Moore & Moore Wallpaper

Image from www.moorewallpaper.com.au

The fabulous Lynne Testoni, Managing Director of Moore & Moore Wallpapers has very kindly provided us with our very first guest blog.  Yay!

Lynne’s wonderful taste and clever designing eye has resulted in a gorgeous range of wallpapers.  Enjoy!

image from www.moorewallpaper.com.au

The launch of Moore & Moore (www.moorewallpaper.com.au) has been such a wonderful journey and education for me. I first fell in love with wallpaper a few years ago when I worked with a famous designer on a collection for another paint and wallpaper company. I left the company, but my love for wallpaper remained.

Two years later, I decided to make that dream a reality. I have a passion for decorating – and print – and I am an avid reader (and contributor) to homemaker magazines. I could see that wallpaper was making a big comeback and yet there were very few Australian companies making it. Most wallpapers sold here are European and don’t always suit our tastes. They also have long lead times if people want them. I felt that Australians would appreciate designs that appeal to our climate, culture and decorating trends. It seemed as though there was a real opportunity to provide a quality product made in Australia.

We have launched with four designs – each in four colourways – making 16 papers in total. We started with a lovely damask using flannel flowers, which are my favourite Australian native flower. I wanted something that reflected a European aesthetic, but using Australian iconography and I think it’s a great success. The wallpaper designer is a wonderful Queensland artist and designer KT Doyle (www.ktdoyle.com) and our collaboration has been such a joy and lots of fun – as well as creatively rewarding.

The second design was Coral, which reflects both an art deco heritage and the Great Barrier Reef, another Australian icon. We have created it in some pretty pastels, which are beautiful (in my opinion). Next was an interesting stripe, which KT designed with a ticking pattern, an added touch that makes it special.

The last design we created has turned out to be the most successful – the Gum Leaves. This took us some time to get right. I wanted to create the feeling of cascading leaves and KT ended up developing a scattered sateen pattern, which was perfect. I have the silver Gum Leaves in my house and find them both beautiful and restful.

The biggest challenge has been to source the base paper, which was a six-month project in itself. All our designs are created especially for us on Australian made paper – the only wallpaper company to use locally made paper. The paper is FSC accredited and uses water-based inks. Because we manufacture the wallpaper ourselves, we can also offer our customers custom colours and even custom designs, for an additional cost. Also, because our products are made locally we have short lead times and can fill orders quickly.

The challenges include the never-ending cash flow shortage, as I try to invest in a growing business, and still make enough income for me to survive on! I still have a day job – working in food magazines – and spend all my evenings and weekends thinking and dreaming of wallpaper. Dream with me!

Image from www.moorewallpaper.com.au