Made in Britain: a glance inside Brintons

A humble carpetmaker favoured by presidents and fashionistas

Brintons is the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality woven carpets

Since its humble beginnings with founder William Brinton at the helm in 1783, Brintons has blossomed to become a leading international carpet manufacturer. A Royal Warrant Holder, its reach extends beyond Britain's residences.

More unusual commissions include flooring for the White House chosen by Hillary Clinton, a weave for the Kremlin Palace and the world's largest carpet at Changi Airport in Singapore.

However far-reaching its appeal, it has stayed true to its British roots. The first Brintons factory was established in Kidderminster in 1820 and the company still has a major manufacturing presence on the Stourport edge of the town. For the past 45 years, it has also been making spun yarns in Telford, Shropshire.

Innovation is an integral part of the Brintons story. Famous for inventing the 80 per cent wool/20 per cent nylon mix in the Fifties that is now an industry standard for good quality carpet, it continues to adopt new technology. The brand recently launched HD looms, which allow up to 32 colours to be woven into a design. To put that in perspective, the norm is currently 12 colours.

This has given interior specialists further incentive to work with Brintons. The latest collaboration, with Glaswegian design house Timorous Beasties, is a good example of patterns that make a statement. The fashion set are fans too - with Vivienne Westwood and Manolo Blahnik among those who have collaborated with Brintons in the past.

Using wool as the main component appeals to those who are conscious of sustainability. Wool insulates your home, it is easily recyclable and biodegradable. Plus, shearing sheep is essential for their welfare. The wool from one in nine British sheep ends up in a Brintons carpet.

"We spin and dye the yarn to our stringent specifications and then assign the correct colours to the loom," explains product manager Lynne Pound.

"We design and build all our own looms too so by completely controlling the manufacturing process we can use our experience to mix the best-quality raw materials in the perfect blend. We know woven carpets are superior so we manufacture two constructions: Wilton is great for textured plains and Axminster creates pattern definition. For a patterned carpet, the loom picks up the yarn as it needs each colour and weaves it into a design line by line."

A team of craftspeople work through a 13-step process on every carpet and each metre is inspected by eye twice and finished by hand before it leaves the factory. Whether a simple style appeals or a bold and busy pattern seems like a smart choice, the real allure lies in the soft and sumptuous handcrafted quality.

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