Sarsen Stone Group, parent company of Ca' Pietra and Artisans of Devizes, has collaborated with the National Trust to create a series of 10 classic and contemporary tile ranges inspired by the properties, gardens, coastlines and countryside in the Trust's care. We talk to Ca' Pietra creative director Hamish Smith about this beautiful new collection, and find out how retailers can get involved.
Q: How did the collaboration with the National Trust on the new collection come about?
A: The National Trust is one of Europe’s largest conservation charities and a Trust that means so much to many. Having been inspired by the properties, gardens, coastlines and countryside cared for by the National Trust I felt that these would translate beautifully to stone and tiles, so I contacted the Trust to see whether they felt the same too – thankfully they did. We are always keen to work with brands whose values align with ours and the National Trust is one that our creative team have always wanted to work with.
Q: How did you go about choosing the inspiration for the tile designs from the archive?
A: The team at the Trust have a wealth of knowledge, which has been incredibly interesting and insightful, so we worked with them to create our new collection. Choosing which properties or gardens to use as inspiration was hard as we were inspired by so many of the areas within the Trust’s care. Where possible we visited different properties and took our knowledge of the industry and translated the inspiration into a collection that consumers would hopefully love.
Q: As well as the National Trust properties and gardens that collection pays homage to, what other key trends does the range tap into?
A: From Shoreline, which captures the spirit of the coast and taps into the trend for versatile pastel shades, to Woodland Glade, a collection of stunning botanical printed tiles, we really feel that we have created a collection that allows people to dip into different trends, be that the trend for bold colours or biophilic design, the trend for rustic materials and also architectural inspired interiors.
Q: How many retailers do you have in the UK and are you growing your network?
A: We are extremely fortunate to have a wealth of retailers throughout the UK, from small independent family-run businesses to larger multi-store showrooms. Our National Trust tile collection’s license sits with our parent company Sarsen Stone Group. The collection is available at Ca’ Pietra. At Ca’ Pietra we are always keen to hear from showrooms that are interested in selling our stone and tiles, but for us it really isn’t about quantity of retailers – it is about the quality. We work closely with our retailers and invest in our relationships with them, so we want to work with showrooms that understand the brand and want to embark on a partnership with us. The same applies to our National Trust Tile Collection by Sarsen Stone Group – retailers can choose to sell this collection without selling our Ca’ Pietra collection as they are stand-alone brands. We want to work with businesses that are equally as passionate about what they do, as well as being inspired by this collection, to ensure that it is a success for both parties.
A minimum of £10,000 from sales of this collection will go towards helping the National Trust to continue its care for historic properties and land.
