Design experts Orli Ben-Dor, Market Editor, Hearst Design Group; Gregory Herringshaw, Assistant Curator, Cooper Hewitt; and Gina Shaw, VP Product Development, York Wallcoverings, convened at the panoramic 44th floor of the Hearst Tower in New York yesterday to discuss the evolution of wallcoverings.
Presented by IFDA along with the panelists' organizations, the discussion delved into the history of wallcoverings, current trends in design, and the what’s coming down on the pike over the next few years. Ben-Dor moderated, while the panelists brought extensive experience: Herringshaw is in charge of the Wallcoverings Department at the Cooper Hewitt (which has the largest collection of its kind in the U.S.) and has curated two exhibitions including Wall Stories: Children’s Wallpaper and Books and Artist-Designed Wallpapers, while Shaw has directed and designed residential and commercial wallpaper coverings for over 30 years, helping to create wallpaper brands including Waverly, Walt Disney, Williamsburg, Candice Olson and Tommy Bahama for York Wallcoverings.
The panelists guided attendees through the historical significance of wallpaper (prints from the 1800s, for example, captured people's wanderlust with steam locomotive and ship designs); current trends, such as mylars and metallics with patterns, grasscloth of all designs, and novelty prints; and new technology that will allow for easy wallcovering removal, large-scale printing and natural materials.
"Wallpaper can be more than a pretty face," shared Herringshaw. "It can be a social media for interacting with the world."
