Shared passions for brilliant British craftsmanship, holistic approaches to production and, of course, wonderfully whimsical designs - Rebecca Aird and Peter Thwaites talk us through the journey of their distinctive fabric and wallpaper brand, Rapture & Wright.
At LAMP LDN we make it our mission to work with independent makers, artists and designers, and these creators become the fabric of our LAMP LDN community. We like to think of them as the Light in the LAMP, and this series gives us a few minutes to get to know them a little better. So, grab a glass of something cold and pull up a chair, as we chat to a couple of our makers - Rebecca Aird and Peter Thwaites, co-founders of Rapture & Wright.
Rebecca and Peter founded Rapture & Wright in 2004, and they now operate from their barn in rural Gloucestershire. Their designs have become a staple of British textiles and wallpapers with their distinctive and instantly recognisable combination of whimsy and modern country sensibility.
Tell us about your journey - how did the business begin?
We were both working for interior designers, making hand painted wallpapers and experimenting with different finishes and materials. Peter, who trained as an illustrator, was also working on film and theatre sets. We became interested in the work of British textile and wallpaper designers from the 1930s such as Barron and Larcher and thought “there’s a gap here…”. That’s how it all began.
This was twenty years ago, in a world where “offshoring” was the new buzzword, the hand of the maker was no longer present and the relationship between the maker and the client seemed to have been forgotten. “Craft” was deeply unfashionable. But we believed that our simple, small scale manufacture could rekindle the unique joy and beauty of the well-crafted; designing, making and selling our own handprinted fabrics and wallpapers, from the very beginning of the process to the end. It did succeed, but we made so many mistakes along the way...
We launched our very first print in 2004. “Launch” is a slightly grand word. We were trying to do something different but had no idea how to actually sell our stuff. We were fortunate that a few people understood us from the beginning and were early adopters.
Is there anyone in your life who has had a lasting influence on your taste and style?
Peter: I’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with some truly talented people. Those that are passionate, generous and genuine are always the most inspiring. Almost always, it’s their attitude that I most admire. It’s so often the case that the truly talented shout the least, and visa versa… note to self!
Do you have a favourite moment of your making process?
Rebecca: When you print the first length of a new pattern... and everything works as you want it to. I’m not sure if it’s relief or excitement. There are so many points in the design development where a new idea can be discarded or simply fail to excite us any more - it can be a brutal process.
Tell us about your supply chain - where do you source your materials? Do you try to remain conscious of longevity and sustainability?
We originally set out to create a different sort of fabric company - our deeply unfashionable mission was to find the best UK suppliers and print everything in house. This, along with an holistic approach, would allow us to maintain oversight and control of the entire production process, and we reasoned that sustainability was always a big part of that, although it wasn’t something talked about back then! We’ve been fortunate that we have a growing audience who appreciate quality and longevity over mass production and low cost.
It is our role to always question, and always seek ways to make things better.
Tell us something you love about your own home?
We live in a Dutch Barn that we converted about seven years ago. As a space, it’s really easy to live in - we love that the design and materials are humble, in keeping with the agricultural vernacular, and super practical.
You now have a finely tuned production line - how do you approach the idea of expansion whilst retaining your artisanal approach to production?
Your question raises an interesting conundrum inherent in all manufacturing expansion - growth increases impact. And we have made the commitment to reducing our impact.
We’ve spent the last 20 years making our production as efficient as possible, and much of this has been about tweaking process. In 2017 we invested in a new print studio, to further our efficiency and help us towards our goal of sustainable production. We’ve become carbon positive on power and installed an innovative, nature-positive system to deal with our print waste. The new print studio has also given us enough space to allow for future expansion - but this, however, isn’t the plan.
As artisanal makers, we print everything to order. This means we have predictable costs and little or no waste, and we can plan production according to orders. This also allows us valuable time for innovation and design, which keeps our brand relevant.
Our version of growth for our business comes from developing the benefits offered by our production methods - innovation, quality and longevity for the client, while avoiding the traditional ways of increasing monetary growth - producing more, faster and risk devaluing our product.
The Light in the Lamp Quick Fire Round
Your favourite cocktail
Rebecca: Mojito
Peter: Vodka Martini
Your ideal Sunday morning
Surfing a lazy break followed by lunch with friends.
We’re coming round for dinner - what’s on the menu?
On a weekday in Winter, it’s roast chicken. In summer, a seasonal vegetable pasta (not out of a tin, Mr Heinz!). And at the weekend, something Middle Eastern.
Your rainy afternoon comfort movie
Edward Scissorhands.
Pretty in Pink
North by Northwest.
Your favourite pick from the current LAMP LDN collection (that isn’t something of yours!)
We love the Casa Celva tumblers - but you know that!
