Sam Kasten Handweaver

French Embassy | Cécile Roudier
Beijing, China

Architect: Cécile Roudier          Images © Théophile Seyrig

For the guest residence at the French Embassy in Beijing, we created an ombre wall covering which transitions from deep indigo to pale grey. The shuttle for the weft yarns is made up of 22 individual strands of sewing thread, and the ombre effect is achieved by changing the weft yarn, one thread at a time, approximately every two inches, a painstaking process that requires some enormous patience on the part of the weaving team.  An ethereal red line runs across the width, midway up the wall, subtly suggesting a horizon line.