Hospitality Design January - Buyer's Guide 2023 - 10

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Q&A with Paul Montgomery
President of The Mural Source
Describe your business in one sentence:
The Mural Source off ers world-class printed
wallpaper murals that begin as original handpainted
designs.
What innovations have you introduced?
Our business began solely producing
hand-painted murals. However, thanks to
advancements in scanning and printing
technology, we can off er these same hand-painted
designs as printed reproductions at a much
more aff ordable cost. This enables us to deliver
exquisite artwork to the hospitality segment
as printing gives us the ability to produce high
quantities on a variety of substrates like Type II
vinyls and grasscloths.
What differentiates you from your
competitors?
One of our biggest advantages is that all orders
are made-to-order. This means that in lieu of
inventory, your mural is made exactly to your
project's specifi cations. Whether it needs to
be slightly taller or shorter, the color needs to
be modifi ed slightly, or if you want a custom
design all together, we can produce it. Since
we are made-to-order, we can be much more
accommodating to each project and ensure you
receive the perfect mural for your needs.
What trends are you paying attention to?
While Chinoiserie style murals are timeless,
we are seeing more att ention and interest going
towards panoramic murals in today's market.
While I'm sure Chinoiseries will always be
popular, it is interesting to see landscapes take
the forefront. We are noticing it in the hospitality
industry primarily, as the sensation of travel that
this style exudes perfectly aligns with the mission
of the hospitality segment.
What is your design process?
The Mural Source has hundreds of murals in the
library, but creating new murals is what we enjoy
the most. Most projects have a distinct direction,
but sometimes inspiration can come from
unexpected places.
I begin by researching images and elements
that I want to include in the new mural. Very
oſt en, I will start with a rough sketch on paper.
This will be further fl eshed out by recreating
the drawing in full size on large paper here in
our studio, but just as oſt en, we use computers to
draw and manipulate design components to build
a scene. From these drawings and digital plans,
we fi nish the design by looking at balance and
harmony. From there, we send the design to the
studio to be painted into panels. These unique
panels are scanned, and reassembled digitally to
prepare the full mural for reproduction.
How has your company evolved over the
years?
I've been painting murals for over fi ſt y years,
and I have seen styles and techniques come and
go. Early on, I was painting on site with teams
of artists. Other times we painted murals in our
studio, that we then installed aſt er production.
Later, I began to branch out into hand painted
murals by selling them as consecutive panels. In
recent years, computers have become a powerful
tool for designing murals, as well as increasing the
ease of production. While the tools of our trade
change and evolve, there is no replacement to
creating the murals by hand.
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January 2023 hospitalitydesign.com
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design January - Buyer's Guide 2023

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