The Paper Merchants

#shillobri graduates Paul McKie and Myles Sharpe of The Autumn Co. recently launched an exciting new creative project—The Paper Merchants. This new venture offers self-installed, removable wallpaper for anyone and everyone’s style. The first collection features collaborations with Australian artists Chris Nixon, Hayden O’Neill, Lauren Webster, Jonti Baylis and two more members of our Shillington family—graduate Cass Deller and teacher Spencer Harrison.

We caught up with The Paper Merchants to hear more. 

Why wallpaper? Tell us a bit about your journey to launch The Paper Merchants. 

The actual idea for the business happened years ago when we were shown a series of interior design blogs from the USA. They were all spruiking the idea of bringing back wallpapers into homes—either traditional prints like that of Florence Broadhurst or more modern geometric patterns. It just so happened at the time that we were using a wallpaper media for some of our signage work and a natural progression ensued.

The impetus to launch came when we started to notice just how large the demand was for wallpaper designs through The Autumn Co. From there it was a matter of getting our ducks in a row and commercialising this project—this meant sourcing artists, packaging, designing the brand/website and eventually setting sail! We’ve had great success with commercial businesses bringing unique wall art into their spaces. Our removable wallpaper suited this perfectly. We felt there was a natural extension into people’s homes—our media is a great option for renters, commercial clients or anyone who wants to be able to change or decorate their walls without fear of damage.

You’ve partnered with incredible artists for this venture. How did you choose creatives for the collaboration?

That was the easy bit—we basically reached out to a series of artists that we admired and felt had a really unique style. Our artists play a really big role in separating us from any other wallpaper suppliers. It’s the uniqueness of their style when coupled with our unique wallpaper media that stands us apart. Our launching artists all have very different styles and techniques in reaching their finished designs.

The Paper Merchants offer so many design choices it’s hard to choose!

We’ve been really lucky to gather up such an amazing collective of artists to launch our business with—it does however make choosing that little bit harder. The great news is that you can change your wallpapers as frequently as your wallet allows.

We’re going to throw out some potential spaces. Which wallpaper would be best for … a baby nursery?

Squiggles by Spencer Harrison.

… a study nook?

Island Vibes by Cass Deller.

… a man cave?

Summer Vibes by Chris Nixon.

What can we expect down the track for The Paper Merchants?

More new and exciting artists for a start. We’re constantly adding to the list of merchants (artists). We’ve encouraged our artists to work on seasonal ranges, so the prints and patterns are always fresh and on trend. We’re also working on transitioning the artwork into household items like framed prints, cushions, lamp shades and stationery.

Major thanks to The Paper Merchants for giving us the inside scoop. If your home or office needs a facelift, be sure to visit the website and explore the possibilities!