BRITISH DESIGNER BRAND GILLIAN ARNOLD CONTINUES TO EXPAND WITH HP TO BRING WALLPAPER PRODUCTION IN-HOUSE
“As a creative team, Gillian Arnold realised early on in their business plan, that managing production in-house would give them absolute control of their supply chain. A decision that has served them well and continues to unlock new product opportunities and to expand their business organically into new market sectors.”
The Gillian Arnold brand was founded back in 2011, with a stall on Greenwich market, London.
Their brand is now just over 11 years old and their business employs twenty people and along with two permanent retail outlets, sells wholesale and retail worldwide. It’s been an incredible journey powered by creativity, technology and a lot of hard work.
As a husband-and-wife team, they have built and nurtured their business by harnessing creativity, a love of textiles design, interior décor, practical print experience and a strong management team. As a creative team, they realised early on in their business plan, that managing production in-house would give them absolute control of their supply chain. A decision that has served them well and continues to unlock new product opportunities and to expand their business organically into new market sectors.
Over the years and importantly as technology has advanced, the “Gillian Arnold” management team have constantly innovated their production technology in-line with market growth. Switching to the HP Stitch – dye sublimation technology a few years ago ensured that they were equipped to meet the growing demand for printed textiles during and post pandemic.
As an independent business managing inventory is critical, having in-house printing technology has allowed the business to reduce lead-times and fine-tune and control their product stocks. Also, and importantly as a creative brand, they have been able to react to trends and sales in real-time, all of which has further enhanced their close relationships with their loyal client base.
In fact, production couldn’t be closer to retail with all production onsite in their premises. Gillian Arnold explained:
“The Darlington store was opened in April 2018, as we needed a large retail space to expand as a retail brand, with an in-house workshop and production office. We chose Darlington to establish ourselves as a central destination location for interiors for our products in the North-East. This also means that we can offer more training for young people in the region and offer workshops to adult artists and creatives looking to expand their skill base and knowledge.”
Gillian and Tim are also championing young designers pairing with local universities to offer post-graduate experience to young designer creatives.
Using this platform, they have been able to expand their business, whilst educating the next generation. Giving graduates valuable insights, first-hand design experience and behind the scenes access to real production and the realities of retail and manufacturing.
Offering Smart manufacturing is inherent to the creative culture of the Gillian Arnold brand.
A boutique brand, that’s fast becoming a home-grown British design empire where digital print production is powered by HP technology.
Customers can choose from in-house retail stock or commission a customised, personalised product using any of the Gillian Arnold designs – custom printed and sewn to client specification. Their products now include: Botanical inspired interior furnishings, gifts & jewellery in floral & tropical designs. Floor lamps, cushions, lampshades and deck chairs all manufactured using HP dye sublimation equipment. Gifts for the home & garden, such as sets of stacking mugs & glass coaster sets.
Textiles are also sold by the metre for customers who wish to craft their own products using the “Gillian Arnold” textile collections all of which are printed on demand using HP Stitch dye sublimation technology.
The Gillian Arnold collections are created with a biophilic focus in-line with their founding principles, therefore, manufacturing wherever possible, must follow the same path. For this reason, wallcoverings manufactured and printed in-house are now available by the roll or offered as personalised murals, giving customers the ultimate freedom and creativity to design and install bespoke Art using Gillian’s designs.
Gillian Arnold has offered wallcoverings across her design collections for some time, but recently looked to re-equip to further streamline manufacturing.
They decided it was also time to bring production in-house and for the same reasons as their fabric workflow (which they manufacture inhouse using the HP Stitch S300). Those being: creative control, ease and speed of production, customised design and importantly to meet requirement to their company’s sustainability ethos – and offer print-on-demand. R A Smart have been a valuable partner in their previous investments into digital technologies and it was time to seek their advice once more knowing that they also held extensive experience in the wallcoverings sector.
It's an exciting time with a new technology and a new production line.
Gillian Arnold have great plans for the HP Latex 570 machine and the freedom that if delivers for new applications and design flexibility. Gillian is also looking forward to exploring new materials, staying true to her eco-credentials and responsible sourcing principles.
Watch this space – in the hands of the powerful Gillian Arnold design and production team we can expect exceptional design and sustainable, smart manufacture using the HP Latex 570.
Explore the variety of new applications and flexibility that the HP Latex and Stitch Series can offer here.
Nexo Interiores is a 100% Spanish interior design company with the aim of making decoration, in addition to an art, a sustainable trend to take care of the planet while we dress it with the most original and special designs.
The company offers practical, simple to install and quality solutions to decorate homes and businesses in an elegant way, with subtlety and authenticity. For this, Nexo uses HP Latex 1500 technology to work on the digital prints of its projects with the new HP Latex inks, composed of 65% water, which means that the drying of these inks does not require special ventilation.
Colour Is Too Important to Leave to Chance
Print will always be the part of the garment people see first.
But the sum of all parts — the fabric, the trims, the fasteners, the finish — is what determines whether a design actually delivers on its promise. Brands that continue to treat colour as a single creative decision, rather than a coordinated technical discipline spanning their entire supply chain, will keep paying for it in re-dips, delays, and disappointed design teams.
A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.
It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia
What are we craving Ultimately?
The instinct to slow down while simultaneously optimising every measurable aspect of life isn't a passing curiosity. It's a structural response to a world that feels increasingly unstable, and it's reshaping what people expect from their homes, hotels, workplaces and healthcare environments alike.
For the design and manufacturing sectors, this means rethinking both product and process.
The Structual Shift is Real and its Already Here
Volumes are moving east, where digital production is accelerating rapidly. Consumer behaviour has shifted.
Demand is now driven by personalisation, shorter buying cycles, and an expectation of near-instant responsiveness. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with supply chain transparency now a legal and commercial fact in many markets. And margins? They are under sustained, structural pressure.
This is not a temporary disruption. It is a fundamental reordering of how textile manufacturing must operate.
The Challenge: Standing Firm as the Industry Shifts
The wallpaper landscape has changed dramatically. Digital printing has lowered the barrier to entry, spawning countless direct-to-consumer brands and pushing much of the market towards faster, cheaper production.
At the same time, manufacturing in the UK has grown steadily harder - rising minimum wage, national insurance, energy and substrate costs all bear down on margins. Surface Print have embraced all of these challenges - and stand resolutely prepared for the future.
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The word "toxic" carries weight. It conjures danger, harm, and things best avoided.
“Yet in the textile industry - Where between 3,000 and 10,000 chemicals move through the supply chain, a reflexive fear of the term is one of our biggest obstacles to progress.”
This article distils the key takeaways and what buyers, designers, and brands should be asking right now.
What Is the Digital Product Passport?
At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.
The Market Gap that Changed Everything
Future Fashion was founded in 2019, timed deliberately to coincide with a pivotal moment in global textile technology: the commercial launch of the EFI Reggiani BOLT Single-Pass digital printing system.
The founders recognised that single-pass architecture had fundamentally changed what was industrially possible - and that Pakistan's domestic market had yet to catch up.
Print is no longer defined by the inefficiencies that once characterised it…as advances in production processes and technology have significantly improved its environmental performance.
Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson explains why?
The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.
What once was a theoretical sustainability goal seems to have shifted into an active regulatory reality.
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
The Urgent Need for Sustainability at Scale
The transformation at Coats provides a vital blueprint for the wider textile and apparel sector. True sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. As Dearing emphasised:
“Cross-industry collaboration is the engine of meaningful change. Brands, machinery suppliers, chemical providers, and fibre producers must act as an interconnected ecosystem”
Today’s customers demand superior product quality, real-time data visibility, and lightning-fast turnaround times.
For large-scale garment decorators, managing these expectations while balancing seasonal demand fluctuations - such as the massive surges seen during Black Friday - presents a monumental challenge.
"Relying on transactional vendor relationships and outdated legacy equipment is no longer sufficient to secure long-term stability and growth.”
Printing method is never a secondary detail. It shapes the entire life cycle of a product, from concept to customer. In today’s fashion industry, where margins are tighter and speed matters more than ever, technical knowledge has become a competitive advantage.
“The future of textile design belongs to professionals who can combine creativity with execution, aesthetics with practicality, and vision with production reality”.