ABOUT
Sir Edward was founded by Claire & Hans-Erik. Claire is an adventurous traveller & underwater photographer with a creative mind. In 2013, she started her first company called Imagical, where she allows people to play the leading role in their own fairy tale photo artwork. Hans-Erik is an industrial product designer with a specialization in men’s jewelry, which he designs for several international brands. Besides being partners in life, they have been working together on numerous design and interior projects for more than a decade.
They were fascinated by antique wall paintings & murals that can be found in old castles, colonial mansions & canal houses. The single continuous image offers a life-size luxurious art piece without being too intrusive. The initial goal of Sir Edward was to bring back this type of room-filling art.
Timeline
Between 2018 and 2020 Claire and Hans-Erik had created several wallpapers for their own home. All of these designs were adaptations of existing old paintings, drawings and chinoiseries. Convinced that she could create something similar but more on trend herself, Claire created her first own design in 2019. When they tested the design in their home, the reactions were so positive that she created a small collection of 4 different designs.
When in early 2020 Covid hit, Claire was unable to continue her work for Imagical because it involved larger groups of people. Together they focused on finishing the wallpaper collection and approached number of international resellers, one of which was PhotoWall. They got accepted and this first collection launched in March 2020.
The first Sir Edward collection was targeted primarily at adults and although it was picked up quite well, Claire noticed that there was a particular lack in friendly, serene children’s wallpaper designs. Therefore, in 2021 they created Kikki Belle; their first collection for children, inspired by nature. This collection was a direct hit and several designs of that first collection became all-time bestsellers on PhotoWall. The intricate but peaceful designs enable children to fully immerse themselves in the magical worlds on their walls.
In 2023 they launched their latest collection, called Oliver Robins, which offers murals specially designed for nurseries. With playful designs, friendly faces, and soft colors they offer the perfect atmosphere for little ones.
Design proces
In the beginning they primarily used antique botanical drawings and paintings to compose the designs. Because they wanted to create unique designs and improve the quality, they currently lead a team of international illustrators, each with its own talent and specialization.
Each new design starts with a general idea for the theme and style. After the initial composition is created, they decide which of the illustrators fits best with this new design and intended style. The selected illustrator is then assigned to hand-paint the desired items, like specific animals in specific poses, flowers, trees, skies, etc. All these different items are combined to creates the new design. The final step is optimizing all the colors, ratio, lighting, and shadows.
An average design consists of more than 100 different items and layers and can take up to several months to finalize.