Specialists
in Wallpaper, Fabric, Blinds & Curtains
REVIEWS/PRESS
Advertorial pages from Trade Magazine (August 2004)
'Fab Fabrics Plus Paper and Paints'
If you are at that stage already or you just want the advice and sure touch of one of London's finest interior design shops that just happens to be based in central Greenwich, then the time is right to introduce you to Julia and the team at Pickwick Papers. We started by asking Julia what she feels are the design elements that her clients are increasingly seeking out?
"There has been a growing movement amongst my clients over the past year or two to start dressing what they feel has become the rather naked form of their homes. The rehabilitation of quality wallpaper design is evident as is the introduction of what I call good colour. Clients are experimenting once again. It's energising and exciting."
Pickwick Papers and Fabrics is a dedicated family run business that was established in Greenwich in 1975. Julia, the owner, has recently taken over the business from her mother Anthea, having been the manager for the last six years. Her father works in the business with her brother in training, and her niece works in the showroom. Now that's a family business!! Pickwick offers a vast collection of fabric and wallpaper books in the showroom that enables you to choose from wallpaper at fifteen pounds a roll to the more intricate and indulgent wallpaper, as seen in historic houses, costing up to several hundred pounds a roll.
Julia's twenty-five years experience in interior design began at Sanderson's in Berner's Street in the West End (which is now The Sanderson Hotel) where she took a keen interest in the works of William Morris, and remembers some of the more outlandish designs of the seventies and eighties, the likes of which are becoming popular once more. Julia was sought out by London's rich and famous, and upset some of the older staff due to the letters of commendation she continually received due to her encyclopaedic knowledge and sheer passion for design. She then moved to John Oliver's showroom in Notting Hill Gate for eighteen months before joining her mother in the family business in Greenwich. This experience in wallpapers and fabrics has given her the ability to recognise wallpaper and fabric designs used in television and film productions. Her clients often send her videos of their favourite film or period drama asking her to recognise certain wallpapers and fabrics. This gift is a real asset to the business.
Her talent and experience as an interior designer has led many notable clients to her door including top comedy stars, rock musicians politicians and even Knights of the Realm. Her specialist knowledge of William Morris led to her assisting Laurence Llewellyn Bowen on his recent television programme "Taste" for BBC2.
Pickwick Papers and Fabrics has provided the lucky local residents with help and advice for so long that in many cases they are considered part of the family. Some customers even attended Julia's recent wedding and were amazed to see that she had used some of her finest fabrics as a wedding dress. One customer moved to Hertfordshire a few years ago but still refuses to use any other interiors specialist... she phones regularly for advice and help on all aspects of her new house even down to the design of her door furniture and the colour of her kitchen tiles. She says "... I couldn't do any of this without Julia..." If you want to change your home and do not know where to start then Julia is available for consultations and will guide you every step of the way, working with you to give you the perfect design solution.
Pickwick, as the shop is known locally, employs three curtain makers who between them have over fifty years experience and can handle any project put in front of them. They have made curtains with a drop of thirty feet for a hall landing down to seven inches for a boat. The making of swags and tails, roman blinds, wraps, bed canopies and even a cat cushion is handled with ease. Pickwick also upholsters furniture and last year completed upholstering a four poster bed for the bridal suite of a hotel in Wales.
Pickwick has developed out of necessity special skills to handle difficult heights and strange shaped windows, Such windows can be found in the many new developments in the Docklands area, where a sheet of triangular glass may be held in place by iron girders. There is a picture of Julia hanging curtains on the fifteenth floor of apartment block with a twelve foot ladder resting on a sheet of toughened glass. They have also had to handle the consequences of the older houses in the area that have moved over the years of were built on steep hills. Alan, the track fitter says "...using a spirit level is a waste of time as very few window are straight... very old windows need tender loving care and very often a compromise between the level of the window, the wall and the floor is needed to decide where a pole or track is to be fitted!
The variety of fabrics and wallpaper is incredible. Any thing is available whether you want subtle linens or flamboyant silks, or wallpaper such as the latest offerings from Coles newest collection containing huge orchids and palm leaves.
All can be found within hundreds of different fabric and wallpaper books in the showroom. On your visit to Pickwick you can choose your wallpaper and curtain fabric, see it being ordered personally and expect to receive it within three to five days. Customers are frequently amazed at the speed of the deliveries. The staff in the shop will help work out the number of rolls or metres needed, and can work in both feet and inches and centimetres! Measurements required are the height and circumference of a room for wallpaper, and the width of the pole or track to be covered, together with the finished length of the curtains for fabric. Curtain orders tend to take six weeks from ordering to hanging. An added service is to have Julia hand the curtains herself giving you the perfect professional finish to your room. Blinds are extremely popular these days. Roman blinds are made to suit individual windows, using long or short pleats according to the drop of the window. Wooden Venetian blinds can be made in almost any wood shade, plus all Dulux and Farrow & Ball paint colours, in slat sizes from 25mm to 62mm. Aluminium Venetian blinds come in all sorts of colours and sizes, as do roller blinds, which can be made from most fabrics in the shop.
Pickwick is also privileged to be one of the few places in the London area that can mix Sanderson and Morris paint on the premises, comprising of nearly two thousand different colours. Other paint ranges can be ordered and delivered within three working days from Farrow & Ball, Fired Earth, Coles, The Paint Liberty, Designer's Guild and Zoffany. If you still can't find the right colour Julia can make you up your own special mix, adding the unique personal touch to your home.
Whether you are planning on renovating your home or just having a stroll around beautiful Greenwich, pop into Pickwick Papers & Fabrics and feast your eyes on the luxurious wallpapers and fabrics or just go in and have a hug!
