Tactile Wonderland is design duo Rebecca Otero and Ninette van Kamp. Rebecca and Ninette met 10 years ago in the year 2000 in Brighton. Both designers were creatively pursuing their own lives when their paths crossed. Sharing a mutual love of all things beautiful, they dreamed of opening some kind of shop to show-case their finds as well as their work, and that allowed for a creative hub of sorts. Rebecca stayed in Brighton to finish off her degree in Fine Art Printmaking and Ninette went off to Edinburgh to start a degree in Interdisciplinary Design.
Although they stayed in touch over the years, they met again completely by coincidence in London when they both found themselves studying for an MA in Design for Textile Futures at Central St. Martins. Despite the fact that Rebecca was more interested in Interiors and Ninette was more drawn towards Fashion, they found that they shared a common ground in their exploration of aesthetic and material in an eco-conscious way. There had been a heavy emphasis on the importance of sustainability in Textiles during their MA course, and they both felt strongly about carrying this on in their own work. Once they had graduated they started collaborating on projects as a sideline/distraction to their 9-5 jobs in lingerie (Ninette) and trend forecasting as as freelancing for luxury brands such as Bill Amberg (Rebecca). Their love of playful materials and impractical pieces manifested in designs such as a chair made from lace dipped in porcelain that was shown in Milan 2008, and more recently porcelain lights and hand carved wooden furniture.
A love for setting the scene to compliment a space started in 2007 when they decided to laser cut a few lengths of vintage Graham and Brown and Laura Ashley wallpapers at Designersblock to create a fern forest of paper. From then on it was a case of researching the market and fine tuning the concept by introducing texture and fabrics as well as incorporating hand silk screen printing into the process. They wanted to create a product that crossed the boundary between art and design - timeless, that wasn’t throwaway, and was also highly eco-conscious.
Tactile Wonderland has currently produced one collection of wallcoverings using two different wallpaper base materials:
1. The Sateen Range - fabric for the wall; a luxurious feeling fabric wallcovering woven of fine rayon yarns and laminated to a recycled paper backing.
2. The Paper Range - a non woven FSC Certified sustainable wallcovering that is a combination of pulp sourced from a sustainable forest and polyester giving it a luxurious and high quality finish.
Both materials come in 5 different designs - Pala, Bunga, Pelangi, Garis and Jalan - and come in 30 different colourways. There is also the option to have laser cut detailing incorporated into the design when clients opt for the Sateen Range. Clients have the choice of 4 laser cut design options: feathers, gingko leaves, fern leaves, and wood block.
Design options include:
Bespoke colourways
Bespoke design
Choice from a range of Tactile Wonderland designs
A range of textile and wallpaper base materials
Samples
Designs can be sampled in any colourway, subject to a sample fee of £20 per sample
Clients are also able to purchase a bound sample book at £200 per book, and can expect it to be delivered within 2 to 3 weeks.
Sizes
The paper backed sateen comes at a 91cm width and can be printed to any length.
The high grade sustainable non woven comes at a 55cm width and is printed in lengths of 10m.
Lead Times
Tactile Wonderland produces bespoke, handcrafted and made to order wall-couture. Because of this lead times vary from project to project and range between 4 to 12 weeks.
Applications
All designs are sculptural surfaces intended as wallcoverings. However, clients may specify other applications such as wall panels, room dividers or screens, upholstery or lighting.
Environmental Policy
Our products are hand-crafted and made to order thus minimizing waste. Our focus is to create a sustainable product with a low carbon footprint. We use 100% natural materials and always use solvent free, water based inks. We believe in supporting traditional local companies and make every effort to work with the highest quality materials.
With most textile manufacturing and production taking place in the Far East, Britain’s Textile Industry is slowly dying out. We believe strongly in promoting traditional textiles and bringing Britain’s rich textile heritage into the 21st Century. With a growing trend for ‘Made in Britain’ products, our intent is to create made to order sustainable surfaces from UK sourced materials that allow for minimum waste.
We are passionate about textiles, material form and the traditional process of applying pattern to surfaces through silk screen printing, and with the technological advances available today, this style of printing is becoming more of an art form as digital printed wallpaper is becoming the norm.
In order to allow for a contemporary take we combine traditional processes with modern day methods to create inspiring tailored interior surfaces and objects. Every Tactile Wonderland product is lovingly made by hand from start to finish. We choose to hand silk screen print our wallcoverings because it adds a depth to the prints as well as a personal touch ensuring that no two items are identical - allowing for a unique product every time. They are subject to variations in print and sometimes minor imperfections that add to the overall beauty and charm of the product.