Following its search to find the industry’s next rising stars, Hotel Designs has announced the shortlist of its 2019 30 Under 30 initiative…

Nominations, which closed on February 15, came in from many leading design firms such as HBA London, The Gettys Group, WATG, Richmond International, Gensler and many more and we were delighted to hear that our Creative Designers Jodie Hatton and Kay Jones have been shortlisted. The winner will be announced at Hotel Designs’ highly anticipated networking event, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30 on March 28 at the showroom of Minotti London.

“Our aim for the 30 Under 30 initiative is really to bridge the age gap between designers, hoteliers, architects and key industry suppliers,” said Katy Phillips, publisher of Hotel Designs. “Our events are often attended by directors and principals of studios, but we would like to extend the invitation now to include the young talented individuals who are shaping the future of our industry.”

What a year 2018 has been for our commercial team. Here’s just a snippet of some of our favourite highlights.

Thank you to everyone who made 2018 a special year!

On November 11th and 12th, hospitality design professionals gathered at New York City's Javits Center for Boutique Design's annual trade fair.

Located in a corner lot at the front of the trade show, the Brintons booth (#1020) was an experience that highlighted our unique manufacturing process and celebrated the creative basis of Brintons designs.

Brintons latest collection, Materialize by Stacy Garcia, was launched at the fair and served as the perfect inspiration for the design of booth #1020. Featuring natural wood grain textures, subtle metallic finishes, and bold bursts of primary color, the Brintons booth earned the honor of being a finalist for best exhibit out of 114 other flooring and carpet vendors.

To visually demonstrate Brintons' place as a manufacturing and design pioneer within the industry, Brintons wool and other products were also showcased in the booth. Brintons blended, spun, and dyed yarn created the wall covering in half the booth, and accompanied designs from the Brintons Self-Expression Project and the 100% wool cut and loop Wilton collection.

Saturated color, natural surfaces, and the contrast of geometric and organic elements were the common thread among exhibitors at BDNY this year. We expect that these features will continue to inform the industry.

Has the Brintons booth captured you attention? Contact your local sales rep here, we'd love to discuss design trends and learn about your upcoming projects!

In 2009 the rules were simple – make one drawing, in ink, for every day of October. Almost one decade later, what began as an exercise in positive drawing habits for creator and artist Jake Parker, has morphed into a global phenomenon with every-expanding ways to approach and interpret the Inktober challenge.

Prompts are provided each day, some are in a spooky spirit, such as “Spell” or “Drooling”, while others are more irreverent, like “Chicken”. Ultimately, the decision to use the prompts as inspiration is up to the Inktober participant, as is the medium, and how much color is used in the piece.

We’ve rounded up the Brintons Designers’ Inktober pieces and discussed how a daily creative challenge influences their work in the axminster world.

Designer Agnieszka Wojtal created primarily figurative work, utilizing contour lines to create movement within her subject’s luxurious hair. Similar line work can also be found in designer Sam Hoeffer’s Inktober pieces, referencing the line and hatch textures that often add dimension in carpet.

Terrien Hale, designer, did not shy away from color in her work, creating abstract landscapes that might be reworked into a gaming design.

When asked about the Inktober challenge, Kathryn 'Katie' Nehrbauer, designer, stated that drawing on a computer versus paper is always an adjustment, “At first it was a challenge since I've spent so many years drawing on a computer. Things you can easily do on a computer, like erase your work instantly, is not possible when you are drawing on paper with permanent ink. It took a little while for me to get comfortable, but after I few drawings I began to really enjoy it”.

Katie also found some similarities between working in ink and designing for carpet, “I think that with any artistic process, your mind runs on instinct. For me, I had textile design in the back of my mind the entire time. I found myself thinking, ‘Wow, this could be a great rug design’. I also noticed that I approached drawing in a similar way as designing carpet. We design carpet in layers that build upon each other to create a final look. I started each drawing with light marks to outline my basic shapes and then layered different size pens to create the detail and definition that I wanted.” Katie stuck with a black and white color palette, something that rare in carpet design, but found she became more and more comfortable with the limited scheme.

Inktober presents an opportunity for creatives to explore and expand their thinking – Brintons designers can’t wait until next year!