#Shopsmall: Five Amazing Wallpaper Brands
- by Lianne Westwood
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I've posted on here before that I love wallpaper. Really love it. I generally try to include wallpaper somewhere in every interior design project I do, because the right paper in the right place is really something of a showstopper.
Even as little as ten years ago it was quite difficult to support small indie brands whilst shopping for wallpaper. The market was generally saturated with designs from the big players in the industry: Graham & Brown, Laura Ashley, Osbourne & Little. Those guys.
But times are indeed changing and the design industry is awash with the little guys. Here are five of my faves:
Probably one of the first independent design houses to really become popular (in part due to the early days of Instagram), and now big enough that they've secured investor funding to grow, become a B Corp and then shunned the investor funding, releasing shares to the likes of you and me, so that they could pay off the investor loan and be true to themselves whilst running their company. Which involves putting Mother Nature and the welfare of the planet at the forefront of every business and design decision. No mean feat! And all this while knocking out some cracking wallpaper designs such as the iconic Artemis and Hackney Empire. House of Hackney was started (and still run) by husband and wife team Frieda and Javvy, their main inspiration is Mother Nature and their design hero is William Morris. I think we'd be great friends! (Image courtesy of House of Hackney).
Another small company that has Instagram to thank for their early success and another couple who started and continue run the business - Jamie and Tom in 2017 (Divine Savages is the same age as Albert & Moo!). Their designs are bold but with a hint of fun. I'm actually planning on using not one but two of their designs in my new house including the excellently named Crane Fonda. (Image courtesy of Divine Savages).
I've mentioned Ellie Cashman a few times on this website. With a background in fine arts and a love of botanical prints, Ellie wanted to bring her nature inspired designs into people's homes and so launched her wallpaper brand, starting off with a single floral wallpaper collection and now a well respected luxury brand. I actually had her beautiful Twisting Tulips wallpaper in the master bedroom of my previous house in London. (Image one of my own).
Founded in 2011 in Stockport, the brand believes that a home should express the personality of the people within it, and their designs have personality by the bucket load. This is another brand I love to use in interior design projects and used the delicate Mimosa Trail in a recent project in Suffolk.
If you don't already follow textile designer Abigail Borg on Instagram then I heartily recommend that you start. Renowned for her colourful, intricate, usually botanical, hand drawn designs, her brand's products are designed, printed and made in the UK in a sustainable way.
I'd love to know which wallpaper brands you guys love!
