Behind the scenes at Arte, the brand shaking up the world of wallpaper
Philippe Desart, Arte’s managing director, remembers sitting in the disconcerting quiet of the brand’s Paris showroom after its opening in 2010. It was the week of Déco Off and the streets were bustling but, he recalls: ‘We were just really unknown.’ The situation could not be more different today, with Arte’s wallcovering launches reliably attracting crowds keen to see what the brand will do next.
As a company, its journey has been as unique as some of its designs, but it’s safe to say that the firm, which is now run by Philippe and his brother Steven (they took over the reins from their father, Jean-Pierre, in 2009), is ready to celebrate its successes.
Wallpaper has been a long-term love for the family: the brothers’ grandfather Julien had a business importing other firms’ designs to the Belgian market, but it was Jean-Pierre who had the vision for the family to create their own patterns. Its factory in Zonhoven, deep in the Belgian countryside, is now 22,000-square-metres large and, last year alone, produced almost 10,000 kilometres-worth of wallcoverings.
The building has recently had a bit of a facelift, with the creative studio at the heart of its operations (headed up by design manager Frederik Decoopman) being reimagined in a riot of colour. It’s a fitting revamp for a brand that is unafraid to do things differently.
A collaboration with Dutch brand Moooi, founded by similarly rebellious spirit Marcel Wanders, was what, says Philippe, helped Arte to ‘come out of its box’. The results are certainly memorable, like the ‘Extinct Animals’ collection, with its patterns inspired by beasts both real (the dodo) and imagined (the bearded leopard and blushing sloth, to name just two). Arte’s newest releases are less fantastical, but equally eyecatching, detailed and informed by artisanal craft.
The ‘Pampas’ range is inspired by the grassy plains of South America, with all of the patterns woven using plant fibres. Its ‘Matiz’ design is a highlight, with geometric sections of woven grass slotted together to create natural texture. Also notable is ‘Brushed Suede’, which interprets painting techniques into wallcovering. And look out for ‘Sherwood’ (named after the forest in Nottinghamshire), a panoramic wallcovering that has been printed onto linen to produce a realistically canvas-like artwork.
Not content with simply pushing the dial creatively, Arte is also keen to be a leader when it comes to sustainability. ‘I have always been nervous about greenwashing,’ admits Philippe, ‘because I think we still have a lot of work to do,’ but all of the brand’s wallcoverings are FSC-certified, the inks used are water-based, the packaging recycled and there are 3,000 solar panels attached to the factory’s roof, as well as a robust waste-management and recycling centre on site. ‘We want to do this well,’ asserts Philippe. There can be no denying that they are. arte-international.com
