--- title: Culp’s Livesmart® Performance Fabric Now Covers Seating In UNC’s Dean Dome description: To honor Rob Culp, co-founder of Culp, Inc. and his alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill, the seats in the Smith Center are now covered with fabric from Culp, Inc. image: https://www.culp.com/hubfs/unc%20collage.jpg --- [![Culp](https://www.culp.com/hubfs/Logos/CULP-HorizontalLogo_White-01.png)](https://www.culp.com/) ## [![](https://www.culp.com/hubfs/Blog-Assets-2021/Images/left-arrow.png) BACK TO Culp, Inc. News](https://www.culp.com/news) January 11, 2022 # Culp’s Livesmart® Performance Fabric Now Covers Seating In UNC’s Dean Dome ![](https://www.culp.com/hubfs/unc%20collage.jpg) ![Rob and Susan in UNC graduation gowns](https://www.culp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Culp.com/News/Rob%20and%20Susan%20in%20UNC%20graduation%20gowns.jpg?width=300&name=Rob%20and%20Susan%20in%20UNC%20graduation%20gowns.jpg) HIGH POINT, N.C. (January 11, 2022) – As a way to honor the late Rob Culp, co-founder of Culp, Inc. (“CULP”) and his beloved alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill, the seats in the Smith Center are newly covered with fabric created by the company he started 50 years ago. When Carolina Athletic Director, Bubba Cunningham, mentioned that it bothered him to see how dirty the seats were, Iv Culp, president and chief executive officer of Culp, Inc., thought to himself, “Wait a minute. This is definitely something we can fix.” The decision was made to use CULP’s LiveSmart performance fabric, which is moisture repellent, stain resistant, fade resistant, and heavy duty – a perfect combination for the Smith Center’s nearly 10,000 lower-level and mezzanine seats. “When they brought in the fabric to show us and demonstrate its capabilities, they literally poured Coke on the fabric, and wiped it right off with a dry rag,” recalled Smith Center Director Brett Botta. “Then they did the same thing with ketchup and two or three more ‘pain points’ for us, and they all wiped right off, which was pretty cool.”   ![livesmart blog b](https://www.culp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Culp.com/News/livesmart%20blog%20b.jpg?width=300&name=livesmart%20blog%20b.jpg) “In our business, we’ve been focused on performance products for the last five years,” said Iv Culp. “Everything in upholstery, whether its home or hospitality, is looking for cleanable products. I knew that our advanced line of LiveSmart fabrics would be perfect for the job.” The fabric was a great fit, but the key for both the Athletics Department and CULP was matching the exact pantone shade of Carolina Blue – which, like it or not, is not a very common fabric color in the upholstery world and would require some trial and error to match exactly. Enter Tammy Buckner, CULP’s senior vice president of design and marketing, who was responsible for the color matching. “We took multiple fabric samples to the Dean Dome to make sure that when the lights were turned on, it didn’t cast any other color on television or in the arena itself,” Buckner said. “It was a long process, but we were determined to get it right.” Beginning in March 2021, the cushions in the lower bowl and the mezzanine were removed in 2,000- 2,500 seat blocks and shipped away to be re-covered. All of the cushions were back in place by October. Iv notes that CULP is a publicly traded company that still feels like a family business, which makes it even more special to carry on the legacy started by his father and grandfather. CULP’s gift was two- fold – as Culp, Inc. donated the fabric for the project, while the Culp family paid for the labor needed to install the new seat cushions.   ![Rob sitting in chair](https://www.culp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Culp.com/News/Rob%20sitting%20in%20chair.jpg?width=300&name=Rob%20sitting%20in%20chair.jpg) “It’s a perfect marriage of what our company’s values are,” said Iv. “We’re a public business with a family culture. To my dad, family and business were the same, and it’s truly special to be able to honor him in this way.” An article about the CULP project written by Andrew Stilwell, which appeared on the University of North Carolina’s “goheels” website on Jan. 11, 2022, can be found here: [www.goheels.com](http://www.goheels.com/). - SHARE THIS POST: - [**](mailto:?body=https://www.culp.com/news/culps-livesmart-performance-fabric-now-covers-seating-in-uncs-dean-dome) - ** - ** - ** - ** [![left arrow](https://www.culp.com/hubfs/Blog-Assets-2021/Images/left-arrow.png)  PREVIOUS](https://www.culp.com/news/culp-inc-conducts-company-wide-global-giving-initiative) [NEXT  ![right arrow](https://www.culp.com/hubfs/Blog-Assets-2021/Images/right-arrow.png)](https://www.culp.com/news/culps-new-design-center-offers-both-virtual-experience-recruitment-perks) ### Subscribe to Get Updates to Your Inbox ### Recent Posts - January 17, 2025 #### [ Suedwolle Group Launches Innovation Hub Story In Cooperation With Lenzing And Culp ](https://www.culp.com/news/suedwolle-launches-innovation-hub-in-cooperation-with-lenzing-and-culp) [Read More **](https://www.culp.com/news/suedwolle-launches-innovation-hub-in-cooperation-with-lenzing-and-culp) - July 22, 2024 #### [ Culp Names Mary Beth Hunsberger as President of Culp Upholstery Fabrics ](https://www.culp.com/news/hunsberger-joins-culp-as-president-of-culp-upholstery-fabrics) [Read More **](https://www.culp.com/news/hunsberger-joins-culp-as-president-of-culp-upholstery-fabrics) - March 26, 2024 #### [ Armando Alfaro Joins Culp as Director of Business Development for Culp Home Fashions ](https://www.culp.com/news/armando-alfaro-joins-culp-as-director-of-business-development) [Read More **](https://www.culp.com/news/armando-alfaro-joins-culp-as-director-of-business-development) CULP Home Fashions C.L.A.S.S. 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