Over the course of her long career, Kristen Dettoni watched the textile industry change dramatically. She worked for many mills along the East Coast and into Canada. With each job, her knowledge and love of manufacturing grew. Yet, she also witnessed a once thriving industry struggle to survive and local economies wiped out as mills closed or consolidated. This made Kristen wonder, “could technology, which was reshaping other areas of the economy, build a sustainable future for textile designers too?”
New Hampshire-based Dettoni decided to do just that, by creating a pool of designs to spark creativity and inspiration for interiors designers. Her business, Design Pool, is a pattern library but also a design house and resource to interior designers.
Discover more as we talk with Kristen about her inspiration, partnership with Graphic Image Flooring, and what’s coming up in 2023.
Q: How did you and Graphic Image Flooring get together?
A: I met Tim, the Founder, through a conference shortly after I started Design Pool in 2019. Our goal at Design Pool has always been to have a wide offering of products and reach as many people as possible. Graphic Image Flooring provided an opportunity to offer high-quality flooring to interior designers.
It’s important to me to partner with manufacturers who have the flexibility to offer great designs, printed on-demand. This type of manufacturing opens the door to maximum creative freedom for interior designers. They finally can customize projects at an affordable price point with huge minimums. Having my designs available on vinyl flooring with Graphic Image Flooring has been a wonderful partnership.
Q: What’s the inspiration behind your collections available through Graphic Image Flooring?
A: For Graphic Image Flooring I wanted to be sure I created collections that translate well to floors. I focused on patterns that offer a wide range of colors and textures and can be scaled based on the size of a space.
Of the over 200 designs available through our partnership, I especially love The Cryptology Collection. This collection was inspired by the groundbreaking female codebreakers from WWII. Each pattern has a hidden, coded messages in the design. There is an element of fun and codebreaking mixed into each patterns. People could find the message, if they know the code of course.
Our newest line launches this month called the Swallowtail Farm Collection. For this collection, I collaborated with an herbalist to learn more about the healing power of medicinal herbs and plants. This special collection has many meaningful motifs and is perfect for healthcare interiors. The patterns bring in natural elements calming to patients, and they’ve been colored to work cohesively with Sherwin-Williams healthcare color palettes. Our goal was making it as easy as possible for designers to use these partners, knowing everything will match seamlessly.
Q: What excites you most about the designs?
A: I started Design Pool because I thought it was exciting that interior designers could get a one-off design at an affordable price point, especially within the world of commercial interiors. The large format printing Graphic Image Flooring provides brings our designs to life with their seamless installation in spaces.
Working in the textile industry and being an avid DIYer, I love the creative process and doing the research needed to bring an idea to life. As my own boss, it’s fun that I can design patterns from an authentic place of inspiration. I’m not tied to the constraints of a corporation telling me what to be inspired about and what to design. I can create and put designs out into the world and people who love them will find them.
It's also exciting that interior designers can customize a pattern to fit the exact proportions they need and print the exact amount they want. This helps greatly in eliminating waste and sending less to the landfill.
Q: Can you share some of your designs in installations and how that feels?
A: Any time I get to see my designs out in the wild, it’s very exciting! It’s fun to see where people decide to use one of my patterns. A lot of my patterns end up being chosen to make a big impact in a small space such as bathrooms and utility spaces.
Honestly, even just getting samples from Tim is fun. I spend so much time designing behind a screen, it’s so satisfying to touch and feel a physical product.
Q: What are some of the benefits of using vinyl flooring in interior design?
A: For me, it’s the price first. To be able to have a customizable product at such an affordable price point is a huge benefit. Vinyl is also very easy to clean, especially important with increased health concerns. Also, the wide rolls offer fewer seams which makes them easier to clean and install.
And when it’s time for a refresh, vinyl can be easily replaced to upgrade or change a design to grow with your family or company.
Anti-slip is also a big plus for using vinyl in interior design, making it a smart option for places such as RV interiors. With vinyl solutions, people can put their own mark on a place so personal where they’re spending a lot of time.
The versatility of vinyl is unmatched, and the creative possibilities are endless.
Q: What’s next for you and Design Pool?
A: Now, it’s all about educating the interior design industry that on-demand printing is accessible to them. We want them to know this option is viable and opens the door to affordable custom options. No more long lead times, steep up-charges, or high minimums for a custom look truly their own! Design Pool’s partnership with Graphic Image Flooring makes this possible and I look forward to growing our businesses together.
Discover more from Design Pool online for inspiration in your next design.
