Pictured above: Warwick Wright with one of his bespoke wallpapers behind him at Danté in uMhlanga.
Wonderfully wild, gently fantastical, if you can dream it, Tiny Teriors can design it just for you, print it and transform your children’s rooms into magical landscapes, writes Anne Schauffer.
Tiny Teriors is the new kid on the block. Or the wall, if you prefer. It’s the brainchild of Warwick Wright, director of his sister wallpaper company 23Interiors, which he began four years ago. He’d seen an opportunity, and took the gap.
He grins, “Was I interested in interiors? Not really, but the deeper I delved into it, the more I developed an eye for it – and soon I fell in love with what I was doing. I researched trends and forecasts, and every day I learnt something new. I still do.”
From the outset, one of the most satisfying aspects of producing bespoke wall coverings was the response from clients: “Between my own circle of friends and social media, word spread, and the business took off – interior decorators and designers began approaching me. There’s nothing more satisfying that seeing a client over the moon with their bespoke wall.”
Bespoke is the name of the game. Warwick holds no stock at all. Every wallpaper is a customised design, sized to a client’s wall specification: “Clients approach us with an idea or look they’ve seen on Pinterest, Instagram or elsewhere, and we forge our own interpretation of that, add a twist or two, all from scratch. Our in-house graphic designer sources and creates, and there’s a fair amount of to-ing and fro-ing with the client so they can tweak it to their satisfaction – reduce the size of the flower, move elements around, alter the colours and so on.
“We send the client an image of the wallpaper in the specific room. When it’s perfect, we print it to the precise wall size, and create the panels.” Warwick works throughout South Africa, so hand-picked installers are outsourced.
And then came Tiny Teriors. Warwick and wife Alicia welcomed a baby girl into their world a year ago: “We saw what energy we put into creating a world in her room, and knew we wanted to do this for others,” says Warwick. “We opened a separate business, and Alicia came up with the name Tiny Teriors.”
Together, the couple has created some glorious scenarios for children’s rooms. The ultimate goal for the business is to choose 20 or 30 of the Wright’s most favourite looks, then bring in new designs monthly: “It would be an online business, but with a bespoke element. No one’s walls are the same size or even flat, so I’m working on accommodating that. Our service is always a personal, interactive one, and it’s that that I love. The clients do too.”
Blank canvas, obsessed with Barbie, no idea which colours work best with your black lacquered furniture? Warwick laughs, “I’m very used to that, and with experience I’ve learnt what styles and patterns work best in different spaces, colours which really complement, and designs people tire of more quickly. With children, the sky’s the limit – but it’s also best to think twice about TV characters or fads, unless you’re comfortable changing the walls quite frequently!
“Our Tiny Teriors range is in its early stages, and it has so many possibilities – we’re constantly creating new artworks, and equally, our clients are pushing us in new, uncharted directions! It’s an exciting space to be in!” *
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