With a long history of breathing new life into existing concepts, cutting through the ordinary and expected with powerful, visionary design, it was only a matter of time before HemingwayDesign became interested in reinvigorating a selection of flooring materials that have a history of their own and yet could easily take on a new identity.
This collaboration, HemingwayDesign X Forbo, is a forward thinking reinvention of Forbo Flooring Systems’ products into various distinctive, graphic compendiums of fun designs, inspirational for all sectors.
The celebrated HemingwayDesign brand is now led by two generations of the Hemingway family. Founder and authority on housing design, fashion and branding, Wayne Hemingway MBE, explains the catalyst for this new collaboration: “The inspiration for our work comes from the places and spaces we like to live and work in. Having worked with Forbo on a couple of projects, we had been introduced to a number of their product lines where we saw potential to reinvent them.
“Since we work across a number of disciplines and sectors, we have been able to dip into our current graphic design portfolio and colour palettes to create what we believe is some very fresh flooring."
Jack Hemingway and Tilly Hemingway, partners in the business, led on the design themes and concepts. HemingwayDesign X Forbo plays with pattern and shape, by placing an emphasis on the floor as a surface for graphic art and geometric design. Resulting in eight stunning and carefully considered design options encompassing Tessera carpet tiles, bespoke vinyl, Marmoleum and Forbo’s flocked Flotex. Additionally, there is an exciting bespoke design service by HemingwayDesign, Marmolaid, which can offer a variety of colour and aesthetic options.
Mid Century Weave, a subtly flecked carpet tile, is a timeless Modernist aesthetic, bringing the sophistication of upholstery and textile fabric to flooring. Available in three complementary colours: Sunbeam Yellow, Lagoon Blue and Dawn Grey that all work beautifully together in an array of original combinations for use in a wide variety of interior spaces.
Snakes and Ladders, Lizards and Ladders and The Slide all use elements from the Marmoleum Modular Shade collection. The designs feature oversized geometric graphic grids using cool and warm greys, monochromatic and rusty orange shades. The tiles are available in up to four different sizes from 25x25cm to 50x75cm.
Meanwhile, the extent of Forbo’s digital printing capabilities has led to an exciting set of designs available across digitally printed Flotex and vinyl sheet products. Hopscotch, a hand painted monochrome checkerboard recreated as printed flooring; Fresh Cut Graph, a subtle yet striking cut up grid graphic repeat - ‘Op Art’ for the floor; Mix & Match, a selection of bold geometric graphic patterns printed in pastel tones and HemingwayDesign’s exclusive take on a traditional herringbone parquet floor: Hemingbone, complete the memorable collection.
Wayne concludes: “The great thing about Forbo is that the team clearly embrace new ideas – plus there are so many different options in terms of flooring and materials to experiment with. Hopefully this collection pushes floor design in a different direction and people will see something in this that they haven’t seen in recent times.”
