Redbrick Mill, Batley

I've made a couple of trips to Redbrick Mill lately as it's a nice place for checking out the latest trends in furniture and interior design. There's a good mix of alternative interiors stuff and I would recommend it for a rainy weekend if you want some inspiration or if you've got a spare wad of cash and fancy something special for your home.

It is a bit unusual to find a trendy interiors place like this in Batley, West Yorkshire which was once a prosperous mill town but nowadays is somewhat less grand, however it is nice to see regeneration of a place like this and it would probably be lost in a big city like Leeds.

See below for an interesting article from the Yorkshire Post that gives a good background to the idea behind this interior design outlet and Stephen Battye, the guy behind the idea.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=1472&ArticleID=1370548

We have learnt that people are blown away when they see Heuga on the floor in a room setting but it's a bit difficult to get this kind of display in a traditional carpet store so we are looking at new types of places to show off our products and looking to place them in the stylish kind of environment that they deserve. Maybe one day we'll get some of our stuff in a place like this - I'll keep you posted!

Photo Shoot

I've arranged a few photo shoots now for Heuga catalogues and here's some of the people that get involved...

Helen Carey is a stylist and she finds fab real home locations and models for our pictures along with doing all the styling for the shots creating the right atmosphere in the homes.

Helen has done loads of interesting things and worked on some really interesting projects. We bumped into her mate Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen when we went to the 100% Design Show a couple of years ago.

Here's a link to Helen's website http://www.helencarey.com/index.htm

Helen's husband Fraser Cunningham is the main photographer for the shoots and he is a good laugh and great at slecting the best angles and getting plenty of flooring in the shots.

Helen and Fraser live on the Isle of Wight which is a fab place and many of the shoots have been down there on the island.

The next main guy is Eddie Kempster and he runs a carpet fitting company 'E Kempster Flooring' focusing mainly on carpet tiles. He is a fun guy and keeps us all entertained.

It is amazing to watch him and his guys cut and fit tiles in the most awkward of spaces.

In this picture Eddie is sporting our FunkyFeet shagpile carpet tiles on his head and Fraser's glasses.

There are some other great people that get involved and I'll try and get some pics on the shoot.

So, tomorrow I need to order the products, confirm the dates with Eddie and sort out my travel to the lovely Isle of Wight for our next shoot for the 2008 Heuga catalogue. Here's a photo of a beautiful sunset from the beach from the last time I was there. If you look closely yu just about make out the Spyglass Inn in Ventnor which is a lovely little pub where we've eaten a few times whilst on photo shoots.

Back to work!

After a lovely relaxing week off I'm back into the work thing and yesterday I got my broadband set up at home so that means my working day will be spent looking at my laptop followed by evenings of the same - I will have to limit myself on this blogging thing as it is a bit addictive and the temptation of Facebook could be a problem.

So, I've come back to a few problems with Heuga.com which various people are working on to resolve - poor guys may be up all night working on that, but hopefully it will be resolved by the morning.

Also I've got to organise a photo shoot for our 2008 catalogue so lots to sort out there but a great team of people to work with so it should be fun.

Facts about Holland

As I am still here in Holland I thought I'd find and share some interesting facts about Holland that you may or may not already know based on findings from various websites (so don't blame me if it's not 100% accurate)...

1. The population of Holland is around 16 million

2. There are twice as many bikes as there are cars in Holland - and be warned if you're driving in Holland as the cyclists have the right of way - always! Be prepared for them to ride straight across your path and if you hit one you're in real trouble.

3. Around half of the Netherlands lies below sea level.

This figure varies a lot amongst websites, some claiming a quarter, others a third, others over 50% but I ended up trusting the National Geographic website on the following page...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0829_wiredutch.html

4. Dutch men are the tallest in the world at an average of 6 feet.

Interestingly in the nineteenth century the Netherlands was renowned for having the shortest men in Europe, with an average height of just 5'4" in 1850.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

So, why?

One suggestion is due to the threat of Holland falling underwater and the need to keep one's head above water.

Another is down to the clogs they wear adding an extra 3 inches to their appearance.

But really...

Most likely it's down to the nation's health and wealth. Dutch people thrive on a protein-rich diet (they can't get enough cheese, milk and bread) and they have a national health service that ensures healthy development of their growing kids.

A regular visit to Scherpenzeel, Holland

I am in Holland at the moment, which is a regular thing for me as Heuga Home Flooring is based in Scherpenzeel in the Netherlands and the rest of the Marketing team are based out here so I tend to come over every other week to keep up to date.

This is the true home of the first carpet tile which was originally made over 50 years ago just around the corner from where I am writing.

It is 10.30pm Dutch time, I am in my hotel room as I write and I am not alone... I have the whining buzz of a mosquito in the room with me and I think I need to try and find it before falling asleep!

This is a picture of our Heuga showroom in Holland where I will spend most of the next 2 days. In here we have a big conference table at the other end of the room and we have meetings and catch-ups in here.

Our design student changes the floor design from time to time. At the moment this floor is a combination of half and quarter tiles of Simply Soft with the main floor in FunkyFeet.

Giraffe Print Floor

We had a nice large order for our Giraffe Print carpet tiles on Heuga.com today and that made me smile as it's a really fun design.

This is a fab product and it has raised a lot of interest amongst lots of people including an interior design tv programme in the UK on ITV called 60 Minute Makeover who will be featuring this product in a show in the Autumn.

One of my Dutch buddies Maarten found a blog going round Holland raving about how funky this Giraffe flooring is and encouraging people to gang up and order samples to make a floor out of them.

For the record, don't bother as we only supply little chips and when the next person asks why we can't send out bigger samples I might point them to this Dutch blog - sorry but this stuff is far too special to be giving it away!

60 Minute Makeover ITV

Giraffe print carpet tiles from Heuga

Link to Technorati - I want some visits!

Hopefully this link will get some visits to my blog!

Technorati Profile

Colour psychology and use of colour in decoration

I am genuinely fascinated by colour - why we choose certain colours, what that says about us and how colour can influence our emotions.

Here's some stuff about colours and what is most suitable for different rooms when decorating.

Red

Associations: passion, love, danger, excitement, energy, warmth, adventure, optimism

Rooms most suited to: bedrooms due to the passion and warmth, dining rooms as it stimulates the appetite and promotes sociable and lively feelings.

Orange

Associations: Creativity, vitality and playfulness

Rooms most suited to: dining rooms as it stimulates the appetite, bedrooms - particularly if you struggle to get out of bed in the orning, study/office if you need to be creative and generate ideas

Yellow

Associations: sunshine, happiness and energy

Rooms most suited to: kitchens, dining rooms or conservatories/sunny rooms

Purple
Associations: royalty, creativity, fertility and joy

Rooms most suited to: bedrooms, living rooms

Pink
Associations: love and tenderness

Rooms most suited to: bedrooms - soft pastel pinks are especially peaceful and restful.

Green
Associations: nature, energy, calming, health, freshness, balance.

Rooms most suited to: bedrooms, living rooms, studies/offices

Blue
Associations: water, calm, coolness, keeps hunger at bay, authority, protection, power

Rooms most suited to: bedrooms, bathrooms, studies/offices

Brown
Associations: security, earth and nature, stability and practicality

Rooms most suited to: living rooms, hallways, utility areas

Black
Associations: elegance, style, rebellion.

Rooms most suited to: if used, it should be combined with something else

If you're interested in colour then there is some really interesting stuff on this site:

http://www.colormatters.com/colortheory.html

Heuga Virtual Room Tool

We have finally got our new Virtual Room Tool up and running on Heuga.com. We have spent ages working with a company to create this online tool where you can try out different floors in a room scene. It is really great and means you can get an idea of how a style looks before buying it.

We know people like to get creative with more than one colour or texture so we've included a combine option so you can add another style and see how the two look together.

If you fancy a play, here's the link: http://www.heuga.com/InterfRoomVisualiser/uk

Here's some I created earlier...

Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Magazine

I used to manage the PR for Heuga but now this is down to my colleague Antoinet. I still get the cuttings reports and was very pleased to see that we appeared in interiors magazine Essential Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms (August issue) and this is the shot they featured.

Love it or hate it - you can't help but be amazed by this floor design! This Zebra print floor is great for kids' bedrooms as well as other rooms in your home if you have the courage to do something different!

This photo was taken on a shoot for kids' bedrooms and I wanted to know whether this could work in a different room so we threw a few tiles down in the kitchen/dining room and this was the result. I think it works a treat and there's a magazine editor that agrees!

The red border is done using half tiles of Puzzle Pieces around the edge.

Heres a link to the magazine's website:
http://www.ekbb.co.uk/

Naming my Blog

Naming a blog is quite a challenge and in my search for inspiration I came across this post on the Business Week blog where these guys posted their brainstorm of a load of names...
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2005/04/how_to_name_a_b.html
I thought I'd do the same (despite working alone!) so I grabbed my Heuga scribbles pad and got a few names down. Here's some of the results:
I had a little help from a friend who suggested the smart 'Carpet Diem' - a play on the Latin phrase 'Carpe Diem' meaning 'Seize the day'. In my ignorance I had to check out the meaning and was very impressed. However I decided to keep it simple and Square-Vision was the winning choice.

Carpet tiles have a bit of an image problem but people are generally really impressed with the concept and design possibilities of carpet tiles once they've seen them in use so this blog is an attempt to share the delights of carpet tile design in the home.

My top 10 blog names: 1. Square Vision 2. Floor Space 3. Floor and More 4. Vibrant Square 5. Carpet Diem 6. Fair and Square 7. Inside Out 8. Floor Project 9. Square Living 10. Square Style

Cute and a little surreal!

This is a really great photo that was taken on a photo shoot in the Isle of Wight. The 3D Pebbles carpet and the close up of this cute little tot looks really fun! She was a real sweetie!

Heuga at 100% Design

This is a picture from the 100% Design Show in Rotterdam earlier this year.

My colleagues organised this and I thought they did a great job on the floor creating a rug effect out of 4 different styles, especially including the funky Pebbles design tile, which is a great product!

Heuga T-shirt

A friend suggested my photo doesn't look like me as I'm normally suited up in my work attire, however it is me and I'm wearing a Heuga t-shirt so I think it's kind of appropriate - it sticks until I can find something else.

I'm still new to this whole thing so reducing the size of the photo is still beyond my knowledge!

The red t-shirt was for a great interiors show called De Woonbeurs last year in Amsterdam where I organised a Heuga stand and we wore these Heuga t-shirts. It was a really great show and it was really fab for our team to meet directly with people and talk about our products.

I also added that I'm Online Marketing Manager at Heuga - that's what I do and I am always interested what people think of our website http://www.heuga.com/



I look at it a lot and see all the little problems so it is really nice when someone says it is a decent site however I am open to criticism too - I can take it and hopefully I can make improvements based on people's thoughts.