Decorating walls of America’s rich and famous with Kiwi flair
Emma Hayes’ art features on the walls of Louis Vuitton stores, Miami’s Nobu Hotels and inside the private residences of the elite in New York. The mum of triplets explains how her textiles business has evolved over 13 years to reach new heights in North America. What is Emma Hayes Textiles?
Our vision is to create beautiful wallpapers for beautiful spaces that make you feel good in your home or interior.
Our works often have a gestural quality influenced by our New Zealand environment and we focus on bringing a sense of calm indoors.
Our papers enable you to create immersive interiors where art is taken beyond the confines of a canvas.
We are specialists in wallcoverings.
I know historically wallpapers may conjure bad memories — garish patterns in outdated interiors that are hard to get off the walls. But new papers and adhesives have changed all that and there has been a massive resurgence in the popularity of wallcoverings over the past decade.
Our commercial papers are installed to create harmonious interiors and also provide durable surfaces in high-traffic areas.
We are mindful of the materials we use with a focus on PVC-free and FSCcertified papers.
When did you start the business?
Our first releases were in 2011 and we have now been distributing internationally for more than 13 years. We’ve been quietly working from humble beginnings to a wellestablished business, particularly in North America.
What motivated you to start?
I had been working in the fashion industry and was looking for a change.
At that time there were not the home and soft-furnishing interior choices on the market that there are now, so moving into interiors seemed like a natural progression creatively and also an opportunity to create something different within that industry.
We added wallcoverings to our range a couple of years in and now it has become our primary focus.
How big is your team?
We have six team members in New Zealand, a mix of full-time, part-time and contractors.
We have a network of global distributors and suppliers and I also consider those as part of our wider business eco-system.
What challenges does the business face at the moment?
We are internally evolving and updating our systems and processes as we expand whilst keeping up with day-to-day workload — basically making sure that the machine stays oiled and the wheels don’t fall off as we grow!
I spend a lot of time working on the running of the business and it’s a challenge for me to find creative studio time — I have to be very disciplined and set time aside for this.
What have been your highlights in business so far?
Being contacted by Louis Vuitton to contribute to their Auckland and Melbourne stores.
Working with talented interior designers on private residences in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, as well as working on luxurious commercial projects including commissions for Nobu Hotel, Miami and Rosewood Hotel, Qatar.
I value the relationships we have created through this business from local installers to international clients and distributors.
The opportunity to travel via work has provided so many cultural insights and learnings.
In the early days of the business we were also looking after our young family (we have triplets!).
I had barely left our suburb in three years when I found myself in the middle of New York promoting our wallpapers — it was a time of contrasts!
What growth plans do you have?
We have a solid client base in North America which is always growing and we’re looking to expand further in the Northern Hemisphere, into Britain and Europe.
We will also continue to work with our clients in New Zealand and Australia.
What’s your advice for other budding entrepreneurs?
Just start doing it and learn. Don’t be afraid to start with a small product range or offering, the market feedback you get will be invaluable.
You may need to pivot, or the market may not be what, or where, you think it is, so you can then adapt without having made large investments.