Designer spotlight
Support independent businesses and meet the creatives making waves in the interiors world. This month, adorn your walls with one of these beautiful patterned wallpapers
The independent wallpaper designers we’re loving
Wallpaper can add an element of magic or whimsy to any room. Even the smallest amount – whether it’s used on a feature wall, in an alcove or to line a bookshelf – lends instant impact to a space with a shock of pattern and colour. And with an influx of creative new designers in recent years, the world of wallpaper is more exciting than ever right now.
We spoke to three independent wallpaper makers creating the patterns you’ll want to adorn your walls with.
From woodblock-printed pomegranates to the ‘smart’ wallpaper of the future, these designers use new and old techniques alike to dream up their products – and the results are one-of-akind patterns that’ll bring your walls to life. First up: Annika Reed.
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Hi Annika! Can you describe your work in a sentence? I make wallpaper and fabric for those who love a life less ordinary.
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How did you become a designer?
My love affair with print and colour began in childhood. I was surrounded by pattern books in my dad’s upholstery workshop. After school I’d sit and watch him transforming objects most would abandon into exquisite pieces of furniture. I used old swatches of fabric to make homes for my toys, cutting them up for carpet and wallpaper. I studied at the University of Brighton and later got an MA from the Camberwell in Fine Art Printmaking with a specialism in woodblock printing. I was following a Fine Art route until 2018, when I was pregnant with my daughter. I wanted to decorate her nursery in wallpaper that came to life, that would fill her head with images and ideas she’d remember forever. There was nothing on the market that was fun yet sophisticated, quirky but not childish. It was clear I’d have to make her wallpaper myself. That’s when both Annika Reed Studio and my daughter were born.
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What drew you to woodblock printing in particular? I was offered the chance to go to China and study at the university of Shanghai. The masters of woodblock inspired me: in the UK the relief room was always the quietest and most people printed with lino. But in China the relief room was full and the work was nothing like I had seen before. I was taught the method of reducing woodblock, which uses one block of wood rather than several. I fell in love and have been using wood ever since.
It takes at least a month to complete a full series of carvings and colour layers. If I make a mistake, I can’t know it until the end of the process, and I will have lost a month and have to start from scratch – so chance plays a big role in the final outcome.
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How did you develop your style, and what inspires you? On my MA I made installations and my prints were getting big, spanning three walls. After, I was awarded a residency in