Brand Design Guide - Richard Grafton Interiors

Interior Design Brands

Welcome to the RGI brand hub! Learn about the different brands carried by RGI and the special relationships we have developed with our partners over the years. These relationships enable us to offer our clients the best service possible.

We want to answer your questions and create a ‘one stop shop’ containing our designers’ knowledge and expertise on the subject.

How does RGI choose the brands it works with?

Passion for their product. This passes through to us and makes us more knowledgeable about their product
Product longevity. Timelessly classic pieces that acknowledge current trends without becoming dated.
Ensuring they offer textures to mix and layer.
Quality assurance.
Quality product at a reasonable price.
Option to customize and make your product truly
Great customer service and willingness to train us in their product. This helps us pass our knowledge to our customers.
Tools to help you put their product into our client proposal presentations. This shows exactly what they are going to get – hangers with fabric & leather, stud colour and leg finish samples.
Spec sheets for each model & details to use with customers.

Zimmer & Rohde – Fabrics

They offer slightly unusual fabrics which can make the scheme that bit more interesting and unique. They use high end cottons & silks, so their fabrics not only look great, but they feel fantastic. We have a great relationship with the brand, and get to see new collections prior to being released at design shows. Zimmer & Rohde are not as commercial as other brands, so it really gives our clients a point of difference and allows us to make our schemes more bespoke.

John Sankey – Upholstery

We work very closely with John Sankey. They provide you the option to customise and make your product truly unique. You can use:

a mix of different fabrics on one piece of furniture
different textures/colours etc. to make a ‘quirky’ chair or unique sofa

With this brand you know other people won’t have the same piece and they’re not the standard off the pegs furniture pieces.

John Sankey have a selection of their own fabrics which make the product more affordable. Again, you can mix these on one piece and don’t have to just select a single fabric. John Sankey price their pieces very fairly too rather than just pricing on the highest priced of the chosen fabrics.

RGI visit their showroom frequently and book in for regular training or a preview of new furniture pieces. They launch new furniture collections at the furniture show in January at NEC Birmingham.

They are great to work with – friendly, fun, passionate, efficient & understanding.

We receive weekly updates keeping us informed on manufacturing lead times and discontinued fabrics.

We can book customers in to visit the showroom in Derbyshire to meet with our main contact and have a tour of the products. She is amazing and ensures every customer has a positive experience and always finds the furniture most suited to them.

Hand crafted furniture

All made in their own workshop in Derbyshire
Their frames are made using sustainably sourced timbers
They offer a lifetime guarantee on their frames and springs – just to register once you receive delivery of your order
They have a product care area on their website providing advice for customers. Learn how your product can be well looked after and last as long as possible
Great sales and aftercare team who’ve worked together for years. They are really on the ball, checking fabric arrival, booking in deliveries, reporting any fabric faults and keeping you updated

Find out more: See our John Sankey brand of the month blog post

Zinc – Fabrics

Combining and layering different textures is key in any interiors scheme. Zinc covers a wide range of creative fabrics with unique textures, patterns. These are available in vibrant colour palettes right through to subtle muted tones.

At RGI, we find their fabric collections are very versatile. We make use of the fabrics in a variety of schemes from traditional through to contemporary styles. They have a luxurious quality and appearance, giving our customers a unique, statement look.

We have a great relationship with this brand. Our rep is always on hand if we looking for a certain style or colour to match up to providing great suggestions. With this is in mind it helps speed up the design process whilst providing possibly unseen collection we may not have in the studio.

The brand offers a fascinating fabric range of decorative weaves, playful velvets, abstract embroideries, complex jacquards and delicate sheers.

Graff – Bathroom components

When designing a bathroom one of the major components is the brassware. We describe it as the jewellery of the bathroom. We work with a carefully handpicked small selection of brassware brands, one of which being the American company Graff. With offices and manufacturing in Italy and Poland respectively.

We are one of the few brands within Yorkshire and the UK that can sell Graff products to the public. We incorporate elements into our designs. Installing these products with confidence, knowing the client will love the end result.

With our bathrooms lead by one of our talented interior designers in respect to colour pallet. Using Graff will mean your brassware will complement your scheme, whether you wish to use:

Chrome
a more traditional polished Nickel
or even a 24k Gold finish.

Another reason why Graff is so popular amongst our customers is the vast array of choice in regard to style. They have a range of options to suit any installation, including bespoke options to suit the most intricate installation.

Graff offers a range of prices to suit any budget. Each product conforming to the rigorous quality control and assurance process. This means we can be confident that each product we deliver and install will continue to work perfectly in years to come.

We are often invited to Graff’s manufacturing premises in Poland. This means we can see the products we specify being manufactured. This gives us the confidence as designers in the products you receive.

Actively Green

Environmental responsibility is at the forefront of everything Actively Green do. From implementing ISO 14001 and therefore meeting the rigorous Environmental Management Systems (EMS) standards, through to offering products that respect strict conservation standards, GRAFF is green in every way.

By eliminating waste in the form of time, energy and materials. Each process achieves substantial efficiencies. Even with all the foundry, metal finishing and modernized plating, GRAFF has a zero discharge system. This process recycles 100% of brass and paper products.

Many GRAFF bathroom faucets and showerheads are certified to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense criteria. WaterSense labeled products undergo a rigorous independent testing and verification process and must provide measurable water savings. WaterSense-labeled faucets—or aerators that can be installed on existing bathroom faucets—are about 30% more efficient than standard faucets while still providing sufficient water flow.

Being Actively Green is not a choice. It’s a responsibility. Trust GRAFF faucets and shower systems to help conserve one of our most precious natural resources.

GP&J Baker – Fabrics

The fabric house GP & J Baker covers all ‘English Eccentrics’ who indulge in pattern, colour and gorgeous fabrics. They cover the brands from the historical collection of archive prints which they hold down in Poole in Dorset. The include GP& J Baker, Mulberry, Baker Lifestyle Threads, Lee Jofa & Brunswig & Fills. GP&J Baker are also now owned by the American fabric house Kravet which is one of the largest in the US so all of their product is also available. They have one of the largest showrooms in Chelsea Harbour and have been a favourite of our designers since the very beginning.

Our contact has many years of experience in the running of elite brands and oversees all the brand development and collections after taking it on approx. 15 years + ago. The team are dedicated to delivering the very best of the collections. They work on all the brands on a rotation. The archive, historical and current fashion/arts/architecture and interior trends are all used to bring the very best for us to work with. The products take you on a journey around the world through a very English style. They have fabrics for all price points and also do consider end use in terms of durability and everyday aspiration.

The collections developed from many of the print archives. Favourites repeat and are reborn as embroideries, wallpapers, new colourways or are re-scaled for a ‘wow’ impact. Sumptuous velvets, decadent embroideries, and superbly coloured linen prints would best describe their offer. However, they also excel at surface texture & subtle weaves. They use a consistent colour palette which ensures the brands can all be used together which is a great design and selling tool.

At RGI, we work really closely with GP & J Baker. They have always supported the showrooms generously. We feature the very best from the coming collections in our window displays and key showroom pieces. The current showstopper is one of my favourites in Wetherby – the Mulberry Paint Box Arque chair. They are creative like us so we are lucky enough to get previews of the collections at development point.

We are often invited to see what they are up. This is very unique experience and helps keep us up at the cutting edge of the industry. There are so many fabrics which don’t even make the final cut.

Long may they continue to put a little bit of the past charm and nostalgia into our brave new world! What do we like to do most with their fabrics – statement chairs!

Design Guide

Brands