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Celebrating 100 years A proud history When Clement Brewer first started selling decorating materials in 1904, ready-mixed paint as we know it today was unheard of, so he would keep all the ingredients necessary for painters and decorators to mix their own paint. Colours were sold either as dry powder or ground in oil, and the choice offered by Clement was considered by his customers to be the best around. He also maintained a range of 30 different coach varnishes, stains and polishes. However, the intricate and specialist procedure of mixing paint by hand was superseded in 1908 by the arrival of the first supplies of ready-mixed distemper, the revolutionary washable wall treatment in pre-determined colours. This major advance in technology opened up a whole new world of colour for the interior designer. Clement Brewer was quick to identify the potential of this new product, as distemper very soon became a household word. This sea change was one of the catalysts for the company’s growth – in time, far beyond its roots in the Sussex seaside resort of Eastbourne.
Above: Early Albany paint packaging
Albany was chosen as a brand name in the 1920s, inspired by the high standards of interior decoration to be found in the exclusive Albany Mansions in London’s Piccadilly, which Clement knew well. Initially this was used as the name for the Company’s wallpaper pattern books but was soon adopted as Brewers’ paint brand as well. Today the brand still stands as the embodiment of quality for decorators.
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