While the outlines of his exotic (and mysterious) biography are perfect fodder for a Miramax period movie, the name Jim Thompson now represents much more than one man’s personal history. It’s an international brand encompassing restaurants, retail shops, a farm — and a line of luxurious, predominantly silk, fabrics. Above, Bamboozle from the new Thompson No. 9 Opus Collection.

What talent! Luli Sanchez is a textile designer with a long list of corporate clients and a website full of inspiring and original designs.

Via Alanna Cavanagh.

Primarily an artisanal wallpaper company bursting at the seams with acclaim, Porter Teleo is now also in the fabric business. Silk Scarf (above) is one of three patterns currently in production, with hopefully many more to follow. Its fluid,  painterly quality – and the thought of it applied to large swaths of drapery and upholstery – can make knees weak.

Paula Smail is the designer behind Henry Road and she counts Marimekko, Mark Rothko and the fabrics of Africa among her many visual influences. You can certainly see a bit of the former in her Gloria pillow, above.  (Check out her fabric and table linens too.) To see what she’s excited about now visit her blog here.

Via Design Milk.

The Australian company  Pippi Joe screen prints nature-inspired designs onto organic cotton and hemp.

Also for sale at Udessi, via Print & Pattern.

Christian Zuzunaga’s pixel-inspired approach to color and design has an eye-popping effect on furniture and fabric. The 2009 scarf above is sold exclusively at Tate Gallery and is now on sale.

Via Nacional Design.

With retreats, tours and exhibitions Nancy Crow is clearly a powerhouse of creative energy, and enterprise. Read her inspiring artist’s statement here.

MM Design represents the work of several textile designers including Sam Kasten, Nigel Atkinson and Peter Fasano. The image above is from Fasano’s handprinted pattern Delicata Carbon. Links to each designer’s website can be found here.

Italian architects Caturegli and Formica have collaborated with the rug company Nilufar to create a series of limited edition carpets inspired by the duo’s interest in travel, both spatial and subjective. The carpet above portrays the design of a village in Mali.

- All via The Autumn 2010 edition of Cover magazine and the article “Architect of the Floor” by Natasha Randall.

Abigail Borg’s fabrics led me to look up “sexy ugly” in the urban dictionary, and that’s just what I like about them. Are they beautiful, or are they ugly? Are they cloying and fussy and “old lady”, or is their self-assured decadence alluring despite prejudice and protest? I think the later.