Bark Cloth

Ode to the oldest, most exotic textile technique

Tree bark for your interior. You have to be daring. Arte has truly surpassed itself with the collection called ‘Bark Cloth’. What you can see here, defies the imagination. And yet. The concept is not new. It is centuries old. But the idea to dust off this technique and bring it out again and give it a completely new dimension is of course Arte through and through. Please bear in mind that this is a 100% pure natural product which Arte works on while respecting the principles of fair trade.

Bark Cloth can best be described as a fibrous type of textile that is made from the inside layer of bark of the Mutuba fig tree (Ficus natalensis). Some call it vegetable felt. The bark of the tree is opened and the thin interior layer of bark is removed. This is first worked with a hammer to make the fibres soft and supple. Then the bark is coloured and dried in the sun. The tree trunk is wrapped up after this ‘harvest’ with a protective layer of banana leaves. As soon as these are dry, the bark layer grows back again. The tree itself is therefore never in any danger.