New Launch: Bert & May x Samantha Todhunter Design

While we’re best-known for our soft, classic and pared-back signature style, we absolutely love to think outside the box and experiment with different looks from time to time, and our new Ric Rac Collection, created in collaboration with leading design studio Samantha Todhunter Design, has seen us do just that.

These bold and beautiful new tiles are designed to make a joyful statement. Thanks to Samantha’s clever and confident use of pattern and colour, they exude an exuberant, frivolous feel, and embody an aesthetic that’s worlds apart from our signature collections. The overall look is still effortless but infused with a distinctly playful edge. 

When we joined forces to create these tiles, Samantha looked to her childhood, and specifically the Spanish dance skirts she used to sew at school, for inspiration. The gently scalloped ric rac trim of the skirts became the core motif for the tiles and is used in two different ways - as a border in Ric Rac One, and a diagonal design in Ric Rac Two. Both styles can be used in myriad ways, from stylish stripes to dainty diamonds, in areas throughout the home.

Samantha comments:

​​“'I have always loved encaustic tiles and Bert & May were such front runners in bringing a contemporary spin to the classic Victorian style, with fresh designs and great colours. The brand led the charge of people bringing encaustic inside.

When we were asked to do the collaboration, we thought a lot about what designs Bert & May had in their inventory and how to put our slant on a collection. I wanted to move away from angular modular design to something more reflective of us, tying in the geometric but a little softer - more feminine, fresh, and fun.

The two designs can be used in a multitude of installations; as a lattice or a stripe, creating a border or a central design - you get broad possibilities from a crisply simple design/pattern.”

Bert & May’s Creative Director, Ruth Webber, continues: “Collaborating with Samantha has been a great creative journey. We've loved working on something so different, there's an element of glamour and luxe with Samantha's style that we have just loved! The look is so departed from our classic pared-back look - it's confident, a little eccentric and playful.

"The colours in the collection have been a huge part of the creative conversations. Samantha was keen to use a strong, vibrant red in the designs, but with natural pigments there are limitations to how bright you can go, so it’s been an interesting exercise in colour experimentation. The result is a new red - 'Rhubarb' - which we’re delighted to introduce to our core colour palette."

The Ric Rac collection is available in two initial colourways: Glacier Mint - a toned down, masculine combination of Navy and Brighton Stone - and Bubblegum, a witty clash of colour featuring Brighton Stone, Blush, and Rhubarb, with a Nougat colourway launching in 2022.

Shop the collection here.