Black Swan

Disruptive. Design.

Lee Ness

Bespoke Fabric Design Made Easy

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This is an article we wrote for Design Insider

Global Upholstery Solutions, blackswan and Panaz ReMake

Global Upholstery Solutions and Panaz have long shared a strong relationship and have collaborated on various projects over the years. We were therefore delighted when our Account Manager, the wonderful June George, visited us to introduce ReMake, a new piece of design technology developed by Panaz. This progression in technology is extremely exciting for designers, generating endless possibilities for us and resolving design dilemmas that may arise on projects and the exact reason why we created blackswan. Panaz describes ReMake as a ‘turning point in bespoke fabric design. By putting the ability to recolour and rework any Panaz print design directly into your hands’

When first using the site I found it strikingly simple to navigate, well explained and definitely has the designer’s needs at the forefront. The site enabled me to surf through any Panaz print design including hundreds in their archive, and entirely customise to my preference. To locate the ideal design, I could browse via the search bar, colour, style, and many more filters allowing me to spot designs that best suit my projects. 

The main function I find myself using regularly is the pin design icon.  If like me, you enjoy collating several ideas before beginning to create, this is perfect. I now have a bundle of designs in my ‘Idea’s Board’ saved and ready to edit whenever I want. Once you have selected your design of choice, click ‘Customise Design’ and away you go!

Panaz has also produced a design pack which works alongside the site to support those creative choices when editing. The colossal colour atlas allowed me to preview the printed colours before selecting them online, and using the RGB values guaranteed the perfect colour match! Each section of the design is changeable, and colour palettes are available for inspiration from modern brights to warm neutrals or simply create your own.

Innovative tools like ‘Preview Sample’ enabled me to check the scale of my design, and ‘Repeat Type’ gave me even more control of the finished print. By using these functions I could easily experiment with my design and create new variations I didn’t initially think of.

Finally, I used the base-cloth swatch provided in the design pack, allowing me to see and feel the fabric which was helpful for reference when ordering my bespoke sample. Once my order was placed, I received a confirmation email to say my sample was due within 3-5 business days, but came the very next day which was incredible! 

Using Panaz Remake means that our blackswan agency of Global Upholstery Solutions can now work with designers early in the process – at mood board stage – and achieve amazing translation of their visions into very specific, individual fabric creations without the traditional cost penalty that would normally ensue. We can even create truly bespoke designs and upload them, so we can include customers own patterns or logos into designs too!

We are living in uncertain times, but we have embraced self-isolation, stayed safe and kept creating though Panaz ReMake. 

Georgia Winhall

Designer

Disruptive Marketing of the Corona Virus

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Here at blackswan we like a bit of disruptive thinking, usually in design but also in disruptive marketing! Before I go on, let me state that we aren’t marketing experts so, if there are others that have spotted this and explained it better (and sooner), then hats off to them.

However, we think that the marketing, the disruptive marketing, of the current Coronavirus efforts in the UK is outstanding and that not many people have spotted the marketing genius of it.

So, let’s wind back a little. Boris Johnson is getting battered for his handling of the pandemic, even though he is following scientific advice, plus the situation is unprecedented so every step is an unknown.

Couple this with people being generally dismissive of the issue and very selfish. This is a human trait, not a minority issue at this stage (a few weeks ago, that is).

Government advice is to social distance, stay home, stay away from pubs, restaurants and general gathering places. The message is, do this or lots of people will die. Seems pretty stark. Everyone will dig that, right?

The result, crowded beaches, crowded pubs, social ignorance, panic buying, hoarding.

Cometh the hour, cometh the branding.

Now, I love the NHS as much as the next person (and having a son living in the US, believe me, I LOVE the NHS). So, any additional love poured into the NHS can only be a good thing. The NHS is a treasure to our nation. Everyone knows that and every politician has used that to their advantage. Jeremy Corbyn tried and failed to use it to get into power. Brexiteers used it successfully to win the referendum. The NHS is a powerfully emotive entity for the UK.

So, how do you get people to do something that they don’t want to do, that they would actively resist, and make it so that they think they want to do it – nay, they think it is their idea and their own cause? How do you get them to push your (important and life-saving) agenda all over social media on your behalf – even shaming people who aren’t joining in?

Hmmmm, let me think.

Make it about the NHS.

Check out the Gov.uk logo. Or, how about the first line of their advice:

The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.

It is a work of genius. And it is working. Our sister company, Global Upholstery Solutions, have to keep working in this time because they are part of the extended healthcare supply chain. Many of them feel guilty for working. Even though it is government advice even if they weren’t part of the healthcare supply chain!

Disruptive Marketing genius. Someone deserves a medal and accolades. That is not sarcasm. They have saved tens of thousands of lives and will probably never be acknowledged.

Bravo, bravo.

New upholstery selection for Stannah

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When Stannah Stairlifts needed to improve their customer choice through a new range of premium upholsteries, they turned to blackswan to define their upholstery selection.

About Stannah

In 1867 Joseph Stannah first opened his doors for business in London. Over 150 years later, we are still a British, family owned and run business producing stairlifts and homelifts, for the UK and around the world.

Having sold more than 700,000 products worldwide, Stannah is a global market leader of lift products, including Stairlifts:

Joseph Stannah started the business in Bankside, London, making cranes and hoists to move goods around the bustling docks of the industrial revolution.

Still a family business, it is the fifth generation – Jon, Patrick, Nick, Alastair and Helen – that now steer the company and continue to build a firm fit to meet today’s challenges yet unashamedly focused on the values of quality and service that Joseph articulated all those years ago.

With over 90,000 products on our service portfolio we know that our customers, both commercial and domestic, rely on us not just to provide first class products to start with, but also to ensure the maintenance, repair, and smooth operation of those products over the years that follow.

Stannah Stairlifts and blackswan

Stannah Stairlifts are market leaders for a reason. Their product development is second-to-none and they have an acute focus on the “voice of the customer”.

Most Stairlift manufacturers treat the stairlift as a medical device or simply a convenient machine. Of course, there is a necessity to requiring a stairlift – no-one puts one in their house by choice – but that doesn’t mean it should be stylish.

Back in 2005, Stannah worked with world-renowned design agency Seymour Powell to create a ground-breaking new design for chairs which became their Solus and Sofia products.

Stannah continue to break new ground and launched the Starla range not long after to give their customers seats with a wood finish, inline with many homes and modern styles..

In 2019, Stannah Stairlifts, in partnership with their supplier Global Upholstery Solutions commissioned blackswan to create a new range of upholstery designs to give their customer even more choice.

The aim was to give customers the option to choose an upholstery for their Stairlifts that suits their decor, or the personal taste. Stannah already had a wider upholstery selection range than anyone else in the industry, but what they wanted to do was unprecedented.

The blackswan brief was to give this upholstery selection a wide choice of colours, fabrics, textures and styles. So we did. The result, in Stannah’s own words, is as follows:

Introducing our new upholstery ranges

Having a stairlift installed can be a big decision for many of our customers. Not only is functionality and reliability important to them, but they want the stairlift to blend into their home, fitting in with their decor and furnishings.
We have worked with Global Upholstery Solutions and blackswan to come up with not one but four new ranges of upholsteries to give our customer a wider choice to make their stairlift truly unique. These now include a variety of fabrics, colours and patterns in addition to our current vinyl and woven ranges.
As the only stairlift company on the market able to offer this wide range, we hope that this will help improve our customer experience.

Fusion
An embossed stitched diamond faux leather range that comes in ten different colourways

upholstery selection

Sark
A velvety feel upholstery fabric with a creative blend of alluring colours

upholstery selection

Ravel
A woven back matched up with a vinyl base for that ultimate unique look

upholstery selection

The Fusion and Sark ranges are supplied by Agua Fabrics. The Ravel range is a combination of fabrics from Chieftain – The Ravel and Lionella ranges.