Bert & May x Darkroom London: NEW Colours
By Marketing Bert & May
Mar 1, 2023
We’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with some incredible design companies since we started Bert & May, and these partnerships have become a really important part of what we do. One of our most enduring unions is with East London design house Darkroom, who we first teamed up with six years ago to create our iconic Split Shift tiles.
These tiles celebrate Darkroom’s signature use of bold, graphic forms and have become a real staple of our core collection. We are excited to have worked with Darkroom on developing the designs in 5 new colour ways, all inspired by colours found in nature.
Please can you tell us about the new Spilt Shift colours? How are they different to the original colourways in terms of look and feel?
I’m a massive fan of pop colours and monochrome — they been a big part of my design DNA for years, and formed the basis of our original collection of Split Shift.
In a post-pandemic context, where my connection to nature has been massively amplified, my interior design work has been evolving towards natural, earthy tones teamed with primary brights. It feels like a totally natural progression to introduce a palette of earthy colours to the Split Shift collection! The 5 new colourways are inspired by clay, mud, straw, stone and tree bark.
Where do you see the new colours working, and where would you use them?
I’ve already used the collection in a range of bespoke furniture I designed for a large London house renovation — the tiles are inlaid into elegant metal frameworks to form tables and shelving.
There are a lot of people who don’t own their home [myself included] and therefore can’t make any permanent interior changes with flooring and wall treatments. I’m really interested in how we can create accessible ways for them to be able to bring Split Shift into their lives, so I’ve developed a range of furniture that integrates the tiles as their core statement. The tiles can be used indoors and outdoors, so I’m very excited that our earthy toned collection can also be used in gardens — a truly symbiotic pairing.
The Split Shift collection has been really popular ever since it first launched. What is it about the design that you think holds such enduring appeal?
The core 3 geometric shapes created by Split Shift — the circle, triangle and square are universally pleasing, and therefore truly timeless. The infinite combinations of layout and colours allow for a look that is truly bespoke to each customer. We provide the building blocks, and you can make it your own. It’s wonderful seeing all the different permutations that people create in their homes.
Whatever your personality type, you can make them work for you — from pleasingly ordered shapes to playfully splintered patterns.
Can you share details of any standout projects featuring the tiles that you've worked on or seen?
I love this external atrium garden by Miria Harris. See below images of the house I designed via Studio Rhonda where I used the new colours — photographer Veerle Evans
NEW colours: Pearl, Marigold, Crimson, Canola and brand new colour Pebble. These colour ways are inspired by the colours found in clay, tree bark, straw, clay and stone.