FACTORY FLY-ON-THE-WALL
Facts and finds behind our wallpaper, made-to-order & paint factory
It isn’t every day that you get an insider’s peek into where our illustrious (and highly regarded) home decorating range gets made. We were lucky enough to be invited to take the full tour (high vis safety bib at the ready!) by our busy team in Wales and can now reveal our factory fly-on-the wall pictures and all the hard work that goes into our products before you see them beautifully wrapped up and displayed in our stores.
We have been producing our own much loved wallpaper, paint and made-to-measure curtains / blinds at Texplan in Newtown Wales since Princess Diana first opened it’s doors in 1987.
Princess Diana accompanied by Bernard Ashley at the official opening in 1987. A beautiful image of Princess Diana still hangs in our reception today.
Intrigued to see where all the magic happens? Read on for the behind the scenes pictures and the facts you never knew. Call it some well informed trivia for when your friends next coo over your Laura Ashley windows and walls…
Wallpaper: Did you know?
- Our wallpaper machine prints an average of 60 metres per min. That is just 10 seconds on one roll (10 metres) of wallpaper!
- We produce 1.3 million rolls of wallpaper per year. 88% of the production is from our 6 colour screen printer with the balance from our 7 colour gravure printer.
The majority of our wallpaper is screen-printed. This is the process of applying each colour to the paper via pre-engraved screens, each screen denoting a part of the colour of the design. As the paper runs, ink is fed through each engraved screen and the design is transferred onto the paper, each colour is pre dried before the next colour is applied. Also during the printing process the wallpaper is trimmed precisely so that it can be matched when hung. The wallpaper is then inspected before being batched off in to 10 metre rolls, which is then labelled and wrapped ready for distribution to the stores and warehouse.
Our printing is environmentally friendly! All paper is sourced from sustainable and renewable forests in Finland (on this basis we have PEFC accreditation). Our water based inks are sourced from Holland in addition to recent investment in a new energy efficient screen printer.
Paint: Did you know?
- We have 48 colours in the current Laura Ashley paint range. There is a unique recipe for each colour which is blended on site.
- We produce 365,000 tins of paint per year – which is approx 7,000 tins per week!
Made to order: Did you know?
- We produce 82,000 made-to-order products per year
- Some intricate design service orders can take 6 highly trained operators to complete over 3 to 4 days.
HOMEMADE GIFTS VINTAGE STYLE: WALLPAPER CHALLENGE
The Wallpaper Challenge
Desk Tales: Isabelle Campbell
Many thanks and congratulations on being the only company I have come across who has taken the time to let their customers see what goes on behind the scenes. Very, very interesting and informative. I just love everything produced by Laura Ashley, from Home Furnishings to top-to-toe dressing. And wonderful to hear of the late Princess Diana’s interest and encouragement for Laura Ashley…..yet not surprising! All the very best for your future, particularly in these difficult economic times. Margaret McCabe, Edinburgh.