Orms teams up with SA artists for striking wallpaper collection

The SA artists selected to design the range were: Ahimsa Ali, Ark Paper Studios, Katie Lund, Frances White, Andrea Brand, Cecile Nowars, Liffey Joy, Mariette Kotze, Aimee Hall, Fleur Le Cordeur, Lisa Strachan, Nicole Carr, Andrew Hofmeyr, Gaby Beyers, Maria Baumann and Si Maclennan.

Here, Leanne Barling, the head of décor printing at Orms, talks about the company's move into the world of home décor and design.

What was the inspiration behind the Orms wallpaper collection?

We get a lot of requests for custom-printed wallpaper designs, as our customers are wanting something unique for their homes and businesses. The images on stock libraries are often generic and overdone… and our clients are after something more personal, more locally orientated, and bespoke.

When you decide to transform your interior space, you want something that is unique and that you can personally relate to. That's when we realised we could create a platform where our artists' could interact directly with our clients.

What are the benefits of using wallpaper vs painting?

Custom-printed wallpaper is a cost-effective way of transforming the entire space. The wallpaper is easy to remove and mess-free, so if you decide to change the wallpaper design, it's just a case of pulling off the wallpaper, wiping off the excess glue residue and then you are free to replace it with another design.

You also have access to a whole range of designers and artists, which makes the most unique artworks accessible.

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Other than the unique designs, what sets Orms wallpapers apart from others on the market?

People don't often associate artists and decor with Orms. Mostly when people think of Orms they think of photography and cameras. But we offer a whole range of customised printing and exhibiting solutions – wallpaper being one of them.

We have partnered with professional wallpaper installers, so we are able to offer site inspections, where we come out to check the sites – double check the wall conditions and the wall measurements, as well as professional installation services.

We have three different wallpaper textures:

1. textured suede (a luxe velvety texture - great for rich colours and blacks), at R399/m2;
2. linen (a canvas-like organic, woven, texture) at R345/m2, and
3. eco-friendly (PVC free - woven backing, which makes it perfect for moist areas, such as bathrooms) at R449/m2. All our prices are inclusive of VAT.

Installation is charged at R190/m2, and a call out fee/site inspection is quoted per area/distance. Our wallpapers are all scratch resistant and durable, and are designed for longevity. The inks we print with are Genuine Epson inks and 100% eco-friendly too! The cost per design usage is a flat rate of R1,500.

When will this collaboration come to an end, and will Orms be partnering with more local artists in the future?

This is just the beginning of great things to come! We encourage our existing artists to expand on their ranges, and for upcoming artists and designers to submit their potential ranges. We hope that this will be a growing relationship between Orms, artists, designers, interior decorators and our clients.

Working with local artists is definitely something we see ourselves doing for years to come. At the moment we are looking to collaborate with artists that have a unique style and point of view, that can bring a creative and personal decor print solution to our incredibly creative and unique clients and their personal spaces.

The Orms wallpaper collection will be sold exclusively via the Orms Print Room & Framing website.