Much of my artwork concerns the act of mark-making so texture and finish are things I always notice. This was the case at Surface Design, a trade fair I pop into; here are a few of the things that caught my eye:
Matt ceramic tiles designed by Inga Sempé for Mutina shown by French company Vicalvi Contract.
Back in 2012 I wrote about new graduate Greek designer Spiros Kizis at New Designers whose innovative experiments with artichoke fibre subsequently gained him recognition and which I’m delighted to see him still developing as these wild artichoke reinforced plastic bricks show.
A softer surface is these overlapping felt “tiles” using one of the qualities sold by American company Filzfelt. This one is 100% organic wool. Felt is such a comforting material, brilliant for both heat and sound insulation. And it doesn’t fray.
Love these paint finishes by Alchemy Finishes, run by Brian Banks (no relation as far as I know) – he can produce practically any finish you can think of. 
Koyoseiga, from Japan, showed this mid-century looking fired clay relief. The clay is fired and smoked for 4 days at 1100 degrees Celsius and has been traditionally used for roof tiles. It has a lovely varying grey colour.
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