In a quiet corner on the outskirts of Lincoln is a dynamic family-run business that makes beautiful hand-block-printed wallpapers. As well as its own collection, it produces papers for leading interior designers and takes on heritage restoration work. These three strands are very much entwined: the likes of George Spencer Designs, Flora Soames and Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler regularly use Bruce Fine Papers to make their wallpaper designs, and the conservation departments of English Heritage and the National Trust rely on the company’s traditional expertise.
It all began back in 1994, when Alex Bruce founded the company. In a way, he was following in the footsteps of his father Allan, who was a consultant for Zoffany in the 1980s. ‘He was an artist and was asked to draw up some designs,’ explains Alex, who learned many of the block-printing techniques from him.
Alex manages the company with his wife Naomi, and their goal is more than just to preserve hand-block-printing techniques. The couple also see themselves as guardians of the heritage of English wallpaper. One of their recent projects was producing a wallpaper as part of the restoration of Wingfield railway station in Derbyshire, a Victorian building that fell into disrepair after its closure in 1967. Based on a small strip of paper that was retrieved from the picture rail of the Ladies Waiting Room, ‘Wingfield’ will form part of the company’s Small Prints Collection, which is to be introduced later this year.
Well known for its manufacturing, Bruce Fine Papers has also been producing its own collections since the very beginning. This year sees the launch of Bruce Fine Papers: The Collection, which includes a total of 19 distinctive new wallpapers split across the Heritage Collection and the Contemporary Collection, and will put the spotlight firmly on the company’s own designs.
Working out of a high-ceilinged studio in North Hykeham, Alex and Naomi oversee a team of eight, spread across colour mixing, grounding and printing posts. With its raised texture, hand-block-printed wallpaper is unlike anything else. There is a depth and delicacy that is hard to achieve in any other printed form.
There is an emphasis on a customisable service, with all the water-based paint colours hand mixed by eye to order. After the paper has been hand brushed with a background colour, it is then ready for the inked-up blocks to be pressed onto it – one colour at a time.
Alex trained as a car designer before starting the business and he built the machinery on which the luxurious papers are made from scratch. At the printing press, paint is applied to the blocks. They are then placed in position, with the registration guided solely by hand. This results in less hand retouching and a little more speed in production. ‘Not that what we do is fast,’ says Alex.
It is a real family affair, with Naomi and their son Jake overseeing production and their daughter Ellie working on the designs. From a fragment of paper, Ellie can reconstruct a heritage pattern using repetition to scale it up before it is produced. ‘Everything is bespoke and handmade,’ she says. ‘And there is no challenge that we can’t take on.’
The Heritage and Contemporary Collections represent an amalgamation of the company’s 30 years of history. The Contemporary Collection makes up the majority of new designs, with motifs adapted from fragments of wall-paper discovered over the years. The Heritage Collection harmonises elaborate Georgian and Victorian designs with new colours more suitable for modern homes or tastes. ‘For example, a new colourway for the existing “Marlyn Damask” design is jubilee – red, white and blue, patriotic and very Pop art,’ says Ellie.
Since 2010, ‘Moreland Damask’ – part of the Heritage Collection – has graced the walls of a hallway at 10 Downing Street, SW1, in the downing red colourway. ‘The colour was a custom choice by Gordon Brown. It is one of the oldest designs, coming from the early days of the business,’ explains Ellie, who points out that, in the mocha and buttermilk colourways, the design can feel less traditional and retro, and more contemporary.
Perhaps the pièce de résistance is the new ‘Tulips’ paper, also from the Heritage Collection. ‘It’s been a labour of love,’ says Ellie. ‘It’s fair to say that “Tulips” has been 30 years in the making. It was developed from fragments that came from my grandfather’s personal collection, which he gathered as a wallpaper consultant.’ The design is distinguished by its 10-colour combination of floral realism and stripes, the painterly pink-and-ochre petals adding softness to the vertical lines. It takes over a week to make a 10-metre roll, as 170 individual block prints are used.
This year will see the planned opening of a new on-site showroom and the patterns will evolve as the team reworks heritage designs. ‘As a family, we have a hoarding tendency and find it hard to let go of patterns that could easily be lost,’ says Ellie. ‘We are always looking for pieces that we can preserve for a new generation. The more unusual and unique the design, the better'.
