A Warwickshire entrepreneur who had a career change during the Covid lockdown has launched a brand new business offering a range of bespoke wallpaper and murals allowing people to create unique, personalised walls in their own homes and businesses.
Designer Claret offers original designs created by two experienced designers and illustrators as well as customised wallpaper for customers with their own ideas thanks to its own in-house team.
The company has already had several commissions for its luxury wide wallpaper, including a statement dining room wall and powder rooms in an independent restaurant and tapas bar, both in the historic town of Warwick. The latter will host the company’s official launch on March 9th, 2022 where its Prussian Blue Cabbages design will be showcased to an array of local and national guests, who will also get the chance to meet the artists themselves.
Designer Claret is the brainchild of local entrepreneur Clare Underwood, who set up her own business, Claret Sales and Marketing Ltd after leaving a national sales job in London during the first Covid lockdown, then went on to acquire innovative Warwickshire-based printshop and design brand, Peeli, offering creating unique graphics for various businesses and venues.
Clare and her team have now launched Designer Claret to cater for a growing market of people wanting high-end, unique wallpaper for their homes and businesses.
The business’s USP is the unique designs people can select for their wallpaper. Clare has enlisted the help of designer, maker, author and journalist Juliet Bawden, who has had over 70 craft books published and designs, makes and writes for magazines including Coast, Simply Sewing and Reloved as well as the Cath Kidston and Laura Ashley websites.
Similarly, published author and illustrator Diane Maybey, whose work includes writing and illustrating six books for children’s charity Molly Olly’s Wishes and also specialises in designing healing spaces, has allowed her designs to be used by Designer Claret.
Both artists’ designs are printed onto luxury flaxen, non-woven, one-metre wide wallpaper for a high end finish aimed at the luxury prime residential and hospitality markets.
On top of that, Designer Claret can take commissions to work with clients’ own unique designs or images to create the wallpaper of their dreams, such as a recent project to enhance a commercial space for Evera Recruitment at Pure Offices with a 6.7m woodland scene and company logo designed in-house.
“People don’t want their home or business to look the same as other people’s,” said Clare. “They want something unique or bespoke that says something about them and that’s what we create.
“Our original wallpaper and mural range have been thoughtfully created by two established designers who are both published illustrators and authors and the in-house team too. We print onto luxury flaxen, non-woven, paste the wall wallpaper for a high end finish aimed at the luxury prime residential and hospitably markets. Our USP is that we are also able to take commissions to work with the client’s dreams to create the perfect space, and have several examples of this we can use.”
Completed commissions include a single mural on a bedroom wall for one client who wanted it to include a wooded landscape with a potential connection to India that would make them feel “as though I am wandering into a forest”.
After several meetings, Designer Claret produced a unique print that was turned into a giant mural and put in place by a local decorator. Their client was over-the-moon, saying they were “thrilled” by the design. She said: “Nothing could have prepared us for the fabulous effect of the wall covering. Our bedroom looks absolutely stunning – it’s like waking up on holiday every day!”
Clare added: “It’s such a thrill to see the joy we can help create for our customers and we can’t wait to introduce Designer Claret and our fabulous artists to everyone at our launch event.”
