Beware the Moon began in 2008 - we set out to release a one-off velvet Skulls wallpaper, but ideas snowballed into a full pattern book of designs; the best printers got on board and before you could say ‘financial crash’ a wallpaper brand was underway. John brings over 50 years’ design experience in illustration and wallpaper and Louise was a property and locations photographer across the UK and France, with a sideline in home renovation that continues to this day. They share a history of obscure interests from atomic energy, lucite guitars and miniature planes, to sharks, perfumery and herbal medicine. In the 1990’s they were residents of the rolling Pendle Moors – original cradle of the wallpaper trade - and Beware the Moon still print there to this day. The company’s roots are in time-honoured craftsmanship, keeping the wallpaper trade with its feet firmly on the ground…but its head in the clouds.
Everything begins with a traditional non-digital approach in the studio – hand-drawings, intricate cut-outs, pencils, rubbers and airbrushes. Prototypes go to the print house where specialists are squeezed and cajoled until delicious wallpaper emerges. We hand printed heavy glitters for the first time in the industry (a process that took months to perfect); blended iridescent pigments that change colour as you walk by; drew detail so relentless that a single design took a year to complete; and pioneered holographic undercoats and 3-Dimensional foils sparking a trend across the industry. We won’t mention the endless hair-brained experiments that have yielded nothing but an anti-climax and an empty pocket.
Underlying everything is an intuitive approach to the environment and local business: it’s a given that our papers are printed by master tradesmen in small batches using water-based inks and sustainable pulps. £1 for every roll of wallpaper sold goes to The Natural Beekeeping Trust
The first three designs the company launched with form a theme of Denial {Ostrich} Desire {She} and Death/Rebirth {Skulls}. The 3-Dimensional Foils {Jam Jars and Quantum Foam} then appeared one day out of thin air and took less than a month to put into production. Next, Animals was born of 12 months of intricate hand-drawing in pencil – one animal per week! – bringing the brand back down to earth a bit. And in 2017 Joker and Brainwave were launched as John went into semi-retirement and Louise moved to Costa Rica to become a mum.
Happy Tears is probably on the way soon - although, we never really know what’s coming next. Our designs will always be thought provoking and beautifully made
2022 saw the beginnings of the phase-out of the polyester aspect (PET) of many of our wallpaper substrates - we now print to a non-woven paper that utilises plant-derived thermoplastic fibres (PLA) instead. So we have a beautiful paper that is 59% wood pulp (cellulose), 20% plant-derived fibres (creating 30% less greenhouse gases in production) and 21% water-based latex binder. This means that, slowly-slowly, many wallpapers will contain 0% oil-based plastics - a huge step for the wallpaper industry, and something our suppliers have been working on for years. The weight, feel, usability and quality of our papers are not affected at all of course! In fact, the paper quality is more luxurious than ever.
We have also recently stepped up our packaging to be completely recyclable or compostable (including the branded packing tape) so our papers arrive to you parcelled prettier - and kinder - than ever.
