A: Yeh I think so, for a product like wallpaper - its so tactile, and you need to be able to see and touch like fabrics.
I deal with a lot of designers and retailers, the only way a retailer can sell wallpapers is by having a book.
If you look online, you don't have the same feel for colour. Some of our papers have texture.
Q: We've noticed that you have an app - that's interesting.
A: The app is good. We launched the app about 18 months ago. We've thought about whether pattern books are the future or whether we go electronic but I think dealing with interior designers and retailers you can't replace paper really. You can't replace the real product.
The app is really useful to order samples and maybe if you are out on the road showing clients ideas. But 9/10 they'll get a sample so they can show it, like put it on a moodboard perhaps.
Q: It makes it more accessible online but equally you still kind of need to see it.
A: Absolutely, we are always looking for new technology and how it can work for us. But I don't think at the moment we can ignore the old-fashioned way of producing pattern books.
Q: Do you think are any disadvantages to pattern books?
A: Yeh, they're large - quite big and cumbersome. If you're in a design studio and you have a very small area, our books are quite big cos they have quite large patterns.
Q: There's no design on the front of pattern books, so if you weren't in the store with an assistant, is it a disadvantage to the customer?
A: We rely quite heavily on the staff in retailers, we're in stores such as John Lewis and other smaller independent stores, so again we try to get out on the road and train people. Yeh, we do rely on them knowing what's in the books cos they don't just have our books in the stores, they have 10 or 15 others companies.
Q: It's different coming here rather than John Lewis as their audience is completely different, reaching out to wider audience. There's different expertise coming into the shop.
A: Yeh definitely. They sell direct to the public whereas we are purely here for trade. So we will help the general public if they come in, but I think there are so many different ways to look at our product. You can look at it online, on our website, we've got the app, and we're in a lot of magazines, I think people see us, House and Garden, World of Interiors, those sort of publications and the Telegraph and they'll see a particular pattern and then maybe investigate further.
You can look on our website under style and pattern as well, so you don't have to go through the collection.
Q: We've notices you have a filter system on the app - that's quite clever.
A: Yeh that's quite recent on our site.
Q: How well has it been received?
A: As far as I know, its been received really well. It's free. So are people are happy to download it. Lots of companies follow each other, doing the same sort of thing.
Q: Overall, do you feel there is a future for pattern books?
A: I personally feel we do, yes.
Q: Do you feel there will always be a need?
A: In the short to medium future. There is a cost implication to producing books and a space.
Q: Thank you!
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