LIFESTYLE - SUMMER 2017

BUSINESS HEROES...

Dominating the factory floor is a beast of a machine – a cast-iron giant more than 100 years old. In fact, there are four of themat Surface Print – and thought to be only 10 in the world. Derek Ashforth has been a surface printer for 40 years and is now passing on his skills to apprentices, keeping the cra alive. “It’s good to see the company moving forward with Abigail and James,” he says. Adds Abigail: “We should be really proud of the skill set we have here in Lancashire that is being passed down through the generations.” James recalls his earliest memories accompanying his dad to work. “I used to rollerblade through the factory,” he laughs. Both James and Abigail worked during their school holidays and again when they were on break fromuniversity – helping the siblings gain a grass-roots understanding of how each department works from quality control to packing. Their client list is extensive, exclusive and largely bound by confidentiality agreements. Such was the case with one high profile designer who showed a quirky sense of humour when commissioning wallpaper emblazoned with cherubs...and asked for a pair of underpants to be hand painted on each one. Cath Kidston is one of Surface Print’s oldest andmost treasured clients along with Liberty’s of London. As Abigail gave LIFE:STYLE a tour of the factory she pointed to a bundle of 250 rolls ready to pack for a UK design house. “This holographic wallpaper is so clever,” says Abigail, with pride. “We did Swarovski Crystals’ first ever wallcovering collection where we actually hand-stuck the gems on the paper. However this is a holographic design which looks jewel-covered but is flat to the touch.” A 1960s-style design is being loaded for Japan as we pass through the packing area of the site – and then from the noise of the giant machines and the heady smell of paint, Abigail leads us through a door into the ultra-quiet andmodern digital department – which looks a lile like the interior of the Starship Enterprise. Abigail says: “This is our latest heavy investment. We are the only UKwallpaper company to have these printingmachines. They are the very latest of their kind.” The contrast between traditional andmodernmethods of print, and howwell the two work side by side is quite symbolic of the new generation ofWatsons taking the helmwith the same innovative spark as their father John did in 1990 when he first set up business in Great Harwood. Adds Abigail: “We’ve had great success and have distributors all over the world and hope to carry that on with 1838.” In the era of magnolia paint, Britain did fall out of love with wallpaper for a while but the past decade has brought about an exciting change with new and old technology feeding an ever increasing public demand, from funky flock to uber-cool hologram designs. “ I’ve even wallpaperedmy garage with hologrampaper.” laughs Abigail.

Surface Print and 1838Wallcoverings Ltd...

WE HAVE THEWORLD 

OF WALLPAPERING COVERED! hen it comes to British-born brands, the likes of Aston Martin, McLaren and Rolls-Royce are racing ahead of their rivals while the luxury collections of Mulberry and Mackintosh have made

by Sarah Rigg

W

major designs on the world market. But tucked away on a side street in Clayton-le-Moors is a £10million-a-year wallpaper manufacturing company which is pasting its competition across the globe. . . While the UK is renowned for its quality crasmanship, superior design and a thriving manufacturing market (11th biggest in the world)...not every British business hero is a household name. Surface Print for example, which has recently launched its own luxury wallpaper brand called ‘1838Wallcoverings’, is a world leader in its field - the very best in the business with collections adorning the walls of high-end hotels, homes and even Royal palaces. The company was created by JohnWatson, whose father and grandfather also worked in the wallpaper printing trade, and is now run by the fourth generation ofWatsons - his two children Abigail and James. The talented siblings – Abigail with a background in design and marketing and James in business and sales – are not hanging around when it comes to taking the wallcoverings company to a whole new level. James joined Surface Print 13 years ago fresh from university while Abigail studied and worked in interior design before geing on board with the business almost five years ago. In December 2015 the young entrepreneurs decided the time was right to launch the company’s own brand of wallcoverings as well as continuing to print for top-end designers worldwide. Says James: “Abi and I, as the new generation of the business, wanted to move forward with our own brand. “It was the right time and a natural progression to build on the hard work of our father and incredible reputation Surface Print has earned over the years. “We are in Lancashire, the home of wallpaper printing; we have all the machines, a highly experienced and skilled team of crasmen and women and a fantastic archive of designs to pull on.” 1838, the company’s own brand of wallcoverings, comprises of two collections so far – Rosemore and Avington - the third due for release to the design trade in September 2017. 1838 is the year that Charles Poer of Darwen created the surface print machine. It seemed a fiing tribute to the man and a perfect name for the brand, as the cra has changed lile over the years. The current 1838 collections have been printed on machines that date back over 100 years. In fact, there are now only a handful of surface print

machines le in the world – four of which are situated at their Clayton-le- Moors site. Says James: “Some of our father’s designs are more than 40-years-old but still very relevant today. Flock, for example, was massive in the 1980s in the UK and then died off in the 1990s. Since the year 2000 it has really progressed again.” Abigail agrees. “Texture is very big at the moment,” she says. “Flock is one of our biggest sellers these days and textured paper looks great on all four walls as well as just a feature wall.” Together with head of design, Michelle Todd, Abigail studied the current trends in wallpapering. They had the rollers made, coloured and the collection was ready to roll.” Adds Abigail: “For me, the most exciting part of the process so far is seeing how well the 1838 collections have been received. Because of our solid reputation as surface printers and our amazing contacts, 1838 collections are now hotly anticipated within the industry.” James says: “For me, the biggest buzz was at Heimtextil, the trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, in January. We had already launched in the UK on the Kings Road in Chelsea, but January was the international launch where we met

representatives of more than 35 countries on our stand. It was such an amazing reception to have. We’d been there over the past five years as Surface Print and selling our services as a contract printer, but this year was so special because we were launching our own collection. “As geeky as it sounds wallpaper does get Abi and I very excited. We’re working on our third collection as we speak. The world is a very big place and a lot of the world likes wallpaper so we supply to around 30 countries at the moment but our aim is to get up to about 80 countries.” James is a man on a mission to make that happen. Italy, Russia, America and South East Asia are just a few of the stamps on his passport in April. He says: “The whole company, Surface Print and 1838 is about 60% domestic, 40% international. But in the next six months, I think it will become 50-50 and I think export will become our bigger sales area. The only way you can form a good relationship with these distributors is by going to see them. Especially when trading with China. It’s about building good relationships because once we secure our distributor it is a long-term partnership.” While James jets across the world, Abigail is constantly updating designs and consulting with dad John who nowworks one day a week to help keep the company running smoothly. The site itself covers 65,000 square feet of land in Clayton-le-Moors, with around 100 full time and highly-skilled workers on staff.

Topdownwards: •Brodsworthwallcovering. •Broughtonwallcovering. •Fairhavenwallcovering. •Hamptonwallcovering. Aboveright: •JamesandAbigail. Righttopclockwise: •Onsite. •Rosemorewallcovering. •Factory. •Helene,oneof thedesign team . •Avingtonwallcovering. •JamesandprinterDave.

To find out more about the 1838 collections visit: www.1838wallcoverings.com

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