107_109_Grid 12/05/2017 16:00 Page 1
In Focus... Designers Guild
Pioneering
Design “Strange to think, but at that time I started my shop on the Kings Road there was really no concept of ‘lifestyle’ as we know it today,” Tricia Guild, OBE, the founder of Designers Guild and doyenne of pattern and colour told PG.“I had this idea to present a lifestyle that could offer a sense of informality with a contemporary yet decorative look - I always think it is so much easier when people can see the evidence of how something works visually by touching and feeling the products.” With both The Art Group and Deva Designs premiering new Designers Guild collections at PG Live this June, PG joins in the visual and tactile celebrations for this world leading design brand. One swipe of the Designers Guild Facebook page gives just a flavour of the huge international reach of this significant design and lifestyle brand. There is founder Tricia Guild with celebrity Anneke Rice planning the garden for RHS’ Chelsea Flower show in London, a stunning showpiece at Moscow’s MosBuild/WorldBuild exhibition, a fabulous display of its fabrics in Milan’s Erba Italia, spring wallpaper launch in Malmo, Sweden, plus screengrabs of features galore from design and lifestyle magazines all over the world. It might have started in 1970, but Designers Guild shows no signs of losing its vibrancy. In tandem with the ‘mothership’ (which comprises two shops, the wallpaper and fabric collections) there is a growing licensing programme with carefully curated licensees, including The Art Group, Deva Designs and Blueprint, who all share the brand’s ethos. Above right: Just two of the female relations designs in The Art Group’s Designers Guild new mini collection that is being launched at PG Live in June. Right: One of the designs in Deva Designs' Aubriet collection. Left: Tricia Guild, OBE, the founder and creative director of Designers Guild.
Blueprint Collection’s Designers Guild gift stationery range was awarded the accolade of Best Brand Licensed Gifting Product or Range in the recent prestigious industry Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (organised by PG’s owner Max Publishing). Deva Designs, one of the early licensee pioneers of the Designers Guild, is enjoying great success having rejoined the programme, while The Art Group hails the launch of its inaugural Designers Guild greeting card range (at the recent Spring Fair) as one of the most successful in the company’s history. Reggie Pugh, creative director of The Art Group, is in no doubt as to what makes the brand stand out from the crowd. “Designers Guild has something that no other design brand can touch. It has stood the test of time by constantly moving forward. Collection after collection, the colour work and patterning is amazing.” Reggie was never in any doubt as to how the PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
107