About Pongees, specialists in silk

Image courtesy of Circa Vintage Brides

Pongees have been in the silk business for a long time – hence the confidence we have in describing ourselves as ‘specialists in SILK’.  The origins of the present day Pongees Ltd lie in Zurich, Switzerland where the forerunner of today’s company was founded in the 19th century under the name of Ostertag Hausamann Faes.  Switzerland has historical connections of silk trading with China stretching back over many hundreds of years and OHF were a leading silk trader during this period.

In 1931 a branch office opened in London under the name of Pongees Ltd  (Pongee being  a generic term for a particular group of Chinese silk fabrics which were especially popular at that time).

Originally based on London’s Old Street,  Pongees are still located very close to their original home, having  moved the office and showroom in 1995 to  fashionable Hoxton Square.  The company still retains its  historical links with their Swiss founders through its chairman Christian Hausamann who is resident in Zurich.

Much has changed however in the range of  silk fabrics that are now available.  Pongees  original core range consisted mainly of Greige silk fabric for the printing industry for silk ties  and scarves.  Whilst these same products remain part of Pongees collection the range of fabrics has grown to include  a wide ranging selection of plain dyed, embroidered and jacquard woven fabrics for all sectors of the silk industry.  From the detailed product information in our website, you will see displayed an amazing array of colours in an even wider variety of silk products sourced from all over the globe.  These include Silk Chiffons and Tulles from France,   Silk Organzas,  Habotai’s , Crepe Georgettes, Crepe Satins and Crepe de Chines from China and  Taffetas, Duchess Satins, Douppions and Textured silks including Matkas and Tasars in plain dyed and natural finishes from India.  There are of course many more products in our exclusive Interiors collection of Woven Jacquards, Embroideries and Prints all on 100% silk fabrics.

Our products still emanate from traditional and reliable sources in China,  India and   France as well as certain bespoke fabric qualities from Italy and Thailand. We also continue to utilise top quality dyeing, printing and embroidery processes in Europe and the UK for the conversion of our plain fabrics.  Pongees take great pride in the quality of the products they supply and visit our production facilities regularly to ensure only the highest production standards are being met both technically and ethically.

We are also proud of our reputation for providing a friendly and reliable level of service to our many customers both at home and abroad,  and we strive constantly to maintain and improve both the quality of our fabric as well as the service and support we give to our customers.  

In order to keep up to date with UK and international fashion trends and colours throughout our collection,  we also participate in all of the leading fabric trade shows in UK and Europe keeping us  in touch with the very latest customer trends and requirements.

Our customer base is extensive – our fabrics being designed to meet the exacting demands of couture designers,  bridal and lingerie manufacturers as well as leading brands in the Top end of high street fashions.  Stage, film  and theatre productions are also a major area of our business.  Our interiors division works closely with interior design retailers and wholesalers as well as design consultants and leading architectural specifiers.  With these connections we have been involved in many high profile international  design projects for leading Hotel groups.  We also take pride in meeting the creative and educational requirements of our customers of tomorrow.  Being London based we naturally have close contact with the major London fashion and design colleges and their students but we are also delighted to be of service to students from colleges and university and other educational establishments throughout the whole of the UK.  We consider this to be an essential and  particularly important part of our business – being a source of product and information for students thereby helping to nurture the leading designers of tomorrow .   In addition to the range of products in our stock range we additionally provide a specialist commission production service to dye or weave fabrics in our collection to customers own colours or particular specification.  These arrangements are subject to certain minimum order requirements.
 
Pongees have a number of aim’s to which they will remain true.  To provide the best selection of fabrics and colours in the widest range of fabrics available.  To maintain a consistent level of high quality product for our discerning customers’  requirements and to be able to deliver them securely and on time.  To strive to continually develop and add new products to our collection keeping our customers in step with technological advancements and markets trends.

And finally never to lose sight of the fact that it is our customers’ continued support that keeps us in a position of being in the forefront of the UK silk market – a position which we enjoy and of which we are justly proud.