Art on Floors Exhibition

Next Week in London (24th - 26th May 2011), an exciting new exhibition;
Art on Floors

Clerkenwell Design Week is a three day festival in London's creative heart. Big design names and thought leaders host an exciting programme of workshops, presentations, exhibitions and debates. The festival will be filled with music, installations, parties and entertainment, truly celebrating design within this cultural hub. In 2010 London's design community flocked to Clerkenwell over the three days, with 18000 registered and over 150 events, 2011 promises to be even bigger and better!

Printed Space will be exhibiting Floorink at Forbo's EC1 showroom at Clerkenwell Design Week. We'll be there for three days from 10am til 4pm. To register for your FREE tickets, visit www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com/register

More than 100 pieces of mini-art by up-and-coming artists and designers will be on display, all of them produced using Forbo's new revolutionary printed vinyl product: Floorink. Samples of the designs will be available, meaning visitors will be able to take their favourite piece of mini-art home with them.

Visitors to the showroom on St John Street will also have the opportunity to win their own Floorink installation, as Forbo is giving away a bespoke floor for the winner's home, produced to their own design. Simply register details at the showroom during the design week to be in with a chance of winning.

Developed by interior specialists Printed Space in partnership with Forbo, Floorink presents a dramatic and bespoke opportunity to create one off flooring designs. Combining unique state-of-the-art digital printing capabilities with a durable, commercial grade vinyl, Floorink offers designers free reign to flex their creative muscles.

On Location with Floorink

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of photoshoots for Floorink, our printed cushion vinyl flooring, in residential interiors.

The majority of Floorink projects to date have been in commercial environments, but we really wanted to showcase to Interior Designers the impact Floorink can have in their client’s homes.

The properties of Floorink really make it an ideal yet totally unique flooring solution for any room in the home.

Floorink has a soft touch and a great look. It is quiet and warm, durable, safe and healthy. It allows you to create flooring as individual as your client.

Floorink provides you with a scratch-resistant and extremely durable surface. It also gives superior protection against spillages and scuff marks. The top layer houses a unique safety feature – meaning the level of grip is not significantly reduced by spills or splashes of water or any other liquid, which means a floor for your client’s home that, is beautiful, practical and safer to walk on.

The top layer’s surface finish has a natural low gloss and allows for easy cleaning, also preventing dirt and scuffmarks. Floorink is safe for all rooms in the home, particularly children’s rooms, kitchens and bathrooms where it provides a more practical and hygienic flooring solution.

To give you an idea of the possibilities Floorink can open up to your design projects, we have photographed a range of interiors, with varied designs – all of which will be appearing on this website and Floorink’s dedicated site www.floorink.com – very shortly.

Printed Space would like to thank the following for their assistance in putting the props, locations and photography together for us :
Viva Interiors, Lancaster
Arteria, Lancaster
Majik House, Kirkby Lonsdale
The Wineyard, Bare
JayHellArt, Preston
World of Moose
Second Image Creative Photography
Art-Image Digital Photography
Edmondsons, Morecambe

Last week was a very exciting one for Printed Space as we held the first Floorink Press event.

We were joined by the editors and journalists from some of the UK's top Interior Design and Architectural magazines. We gave a presentation at Forbo Flooring's showroom at London's EC1, where a feature floor was on display along with a wall of samples for the journalists and specifiers to take away with them.

As the event was in the heart of London we kept this as the theme. We took a Blue Sky aerial image of the area around the London Eye and gave the Thames river an "Eastenders" blue filter, for the main floor section. For the sample wall, we printed the same area of London in 3 different map styles - Vintage from 1805, A-Z street mapping and 2010 aerial photography from Blue Sky World's data bank. We then layered these across the wall so all 3 styles were featured but the overall picture of London was apparent.

The main floor section will stay at the Forbo showroom for the next couple of weeks. If you are in the area feel free to pop in and have a look. Samples will be available from Donna Cummings at the showroom for you to take away.

Printed Space developed Floorink in partnership with Forbo Flooring Systems. Floorink is a revolutionary new vinyl cushion floor that will allow you to get creative with your floor space. Floorink offers a dramatic and bespoke opportunity to create one off, tailor made flooring designs for commercial and residential interiors. Floorink offers unlimited possibilities for specifiers to create unique and inspiring flooring designs using graphics, high-resolution photography, maps or logos.

Floorink has already been manufactured for many high profile clients across a range of flooring projects from well known restaurant brands, finance corporations and retail stores to educational buildings across the UK. Most recently, the RIBA Stirling Prize nominated Clapham Manor Primary School, which has an impressive A-Z street map floor design in the school’s new extension.

An unusual and unique way to add another dimension to interior projects, Floorink is still everything you would expect from a commercial floorcovering: a quality hard wearing finish, with a 10 year wear layer guarantee and non slip properties. Available in 2m and 4m widths, with worldwide delivery.

Our dedicated website www.floorink.com will be launched very soon.

We look forward to seeing you. Forbo EC1 79 St John Street Clerkenwell London EC1M 4NR Tel: 0207 553 9300 Email: EC1@forbo.com Opening Times Monday - Friday, 9am until 5pm

Vintage Wall Decoration

Printed Space's install team recently fitted our vintage map wallpaper around this Kensington staircase. The mapping data is from Cassini, and dates back to c1891. After an extensive site survey, our artwork department had to make the historical map fit precisely around all the walls and run seamlessly up the 3 flights - the staircase was a floating staircase so in parts the full 6m height of the walls could be seen.

The client also wanted some of the colours enhancing - although many customers have gone for a black and white map or with a sepia tone to add to the vintage feel.

Cassini's range of mapping data can be printed onto any of our products, but look especially striking on our wallpaper, and add a dramatic focal point when printed onto our vinyl cushion floor product - Floorink.

Cassinis maps cover the majority of the UK, just let us know the town or postcode area you want and we can email you a proof of the area with dates ranging from 1805 - 1948.

We do have a range of set sized vintage map murals and canvases to buy online for your convenience, however, we can make the maps to fit any size so please contact us with your requirements.

The vintage map canvases are a perfect gift idea for families and friends - order before Friday 17th December for delivery before the 23rd.

We have a special offer running throughout December and January - £40.00 off set sized vintage map wall murals ordered through Google Checkout - simply enter code "wallmapoffer10n" in the checkout.

Keep an eye out for one of our black and white vintage map wallpapers featured in January's issue of Ideal Home!

Wall Mural for Jamie Oliver's new restaurant

Jamie Oliver's new restarant "Barbecoa" opened last week to rave reviews. If you have been lucky enough to get a table there over the weekend or to visit the inhouse Butchers Shop, you will have noticed the funky mural we printed for the walls!

Jamie has teamed up with American chef Adam Perry Lang to create Barbecoa restaurant - a celebration of the relationship between fire and food. Design Research Studio were involved in the interior design - you can read more about the inspirations behind the interior design here : http://www.barbecoa.com/interior

The designers chose our new Pre Pasted wallpaper for ease of installation and the odourless properties of the PVC free wall covering and Latex ink technology. As the wallpaper was to be installed in a food preparation environment this aspect of our product was vital.

Throughout November and December we have an introductory offer on this more eco friendly wall mural option. We are pleased to offer over a 35% discount on the standard price - so you can have your own bespoke mural for only £25.00 per square metre. Take advantage of this discounted price before the VAT increase in the New Year.

We also have offers running on our photographic canvas prints. Buy 2 canvas prints and get a 3rd free. You can use your own photos - simply email them to info@printedspace.com and let us know the size canvas you would like. We will then give you a call back to discuss your order.

Photo Roller Blind featured on BBC's The One Show

It has been such a busy couple of weeks here I didnt get chance to update the blog with pictures of the printed roller blind we produced as a suprise for Felicity Kendal when she was a guest on BBC1's The One Show.

The producers got hold of an album she made 'back in the day' and wanted the artwork turned into a rollable display to use during the interview with her. Here's a screen shot of TV Chef James Martin watching the unrolling of the blind, and a short clip of the live programme with host Chris Evans.

Turnaround time for roller blinds is generally 10 working days - but with only 1 days notice we had to pull out all the stops to get the roller blind on set in time for rehearsals. After being let down by a third party courier - our valiant partner company Better Blinds had to jump on a train with the mechanism to make the delivery!

Printed roller blinds can be made using your own photos or artwork, alternatively our artwork team can help you find the perfect image for your interior design idea. The made to measure roller blinds can be produced up to 300cm wide and shipped worldwide. We print onto standard fabric that allows a little sunlight through or can print blackout window blinds too making them ideal for childrens bedrooms and bathrooms.

Many commercial customers use our printed roller blinds to dim out sunlight in an office or shop environment and for privacy after hours - particular if they have a window facing a busy street. For office roller blinds we can print logos, company mottos, mission statements or opening hours so they can be seen by customers from the outside, or we can print photos and designs to be seen by staff on the inside. As seen on the One Show - the roller blinds can be use as temporary rollable displays for exhibitions, schools, universities, board rooms, offices and shop floors for example when there is a Sale or Special Offers running - the blind can then be just rolled up out of the way until needed again.

If you would like any further information or advice on what would work best for your home interior design idea, or your company's office interior window displays, please contact our helpful sales team on 01524 888808.

Cowboy Builders - Leicester Show

One of our most popular wall murals is the World Map, usually the standard coloured Physical or Political World Map. However we were approached by interior designer Sophie Robinson to create a blue toned World Map to use for an exhibition stand at this years Ideal Home Show. She also wanted to use the map wallpaper to decorate a boys bedroom for Channel 5's Cowboy Builders show.

The team were helping a family of five from Leicester whose home and garden were left in ruins for years after they put their faith in a dodgy builder. The resulting makeover was fantastic and the boys seemed thrilled with their new modern bedroom.

Our World Map wallpapers are used in a variety of locations from schools, universities, and offices through to dining rooms, bathrooms, playrooms and especially children's bedroom walls and ceilings.

We can print the World Maps to fit any size wall onto our range of wallpaper finishes. If a large wall mural isnt for you, then why not have the map printed onto a large canvas print, or maybe a roller blind, or even across your whole floor with our vinyl cushion floor product - Floorink.

We also offer set size wall murals as a "Buy Now" option printed onto our PVC free Pre Pasted wallpaper : http://www.printedspace.com/ideal_home_show.aspx

Interior Design Idea : 'Why not fit our "Magnetic Liner" to your wall first before applying the wallpaper on top so you can stick magnets to the World Map'

Pre Pasted Easy Fit Wallpaper - Even I can do it!

We have just launched our new Easy Fit pre pasted wallpaper, and Sharon and I decided it wasn't right to tell you how simple it is to install unless we tried it ourselves!

We have never hung wallpaper before in our lives so everyone else in the office thought a photo wall mural probably wasnt the easiest installation to start off our decorating career - but we proved them wrong!

We picked a local Lake District scene (although we can print any image you want), sized it up to fit our photo studio wall, and then printed it onto standard widths of wallpaper rather than commercial widths as we were novices at hanging!

The paste on the back of the mural strips just needs activating with water which we did by immersing the whole strip into a trough of tepid water for 15 seconds. We then rolled the wallpaper out onto a paste table print side down to check all the back was sufficiently wet, and then folded the paper in half to "book" for 1 minute. Starting on the top left of the wall, we offerered the 1st strip up to the wall and smoothed out the wrinkles with a damp sponge. We did exactly the same with the consecutive strips with each strip overlapping the previous one by a couple of millimetres to match the photo up seamlessly. Granted we both got a bit wet - as did the floor, but the finished result was beautiful. Now we can confidently advise you on the installation process and reassure those of you put off from ordering a printed wall mural in the past because you thought they were too difficult to hang.

Our pre pasted wallpaper base is made by HP and printed in house here in North West England. Our murals can be shipped throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the World. The wallcovering is PVC free and is printed using HP's Latex inks – ensuring you get a more environmentally friendly mural compared to one produced with solvent inks. It is also odor free making it safe for all rooms in the home and commercial interiors where the initial solvent smell would be an issue such as schools, restaurants, cafes and offices.

The ultra smooth finish and the latex base of the inks provide vivid colour graphics with high-definition detail. See our wall covering pages for more details : http://www.printedspace.com/walls_prepasted.aspx

When the time comes to redecorate, the wallpaper is so easy to remove that HP provide a warranty for clean removal making it ideal for exhibition graphics or rented properties. You can then package up the stripped wall covering and recycle it through HP's Planet Partners Recycling Program. See http://www.hp.com/recycle for full details.

PVC Free, Pre Pasted, Recyclable Wallpaper

We are now pleased to be able to offer our clients a more environmentally friendly print option when it comes to photo murals and printed wallpapers. Printed Space have invested in HP's water based Latex ink technology so now the majority of our wall coverings, photo roller blinds and large canvas art prints have stopped being manufactured with solvent based inks. Latex inks produce prints with the quality and durability of eco-solvent and low-solvent ink technologies but they're water based inks, so you get the application versatility, without the hassle associated with the environmental, health, and safety considerations of solvent-based inks.

The new printer has enabled us to print onto a PVC Free wallpaper so we can offer an odorless photographic wallpaper that meets GREENGUARD and AgBB criteria for schools, hospitals, restaurants, cafes, office environments and children's rooms. The wallcovering can be easily removed from the wall when finished with and HP will even collect it to be recycled!

World Map featured in Ideal Home Magazine

All you keen readers of Interior Design magazines may have spotted us in August's issue of "Ideal Home".

We printed a World Map, converted to blue tones for a room set featured at this years Ideal Home show, and the photos were shown in this month's magazine.

The magazine recommended the map wall covering as an ideal mural in a teenage boys bedroom - we agree - although the world map works as a stunning and educational feature in all rooms; at home or work.

Our range of wallpaper finishes provides a print solution for any application. This mural was printed onto our Classic paper - ideal for bedrooms, living rooms, offices etc. We can also offer a laminated wallpaper suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, restaurants etc.

Why not have a map printed onto our Doodle Wall so you can write on it with a dry wipe marker, or buy our magnet receptive liner to fit under the wallpaper so you can stick magnets to the map.

Customers that have seen this article so far this month and ordered the blue toned world map wallpaper include a school, a university, and lots of mums of teenage boys!