Fabric Images Launches New Line of Outdoor Furniture.

On May 21, 2010, Fabric Images, Inc. announced its newest business division and product launch, FI Outdoors. This latest manufacturing arm of Fabric Images, Inc. was developed through collaboration with Pratt Institute. As part of the partnership, one solution created was the Rhizome Chair. This sling chair design was showcased on May 15-17 as part of the 22nd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF 2010) in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Rhizome chair is the first in a series of tensioned fabric solutions for outdoor use that can be utilized as temporary shelter for outdoor living.

The Rhizome chair evolved from a Fabric Images, Inc. sponsored studio at Pratt Institute called T.E.N.T. (TENSILE EPHEMERAL NOMADIC TERRAIN). Under the design and direction of Pratt institute faculty members, Mark Parsons and Dragana Zoric, the purpose of the T.E.N.T. studio was to develop a deployable, lightweight structure that integrates with the manufacturing practices and materials utilized by Fabric Images, Inc. to create fabric-based products. One of the design ideas developed was a transformable, organic, outdoor space. From this design a series of small-scale applications was formed, the first of which was the Rhizome Chair. Developed by undergraduate architecture students Michael Dolatowski, Isolbel Hebold, David Irwin, and Katherine Kania, the Rhizome chair is the first of several planned add-ons to complete the entire collection developed by Pratt students.

Constructed from powder-coated 2" round aluminum tubing, the Rhizome Chair is fitted with the latest in fade-resistant Sunbrella canvas which is specifically developed for outdoor applications. Standing 96" tall and 72" wide, this outdoor leisure product was developed to be placed in a variety of settings as either a permanent fixture or temporary moveable application. Its lightweight construction allows the Rhizome to be transported with relative ease and set-up with a single tool included in the product packaging. This product is designed and manufactured in the USA.

About Fabric Images, Inc.: Since 1992 Fabric Images, Inc.® has been a premier supplier for fabricating and printing of tensioned fabric architecture for the retail, museum, architectural and exhibit design communities. FI is a family-owned and minority-operated business. They are considered by many to be a leading manufacturer of lightweight, digitally printed fabric tension structures. For more information or Images contact Leo Boczar, Director of Communications at 800/228-9223 or lboczar@fabricimages.com.

About Pratt Institute:
Founded in 1887, Pratt Institute (www.pratt.edu) - the largest independent college of art and design in the northeastern United States - educates designers and artists to be responsible contributors to society. Pratt offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the schools of architecture, art anddesign, information and library science, and liberal arts and sciences. Pratt is located on 25 acres in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn and has a Manhattan campus in a renovated eight-story building on West 14th Street in Chelsea.