This week our installers were at the home of the Welsh Rugby Union team in Cardiff. Last month the Coventry based curtain manufacturer Briant Curtaining won the contract to install new curtains for all of the executive suites at the Millennium Stadium.
120 suites in total are being refurbished with the first 69 being completed in time for the showdown between Wales and England at the weekend.
Next phase is scheduled to take place in April with completion in August.
Coventry firm does it again, this time they have secured the contract to refurbish the executive suites at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
The Iconic building will be treated to new curtains to their executive boxes and the majority will be in place before kickoff on the 16th March when Wales will host England with what looks to be the battle of the tournament, England could become the Grand slam winners on Welsh Territory. this will be the first time since 2003 that they hold that title and also their 13 time.
Briant’s are delighted to be awarded this contract, this adds to their long list of Iconic buildings throughout the world that have been treated to luxury drapes, with the Coventry based company celebrating their 40 year of service and with 2013 kicking off with the Millennium Stadium, the future is looking good.
ARABIAN palaces, luxury liners and first class hotels are all in a day’s work for a Coventry firm that was established 40 years ago in an ordinary living room.
Very much a family affair, Briant Curtaining was set up by directors Peter and Janis Offer. It quickly grew and in 1978 the business moved from the small workshop in their home and small shop in Kenilworth to its present base in Earlsdon.
For four decades, Briant Curtaining has furnished many homes in the city and especially Earlsdon. It’s also manufactured curtains and blinds for retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Selfridges. The firm’s presence in the commercial market has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the most respected in the soft furnishings industry.
Briant Curtaining has also refurbished university accommodation and many hotels. The largest project the company has ever undertaken was in 2008, when it manufactured curtains and blinds for the Radisson Edwardian Hotel at New Providence, CanaryWharf. This involved new curtains and voiles to all 170 bedrooms, curtains and blinds to all restaurants and conference rooms, and blinds in the spa and gym. It was an extremely busy year, as Briant Curtaining also refurbished all the apartments at the Rotunda in Birmingham and supplied all the curtains and blinds for Center Parcs in France.
But the firm’s most exciting contracts have been several palaces in the Middle East and Africa plus many cruise liners that have taken their fitters to Europe, America and the distant shores of Australia, Asia and the Caribbean. Other places that you would find the name Briant Curtaining include the Royal Albert Hall, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London and the homes of several premier league footballers.
Peter and Janis Offer are very proud of their loyal team at Briant Curtaining. At any one time they employed up to 20 people, either curtain makers, sales staff or curtain fitters. Most of the current employees have been with the company for more than 10 years and in the past they had the same workroom supervisor for over 20 years.
The couple have also been supported by their three children. Garin, their eldest son, joined the business in 1987, where he remained for seven years before taking a national manager’s role for a hardware distributor in Birmingham. Then in 1995, Warren, their middle son, joined the firm as a curtain fitter, travelling the country installing curtains and blinds for many companies and households before switching to sales in 2000. In 2002, daughter Debbie joined the company as secretary and is now in charge of the retail shop too. Then in 2008, Warren and Debbie became directors of the business.
Sadly founder director Janis saw in the start of the 40th celebration but passed away on the 23rd January after a long fight against cancer.
From humble beginnings behind the scenes, the curtain has risen to reveal a local business that has taken centre stage and become a global success, always remembering their Moto “It’s those finishing Touches that leave a lasting impression.”
This year Briant’s will be celebrating their 40th year of service for the soft furnishing industry. Having completed many projects all around the world then are marking the occasion by offering some amazing deals to our customers.
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In November Briant’s were once again tasked with the job of delivering elegant and stunning curtains and blinds for the Thomson Celebration. The refit took place in Limasol, Cyprus, the team were flown out to Dalaman in Turkey where they boarded the liner for the next 10 days, the first day saw the vessel travel to Limasol, the team wasted no time and set to work straight away.
We worked in 4 main areas, Meridian Restaurant, Hemmingway Bar/Casino, Lido Restaurant and the Broadway Show Lounge.
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Meridian Restaurant
Meridian Restaurant
We were tasked to provide new Curtains, Pelmets and Roman Blinds, 37 roman blinds in total were installed, all blackout lined and all manufactured to a high standard. The pelmets were used to hide the bulkheads, this disguising the dated laminate but adding a touch of class. Then finally the curtains were there to soften the room. All in all the transformation was superb.
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Hemmingway Bar
Hemmingway Bar
The Hemmingway Bar incorporates a quiet haven yet also offers a mini casino, this is an ideal location to unwind and relax. We were tasked to add a touch of class to this room, with the soft fold roman blinds and padded pelmets, this was easily achieved.
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Broadway Show Lounge
Broadway Show Lounge
A simple task was set for us, to cover the bulkheads with new padded pelmets to compliment the existing curtains and blinds, although a simple task, it made a huge difference to the outlook of the room. whilst on site we discovered that there were no pelmets requested for the upper lounge, so to help the client, we discovered that the upholsters on board had enough of the chair fabric to make some pelmets, which we did and again the client was delighted.
Lido Restaurant
The Lido Restaurant
This was the largest room for us, incorporating 33 Roman Blinds, 13 New covers for Roller Blinds, and 28 Pelmets. giving a more contemporary look to the room by excluding the curtains and adding the elegant Roman Blinds made such a difference. The roller blinds over the servery counters were in a bad state when we removed them. The hardware was probably 15 – 20 years old, the covers had been changed several times bef
Lido Rollers
ore, as a result there was excess glue and grease on the barrels, it was a big job to remove this. With the help of 12 of the ship crew, the original shinny silver was returned. we then put the new fabric on and the result speaks for it’s self.
All in all the project was a huge success, when we retuned to the UK, James Gilmore the project Manager for Mivan Limited wrote to us and said…”
It was a pleasure working with you on the project and as I said out there, you are our preferred contractor due to the quality of your product and the professionalism that you give us.” we cant say more than that…
There off again, the curtains and blinds manufactured by Briant Curtaining have been crated up and have started their journey to Cyprus where the team will meet it at the end of the month.
Works on The Thomson Celebration are due to take place in Limasol at the end of October, Briant’s will be working in four of the main areas, Casino, 2 restaurants and one of the bars.
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The team transformed the lounge and offices at the Ben Day Care home. When Director Warren met up with Lynn at the home, her brief was simple, brighten up the restaurant and lounge area and make the offices look more professional and distinctive.
Delivering elegant curtains from the Bancroft City Collection, the calm mint green shades with a mix of cream got us on a good start. Keeping traditional look the new curtains, valances and tiebacks were installed, all the visitors that attend the home were all impressed with the transformation.
Moving on to the offices it was decided that the curtains and the valances should be removed and replaced with vertical blinds, thus giving a more professional look and more options for Shading.
If you would like your rooms transforming then don’t hesitate to contact Warren @ Briant Curtaining today.
Briant’s are once again supporting the local community. This time they are working with Zoë ’s Place Baby Hospice to
Why do Briant’s support Zoe’s Place? With two of the Directors involved with The Rotary Club who had been supporting the charity before, when an opportunity came along to help decorate one of the most important rooms in the Hospice, they jumped at the chance.aide them to refurbish their Starlight Room. Using fabric and wallpaper from the Harlequin ‘What a Hoot’ collection, Briant’s manufactured the curtains, roman blind, seat pad and cushion as a donation to the hospice. All the charity had to pay for was the material which was sold to them at cost.
Amanda Dunne, Head of Care said “I cannot thank you enough for the lovely furnishings you have made for our Starlight Room. We are delighted. Without people such as yourselves, we would not have the hospice looking so welcoming and colourful and we would not be able to run this much needed service”
So what is Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice:
‘Zoë’ is the Greek word meaning ‘gift of life’, and at Zoë’s Place we believe that life is precious no matter how long it lasts.
Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice provides respite, palliative and end of life care to families and their children aged 0-5 who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
We afford each individual respect and dignity regardless of gender, race, culture, religious beliefs or disability.
The Coventry hospice is funded by charity, and receives no Government funding. We rely on the kind support of the public.
Visit http://www.zoes-place.org.uk/coventry/ for more information on how you can support the Hospice.
Briant’s have once again added a refreshing, when managers at Bretby Crematorium realised that their curtains needed freshening up they turned to Briant’s to assist.
The brief was simple, make it lighter and look more elegant, plus make the seating more comfortable.
Using a durable dim-out cloth they carried out the works with new valances and curtaining using over 100meter of fabric in the process. The curtains were operated using the clients existing rails with the exception of where we made a provision for a TV screen which will be installed later. With Crematoriums moving with the times as well, they see the importance of modern technology, the use of TV’s where a video message or a slide show can be show will start to roll out soon, the curtaining that we put in place has allowed for this, on one side the main curtain will open and expose the TV behind.
With the wooden pews it was often remarked that they were cold and uncomfortable, so we have now put padded seating in place, with warm tones it adds the cosiness as well.
Having been impressed with what they saw they invited Briant’s back a few week later to refurbish there other chapel of rest.
After recent success in the Marine market, Briant’s are pleased to announce that once again they are battling adversity and are once again supplying their hand made curtains and blinds to the Cruise Ship industry. Earlier this year they worked on the MV Horizon, Crystal Symphony and Saga Sapphire, with the successful completion of all of these projects they now look to the future.
Having just won a project on one of the Thomson Cruise liners, it sets them up for a busy few months, they have also been awarded contracts with one of the Local Universities to refurbish several of their properities and are not waiting for confirmation on 2 – 3 other large contracts.
In March the directors took a decision to take more staff on, sadly this was short lived as the work did not last, however, with the contracts secured just recently, who knows where this will lead, one thing for sure, they will be sailing high…
Momentum Wallcoverings Volume 2
The Momentum story continues with our new Momentum Wallcoverings Volume 2 collection featuring a stunning mix of eclectic styles, graphic prints and quirky designs. The range enjoys a fashion-focussed, forward-looking palette of chalky tones, ranging from subtle neutrals to monochromes and on-trend brights such as orange, apple and teal. Embossed effects, sumptuous beaded textures and metallic highlights add the finishing touch of glamour.
Momentum Sheers and Structures
Momentum Sheers & Structures is the perfect continuation of the Momentum fabrics story. The voile motifs are graphic, geometric and stylishly understated – ikats, stripes, ogees, diamonds and spots – in an atmospheric range of mood-enhancing shades, highlighted with hints of metallics. The structured plains are subtle and highly useable, and are complemented by a contemporary lace-effect fabric, cleverly constructed from strips of ribbon sewn together.
Impasto
Dramatic, uninhibited and vibrant, Impasto has been inspired by the free, painterly style and light-reflecting techniques of the Impressionist movement: its prints and weaves are breathtaking in their liberated designs and intensity of colour. To achieve such a strikingly individual, artistic effect, each design has been hand-painted, drawing heavily on rich painterly textures and colours. This technique has been beautifully and sympathetically interpreted onto shimmering silks, cottons and sumptuous eye-catching velvets and weaves. Burgeoning florals, abundant blooms, abstract geometrics, ombré stripes, graceful hummingbirds come together in this thought-provoking, eye-pleasing, sensory delight of a collection.
Staff from Briant Curtaining were out in force yesterday to see the curtains and blinds leave the premises and head to
Marseilles. After manufacturing for more that 6 weeks the good were finally ready to
leav
e. out in the forecourt were 10 of the crates that were being picked up to head to the south of France.
Director Warren Offer will be heading there on Wednesday with Antony Draper to carry out the mamouth task of installing them on board. The fit out has to be completed within the next two weeks.
In total 23 crates left Briants, 180 pairs of curtains, 40 Pelmets and 120 blinds were within these crates. In addition a stage curtain measuring 20mts wide with a drop of 4.5mts was also manufactured.
Within the picture you can see that some of the staff were waving the union jack, this symbolising how proud we are to send these gods that were “Made in Britain”…
ALready work has started for the next vessel which is being installed in June
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Goods sent over sea’s made in Coventry
Situated in land locked Coventry has not been a problem for Briant Curtaining who added a Marine arm to their domestic and contract business in 2002. Since their first contract with P & O for the cruise ship Aurora they have now completed contracts for P & O, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and Saga on several of their ships. In addition to fitting in the UK, Briant’s fitters have travelled to Puerto Rico, Grand Bahamas, Sicily, Germany, Singapore, Sydney Australia and now this month they are off to the South of France to install curtains in the Casino, Theatre and Restaurant for the MV Horizon.
In 2010 they completed contracts on the Star Princess, Grand Princess, Saga Sapphire and the Queen Mary II. Now they have just been awarded for 2012 a large contract for Celebrity’s MV Horizon, and have sent out 22 large crates of curtains, blinds and curtain tracks including some large stage curtains all made by Briant’s experience staff in their Coventry workrooms.
Sales & Production Director Warren Offer will be travelling to France to oversee the fitting of the Horizon said that “2012 has started well and we are more confident with the outlook, with many new contracts for both the commercial side of the business as well as their Retail Store things are looking good”. As a result Briant’s have found themselves in an unfamiliar position of advertising for more staff, even though they have just taken two more on.
Warren added “The staff have worked extremely hard for the past few weeks, not only manufacturing 160 pairs of curtains which consisted of 2 miles worth of fabric, they have also been keeping our other clients happy by delivering on time to them”
Following this re-fit, Briant’s have already secured a contract on one of the Crystal Vessels and are looking at 3 others.
Briant’s was started in 1973 by current director’s Peter and Janis Offer and now as they head for their 40th year they are keeping the tradition of the family business with Son Warren and Daughter Debbie both appointed as Directors.
Harlequin has developed Delphine, a delightful collection of charming prints, weaves and wallpapers, which will be launched in late summer 2011.
Drawing on documents in the archive, principally from 1930s, the Harlequin Studio has captured the heady essence of summer days and the frosty beauty of autumn mornings, the tranquillity and elegance of the herbaceous border and the endless allure of the English cottage garden.
Delphine features a rich array of floral motifs on varying scales, including bold and uninhibited depictions of delphiniums, lilies, chrysanthemums, dahlias and laurels, as well as dainty spots and entwining trellises, cascading trails and a very evocative 30s block design.
The collection is strong, confident and highly useable, not just for curtains and accessories but for upholstery as well. It represents an eclectic fusion of prints with damasks and crewel work embroideries, and harmonises wonderfully with its companion range of stylish wool plaids.
The non-woven wallpapers encompass both bold statement papers and smaller designs to be used on all four walls, marking a return to more accessibly scaled motifs, which can be used more extensively without being overpowering.
To accentuate the grace and understated beauty of the designs, the colour palette has been deliberately pared back. There is a delicious array of unexpected colour combinations, which both subtly highlight and bring to life Delphine’s stunning motifs: dove grey and coral; sap green and soft teal; china blue and porcelain white; french navy and oatmeal; primrose yellow and rose pink; ochre, gold and stone; geranium red, linen and egg shell.
Briant’s are proud to introduce the Clarissa Hulse collection, one of the bright lights of British design, has teamed up with leading interiors company Harlequin to produce her first collection for the brand. Displaying all her trademark style and distinctive handwriting, Kallianthi, which means ‘wild flowers’ in Ancient Greek, is an enchanting botanical-inspired collection. It will be launched at Decorex in September 2011.
Drawing on a number of influences, including her love of plants, pressed flowers and all things botanical, long walks in the countryside and her half-Greek heritage, Clarissa has conjured up a beguiling range of prints, weaves and wallpapers, which manage to be simultaneously very ‘now’, yet somehow timeless in their appeal.
The exquisite fabrics are mainly printed or woven onto natural cloths such as silk dupion or linen/linen mix, often judiciously embellished with metallics. They display Clarissa’s flair and unique way of interpreting the natural influences that inspire and enthuse her. Motifs include nettles, cow parsley, grasses, ferns, olive branches, wild flowers and herbs, depicted in Clarissa’s unique style, often silhouetted against a subtle ombré background. There is also a distinctive ombré stripe design, which has been digitally printed to accommodate its 60 different colours, and two natural-coloured voiles, one of which is embellished with tiny beads, buttons and sequins.
Charming wallpapers continue the theme, and are powerful both individually or when used in conjunction with the fabrics. Ranging from a Rothko-esque ombré stripe to delicate grasses swaying gently in the breeze and tiny dappled leaves reflected on a wall, some of the papers are enhanced by metallic inks. They are all printed on non-woven paper, which is not only stable, so it does not expand when soaked, but also can be applied directly to a ready-pasted wall.
Over the years Clarissa has developed her own, highly individual colour palette, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Kallianthi, which highlights her flair and unique way of combining shades to breathtaking effect. The collection rejoices in glorious fusions of bright and bold, offset by pared back neutrals: tumeric, magenta, paprika and chartreuse; hot pinks, coral and stone; indigo, aqua, lime and ashes of roses; pebble and shocking pink; absinthe, citrine and putty; charcoal, ash and cloud.
Clarissa Hulse Biography
Clarissa Hulse was born in Prague and has lived in a number of countries around the world, including Thailand, Spain, Italy and Greece. Undoubtedly her peripatetic childhood has had a huge influence on her uninhibited approach to both colour and design.
After graduating in textiles from Brighton Art College in 1992, she moved to London to work as a freelance textile designer before starting up her own studio and establishing a successful scarf business.
This evolved into designs for home accessories, and over the last ten years she has built up one of the most innovative and exciting textile brands in the UK.
Clarissa Hulse is bright star in the British textile world, uncompromising in her passion to deliver the ultimate combination of colour, print and texture. Her name has become synonymous with beautiful and luxurious home accessories, wallpapers and fabrics, which are sold both in upmarket UK department stores such as Liberty, Heals, Selfridges, John Lewis and House of Fraser, as well as internationally in exclusive boutiques.
Clarissa confesses to having an obsession with colour, which can probably be traced right back to her childhood: ‘Colour is definitely the hallmark of my work. Also the beauty of nature completely fascinates me – I draw most of my inspiration from the countryside, where I walk, take photographs and collect interesting items.’
Clarissa lives in north London with her husband and two children.
Just received this from a client that we sent curtains to in Belfast… a good start to the day me thinks…
All too often people are quick to criticise poor service, it is certainly not the case in my dealings with Briant Curtaining. This is one of those (all too) rare occasions where a letter of praise is warranted.
The final part of our order (our curtains) arrived at the weekend. I’m just writing to express how impressed I have been with your company throughout its whole handling of our order. Not only did you provide excellent value for money but the service was second to none.
My wife was particularly impressed by the packaging of the curtain as as they could simply be removed from the box and hung straight onto the pole.
Can you please pass on our sincere appreciation and thanks to all your workers for both the excellent job and also the first rate customer service.
Kathleens & Gavin Campbell
Made to measure Curtains for Mr Cambell, Harlequin Alina
One of the most common questions that we are asked is “can you fit a curtain pole in a bay window?” The simple answer is yes, there are a number of options, I have listed them below. Poles with knuckles- some of these can be ok, but be careful. Poles with knuckles mean that you will have individual pieces of pole for each section of window. The danger is that if it is not installed correctly then the rings will catch on the joins. You will still have to help the curtains to open and close as there will be a bracket on each corner. Flexible joined poles, these poles are a solid pole, usually 15mm diameter, at two points in the pole these a segments cut out of the pole, this makes the pole look ugly and weak. Iron custom bent poles, these are a good solution but look quite traditional, you still have to help the curtains as they have brackets on the corners, eve still a good and sturdy product. Finally the Silent Gliss metropole is a fantastic product, this gives you the effect of a pole, it has a curved profile with gliders running in the bottom of the rail. This makes it smooth running and even let’s you have it cord operated and is available in 15 colours. If you want anymore information on any of the above then call the showroom who would be happy to help, we can also come out and advise at your home,One of the most common questions that we are asked is “can you fit a curtain pole in a bay window?” The simple answer is yes, there are a number of options, I have listed them below. Poles with knuckles- some of these can be ok, but be careful. Poles with knuckles mean that you will have individual pieces of pole for each section of window. The danger is that if it is not installed correctly then the rings will catch on the joins. You will still have to help the curtains to open and close as there will be a bracket on each corner. Flexible joined poles, these poles are a solid pole, usually 15mm diameter, at two points in the pole these a segments cut out of the pole, this makes the pole look ugly and weak. Iron custom bent poles, these are a good solution but look quite traditional, you still have to help the curtains as they have brackets on the corners, eve still a good and sturdy product. Finally the Silent Gliss metropole is a fantastic product, this gives you the effect of a pole, it has a curved profile with gliders running in the bottom of the rail. This makes it smooth running and even let’s you have it cord operated and is available in 15 colours. If you want anymore information on any of the above then call the showroom who would be happy to help, we can also come out and advise at yur home,
Briant’s are on Facebook and Twitter, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Briant-Curtaining/138855749476925
or @curtainsblinds
Made to measure Curtains for Mr Cambell, Harlequin Alina
The girls have just completed the curtains for one of the online orders from our web shop they look amazing.
Using the Harlequin Alina from the Anoushka collection complimented with a contrast from the Anoushka plains collection and the eyelet heading, gives a contemporary look.
To find our more visit our online shop.