Talented young wallpaper designer to cover the world

A talented surface pattern designer is on a roll after teaming up with one of Britain’s largest wallpaper companies.

Darlington-based designer Rachel Hagger, 25, has been selected as one of only 13 up-and-coming surface pattern artists from across the UK to join forces with wallpaper giants Graham & Brown to create a range of designs for its 2014 New Wave collection.

Rachel, who in 2011 graduated from Cleveland College of Art and Design’s award winning BA (Hons) textiles and surface design programme, based at Hartlepool campus, will now see her linear pattern wallpaper sold in thousands of home furnishing retail outlets across the world alongside Graham & Brown’s celebrity designers Julian McDonald, Kelly Hoppen and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

“It is absolutely amazing to have been selected as one of just 13 designers in the whole country to be part of Graham & Brown’s new collection,” said Rachel, who won the New Designer Britain Award for her degree collection of wallpaper in 2012.

“While at CCAD I did my work experience with Graham & Brown so it’s incredible that I’m now working with them.”

Rachel is one of three CCAD graduates, alongside Helen Stevens, 33, of Middlesbrough, and Kate Usher, 28, of Newcastle, who have each been selected to create a design for Graham & Brown’s new collection.

Rachel said: “I felt rather overwhelmed to have had my work chosen alongside Helen and Kate.

“Helen was one of my tutors at CCAD and her work is fantastic and Kate is someone whose designs I researched as part of my degree, so initially I felt a bit out of my depth when I got the call asking me to be part of the project with them.

“It’s incredible, but not surprising as it is such a hot bed of talent, that such a small North East college like CCAD has produced three out of the 13 designers chosen from across the whole of the UK.”

Rachel was initially approached to be part of the New Wave collection by design journalist Barbara Chandler, a passionate supporter of young British talent, who has worked with Graham & Brown to select designers from a variety of fields including textiles, illustration, street art and fashion, to create exclusive collections offering high-end design at high-street prices.

Rachel is now planning to start up her own website-based design company specialising in wallpaper, fabrics, greeting cards and bespoke commissions.

“It gave me such a buzz to see my wallpaper finished and wrapped with the Graham & Brown label and my name as the designer,” added Rachel. “It has really spurred me on to design some more.”

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