Holly Hunt, a division of Knoll International, is starting 2020 off in a big way—by plunging into a new product category. The brand is expanding into wallpaper with an in-house collection of three lines hitting its showrooms this month.
The announcement comes on the heels of the recent departure of Phillip Jeffries from Holly Hunt’s New York showroom. “They’ve been great partners,” says Dan Campbell, senior vice president of sales and business development at Holly Hunt. “We both understood that for us to continue to grow our business and for [Phillip Jeffries] to continue to develop as an organization, we felt like we were at a juncture where we could continue on to different things. It gave us, both parties, a great opportunity to take the next steps in New York.”
The collection is the latest piece in the continuing evolution of Holly Hunt, which launched as a multiline showroom in 1984 and has expanded over the years to include furniture, lighting and textiles. (After running the company for 30 years, Holly Hunt sold her business to Knoll in 2014.) “As wallcovering continues to be a stronger and stronger player in the design world, this allows our client base to really use the Holly Hunt aesthetic to complete their project,” says Campbell.
Reminiscent of the brand’s Great Plains textiles, Holly Hunt Walls encompasses 424 SKUs in a wide variety of natural materials and woven textures. “We wanted it to feel like our existing product lines and complement what we already do at Holly Hunt,” says Joannah Kornak, senior vice president and executive creative director. “The collection is very foundational with an emphasis on exquisite quality, natural fibers that use flax, wood veneer, cork, silk and hand-dyed paper. It runs a great range, but it’s all within the Holly Hunt aesthetic.”
Two wallcovering brands, Assemblage and Carlisle & Co., have been added to the Holly Hunt portfolio in order to round out their offerings. Assemblage is an Arkansas-based company founded by husband-and-wife team Christian and Heidi Batteau, who make every piece by hand with fellow artisans. Carlisle & Co. uses a mix of traditional and new technologies to create its line, which has a bolder sensibility and color range than Holly Hunt Walls. Of the choice to go big with their offerings, Campbell says: “I think to be considered a real resource for any product in our industry, having a small smattering of things doesn’t really register with clients. We wanted to make sure we could offer our customers diverse products [in terms of] aesthetics, color, price point, commercial or residential.”