards community projects in both India and Los Angeles, such as funding for healthcare access and education.
The collection takes its name and visual inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, a 1919 Los Angeles residence built for arts patron Aline Barnsdall. According to Block Shop's own product listing, the collection includes twelve performance fabric patterns, among them:
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Jetty - a wave-like repeat
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Key - built around a Greek key motif
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Verdugo - a stripe-and-dot design named for the Verdugo Mountains north of LA
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Posey - a floral pattern drawing on eighteenth-century French wallpaper
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Agnes - a plaid inspired by a 1968 painting by artist Agnes Martin
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Backgammon - a bold stripe finished with a raised textured dot
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Juggle, Taos, Crescent, and Serpentine - each offered in several colorways
Block Shop's site lists the fabric at $165 per yard at the time of writing, though pricing is worth confirming directly with them before quoting a client. Every fabric in the line reportedly carries Sunbrella's standard performance properties, including resistance to fading, mold, and mildew.
Why are boutique and independent hotels growing faster than big chains right now?
According to IBISWorld's research on the US boutique hotel industry, revenue in that segment grew at a compound annual rate of 8.7% between 2020 and 2025, reaching $36.5 billion, including a reported 1.9% increase in 2025 alone. That growth rate reportedly outpaces the broader hotel and motel industry over the same period.
Taken at face value, that suggests real demand for individually designed, non-standardized properties, which is what defines the boutique hotel category by definition, rather than a chain built to a repeated template. It's a data point worth factoring in when deciding where to invest sourcing time and design budget, though it's one data source rather than a full market picture.
For many boutique properties, a large share of that individuality lives outdoors, on a pool deck, rooftop, or courtyard. That design budget doesn't always need to go into new furniture. Fitting existing frames with replacement cushions for outdoor furniture in a distinctive performance print is often a faster, more practical way to make an outdoor space feel unlike the property next door.
Where can you get the Hollyhock Collection through Fabrica Kraft?
We're in the process of adding the Hollyhock Collection to our own Sunbrella cushion collection. We'd rather point you there now, where you can browse the full range of Sunbrella fabrics we already carry, than link a page for Hollyhock specifically before it's live on our site.
It is not the case that the collection is stored in a warehouse and then photographed. Before a new performance fabric collection is made available online, it is necessary to verify that the appropriate patterns are approved for use in upholstery, to check that the finish and care instructions match our own manufacturing process, and to ensure that every colorway is genuinely orderable in the amount of yardage that a real project requires, not just the amount needed for a sample swatch. That is why we are not rushing to put up a placeholder page before the collection is actually ready to receive orders.
In the meantime, if a client has specifically asked about Hollyhock or a similar hand block-printed collaboration, reaching out directly lets us tell you exactly where things stand rather than leaving you guessing.
How do you order this without committing to a huge minimum?
Once the collection is fully listed, custom cushions, pillows (the same custom-sizing approach we already use across our pillow collection, and upholstery pieces built from these patterns will be available the same way the rest of our Sunbrella, velvet, and performance fabrics for indoor and outdoor seating range already is: cut and sized to your specific project rather than sold only in fixed, pre-made dimensions.
This matters more for a limited collaboration than for a standard catalog print. A boutique which is trying out a striking pattern on a small number of lobby chairs before deciding to proceed with a full-scale installation should not be required to purchase yardage on a warehouse scale just in order to see how the pattern looks in the room. The same can be said of a single accent item for one client's project, since a high fixed minimum would make an otherwise excellent fabric choice impractical.
Our piece on how to get custom cushions made without a big-brand order size covers how this works in more detail, whether you're outfitting a single boutique property or planning a larger, multi-location rollout once a pattern proves itself in that first room.
What should you pair with a bold print like Hollyhock?
A bold, pattern-driven fabric is rarely the only material decision in a finished project. Something like our Warwick Casimir Olive velvet can sit alongside a statement print without competing with it on a nearby accent chair or banquette, giving the eye a place to rest between two pieces that are each doing a lot of visual work.
A pattern like this tends to work best against materials that add depth through texture rather than through another pattern or another bright color, which is why a solid, richly colored velvet is often a more natural partner than a second print would be. A leather or performance vinyl accent nearby can serve a similar purpose for a piece that needs to be wipeable rather than upholstered.
The specific pairing is ultimately a decision best worked through with whoever is specifying the space, since the right complement depends on everything else already planned for that room.
Where can you read more about sourcing fabric for a hospitality project?
We go into more depth on sourcing and specifying fabric for hospitality settings in our article on the questions buyers ask before ordering velvet cushions for hotels and restaurants, which covers several of the same durability and sourcing questions that come up with any statement fabric, not just velvet.
The two questions in sourcing and specifying velvet fabric are:
1. How a fabric performs when it is in regular contact with guests in a busy lobby or restaurant, and
2. How to instruct a supplier so that a color or pattern appears consistently in more than one room within the same building rather than looking slightly different in each room.
What do customers say about sourcing distinctive fabric from us?
Randi ordered a Warwick velvet cushion for a client's custom closet project and left this review:
"This is an excellent quality cover, even nicer than the workroom I have used in the past for my custom cushion work. I will definitely be working with this company again. Make sure to ask for samples. They are so efficient and helpful all the way throughout! Great turnaround time. This is my client's custom closet."
If you want to see the exact fabric she used, it's our Warwick Casimir Polar, color-matched precisely for her client's project. That same precision, matching a piece exactly to a client's specific brief, is the same skill involved in restating a pattern like Hollyhock correctly from a swatch onto a finished cushion.
How do you get started?
If you're working on a project where a client has asked for something genuinely distinctive, whether that's a piece from the Hollyhock Collection or our Warwick Upholstery collection for other custom, color-matched options, email us at business@fabricakraft.com or reach out through our Contact Us page with your project details. We'll help you source the right pattern and build it correctly.
