Released on: March 4, 2008, 8:22 pm

Press Release Author: Afficionados of the Nod

Industry: Construction

Press Release Summary: Award-winning, fabric and wallpaper design company,
Afficionados of the Nod will launch Stevie English, their latest range of designs at
designEX 2008

Press Release Body: The Patterns
The new range, Stevie English has its inspiration in the English subculture -
particularly the ever-popular Punk and Mod. Two designs make up the range the first,
\"Punk_Regal" is made up of a a strikingly deconstructed Union Jack pattern. It
instantly evokes a 1970s punk icon, yet at the same time references a contemporary
21st century \"eclectic\" aesthetic, creating a an interior environment that feels
contemporary and sub-cultural all at once.
The second design \"Mod_Regal\" references Mod sub-cultural iconography and is made up
of a deconstructed target pattern - rather than solid concentric circles, the target
is made up of dots to create an optical moire effect.
By using luxurious colourways such silver and other metallic colours - the sense of
luxury - or \'regalness\' is adding another layer of meaning to the designs. So there
are layers of meaning suggested in the design - a rebellious, design conscious,
luxurious mood - modern punk and modern mod if you will.
With the current fervour for decoration both in the home and in commercial
environments, there is an appreciation for the texture of patterns and embellishment
that both wallpaper and fabrics offer. The Stevie English range can be used as a
texturing effect via wallpaper, upholstery, curtains and soft furnishings.
"Interior Designers are looking for patterns which make a statement, particularly in
wallpaper as a feature wall. Both Mod_Regal and Punk_Regal refer to past subcultural
trends, yet in their treatment they are both unmistakably contemporary" said design
director Tip Gloria. "So the two designs can be used together, or individually, as
features, either in upholstery or wallpaper."
"We are expecting a huge response from designEX, as designers and architects will
see the Stevie English range for the first time. Long-term, contemporary pattern is
continuing to be big for commercial fitouts, and we are noticing Afficionados of the
Nod designs are being specified for more commercial than domestic interiors," said
design director, Tip Gloria.
The Colours
The Stevie English range of Mod_Regal and Punk_Regal is available in a pop primary
palette - with a twist - all the standard colours are metallic. Punk_Regal design is
printed in metallic colours on either metallic or matte surface materials fabric -
and wallpaper.
The colour palette is inspired by the colours of English subcultures particularly
Punk and Mod, made modern through metallic finish. The colours are Moon- silver,
Roger- a metallic red, Vicious - a metallic blue and Rotten- black.
In addition, the Stevie English is also available in two tonal combinations \"White
on White\" (cool) and \"Beige on Beige\" (warm) in both fabric and wallpaper. However,
custom colours for the patterns are available to order to all architects, interior
designers and specifiers, to virtually any opaque or metallic pattern colour.
Punk_Regal and Mod_Regal standard base colour range is available as wallpaper in
four different base colours (Metallic Pewter, Catalan Red, Pure White and Beige)
printed to order. The Stevie English range standard base colour fabric is available
in ivory, (hemp silk) white (cotton), natural (cotton and hemp), beige (cotton) and
black (cotton and hemp) printed to order. Base fabric can also be dyed to
specification, depending on order size (20 metre minimum)

Afficionados of the Nod use sustainable resources and principles.
The Stevie English range, Mod_Regal and Punk_Regal are available as both fabric and
wallpaper. The cotton base fabrics are grown and milled in Australia and only the
hemp base fabric and hemp-silk base fabric is imported as none is grown locally. The
wallpaper is grown in sustainable forests in Finland and processed into large 100
metre rolls, ready to be printed to order in Australia.
All Afficionados of the Nod printing is done in Australia to order, using
Australian, low toxicity inks with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds). By using
only natural textiles as the base, both the fabric and the wallpaper is
biodegradable.
The other fabric bases available are hemp, hemp-cotton and hemp-silk, sourced from
China. The "fabric miles" that the hemp travels to Australia (generating greenhouse
emissions via its transport) is offset by the ecological growing of the product -
hemp requires minimal care and water and very little processing. The cotton used as
the primary sampling base fabric for Old Country is grown in Australia, and the most
environmentally sensitive, as minimal "fabric miles" (and hence greenhouse
emissions) are generated by transport, manufacture and delivery.
The water based inks are heat sealed into the fabric, rather than chemically sealed.
The base fabrics are all natural with no synthetic additives, which mean they are
fully biodegradable.
As the fabric and wallpaper are printed to order, there is additional environmental
sustainability consideration as there is no need to "stockpile" and print for the
sake of it and use resources (fabric/ink/labour) unnecessarily. A low minimum order
of 10 metres of customer requested combinations; or 1 metre of standard colours,
means that customers don't need to order more fabric than they reasonably need for
an average domestic upholstery job.
No additional processes are applied once the fabric is printed, making it a
minimally processed product. All of the base fabrics are machine washable, and line
dryable, which adds to the environmental sensitivity/sustainability, as dry cleaning
is not automatically required.
Order and Buy Online
The Afficionados web site www.afficionados.com.au has a fully interactive pattern
sampler and trade customers are welcome to register, enabling them to generate
orders and sample requests online, with payment going through a secure server. Order
lead times vary.
All on-line customers will see the retail price in Australian dollars including GST.
Retailers and trade customers are welcome to register, and once registered and
approved, will be able to view trade or wholesale pricing.
Stevie English fabric, wallpaper and homewares will be available to the public from
Monday 14th April 2008.
-Ends-
Photos and samples are available now.
For further information, photos, and for fabric and homewares samples please contact:
Mal Damkar
ph 02 9212 7277
fax 02 9212 2954
style@afficionados.com.au



Web Site: http://www.afficionados.com.au

Contact Details: Afficionados of the Nod
238A riley street Surry Hills NSW 2010
style@afficionados.com.au
612 92127277