I visited the show on the first day of this year’s National Painting & Decorating Show; a rainy day in November. Not the best of weather outside, but inside the ambiance was bright, warm and welcoming. Threading my way through a stream of visitors to meet the various paint brush and paint roller manufacturers and distributors exhibiting there, it was evident that every visitor had the same warm and happy experience.

Playing the casino game on the ProDec stand or trying their hand at several hands-on items throughout the hall in addition to the Masterclass presentations, every visitor was entertained and informed to the limit of experience. As the visitors exited the show, it was obvious that they had had a good visit due to the vast number of exhibitor bags they took with them: As usual there were many good ‘special offer’ and lots of hand outs to be had. An excellent day out for any decorator – me included!

I met some friends in the aisles; Thorsten Stollberg of Wistoba Pinselfabrik, Wilhelm Stollberg & Co GmbH, the German paintbrush and tool manufacturer that has just celebrated its 100th birthday, and also Paul Constantine of Flock Development and Research Co. Ltd., the largest paint pad and flock paint-roller manufacturer in the UK. You will find both their details along with all the exhibitors’ details in the Brush Directory. 

I visited all the stands that I could during the day and had very good feedback. You will find separate press information from some of them in the next Newsletter issues featuring Painting and Decorating. 

Tony Hiscox of AJ Systems, the importer and distributor for Corona, offered a variety of their products – Superior paintbrushes, painters packs, private label options and product re-distribution. 

Natalie Davies at Ecoezee told me that she had just transferred the ownership of their successful, 100% sustainable and plastic-free trade painting supplies company to new owners on the previous Friday, this being a scoop for brushexpert.com!  New owners Nikki and Joel Buckley were excited at their new venture and assured me that they would continue in the same successful vein. Keep an eye out for new products?

Bob Shaw, Director of the Canadian company Nour Handcrafted Painting tools, showed me their full range of professional paintbrushes and rollers that they distribute around the world. Some of his brushes are still hand-made! There will be a full release in the next issue with more detailed information.

On the Pioneer Brush stand I met Peter Samuel. He outlined their newest items, the Pioneer Summit brush and the Pioneer Spirit Renaissance brush, both sold in their own plastic cases that allow the brush to breathe whilst keeping the filaments straight. Their full range of paintbrushes, paint rollers and other painting tools and accessories were on show. You can read more about Pioneer in the following issue.

The ProDec stand, as always, was popular with the visitors. This year. the game on the stand was a casino complete with croupier. Naturally no money changed hands, but many visitors enjoyed the game. 

Showing their popular Ice Fusion range, Jane Nethercott explained that in 2020, there would be changes and improvements to their brushes, with a new oval range. Click here to read more about the Ice Fusion: The next evolution in synthetic brush technology which incorporates the specially developed new technology unique to ProDec: Shard filaments and Form Recovery Technology.

Alongside that, Jane showed me their new female brand working trousers. There had been a gap in this market, being saturated with male shapes and styles, that ProDec has now addressed. With more women decorators doing a professional job it is only fair that they have the correct accessories to assist them comfortably as well as stylishly.

The Roll Roy BV stand was very busy, and it was hard to get a conversation with Kevin, however, the full range of rollers from Holland were on show with many interested visitors. Look out for the Rollroy press release forthcoming.

At Staalmeester stand I met Matthijs Staalmeester. He explained the Dutch paintbrush design and how easy it is to use. Its ergonomically designed handle grip, using the round, tied-in bristle design with the shaped tip of the bristle, enables perfect cutting-in and edging work. On their stand they had a painting demonstration for the use of their comfortable brushes and how ‘simple and easy it is to become a craftsman using the right tools’.

Ciret Ltd, encompasses four sections of professional decorating products: Rota! for the manufacture of paint rollers, Kana for paintbrushes, Masq for specialist masking tape and Prep for preparation hand tools. I spoke to Zoe Perkins, Marketing and Communications Manager and Phil Phillips, Commercial and Sales Director for the UK office. They will be providing a full press release of the items they had on show in the next issue.

Brewers Decorator Centres, the decorator’s wholesaler, was there with a long stand, where friendly staff, were offering bags to everyone that held vouchers and free gifts; one of which was for free one litre tins of paint purchased during December at one of their branches! They offer in return for a trader account many more discounts for members. 

Brewers has wholesaler branches all over the country and can offer many of the brands of brushes rollers and all decorating materials that were on show at the various stands at the exhibition, so if you missed the show, you can still find many of the products at a branch near you.

Go Paint (Hildering Innovations, Netherlands) were there in their usually busy position demonstrating their very clever decorator’s accessories. This year, the very popular Clean and Go washing tub used in conjunction with the Paint and Go brush cleaner was centre stage. The tub can be used for cleaning and storing paintbrushes during a paint job or between paint jobs. The brushes are cleaned on the grid of the liner into the clean tap water with a small amount of the cleaning fluid below. The paintbrush will not harden and will be clean ready for reuse. Once the fluid is full of residue and the brush can no longer be cleaned the liner should then be removed, and a new liner fitted. This takes all the paint residue carefully away from the job, keeps the bristles in the brush supple and moist. 

Its partner, the Clean and Go paint brush storage bucket was also very popular. Once a job is finished and the brushes are ready to go into storage, dip the cleaned brush into the non-toxic gel and then store it in the storage bucket hanging from hooks around the rim. This keeps the paintbrush supple and protected within the storage bucket. Wipe the gel off the brush and then it is ready for use again. There is a new roller cleaner in prototype that will be ready for sale very soon.  Another one to look out for! 

Pro Tools Solutions Ltd- Two Fussy Blokes - Yes, that is the name on their card and there is a reason too! I spoke to Chris Pilipczuk, one of the Directors, and his adage is this: “We’re fussy. But that’s just how we roll!” 

They then explain in their description: ‘You could say we’re fussy about painting. Obsessive even. And you’d be right. So, when we couldn’t find any painting tools that lived up to our very high standards, we created them.’ He showed me their range of professional brush and roller items with decorating tools and accessories. Even though they had a small space it was certainly very busy.

Lastly, I visited Minul Shah, Director of Axus, the decorators’ merchants who developed their own range of products to fill the gap in the market for superior products. They specialise in professional quality tools and have a serious concern for the planet and how we should leave it for our children. This drives them to act responsibly towards the environment with an ambition to make packaging eco-friendlier. They aim to encourage reusable products over disposable ones and educate consumers on the advantages of using products made with FSC® certified timber. Click here to read about their latest Wood Finishing Mini Rollers.

I had a great day, came away with many samples, information and a buzz having thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the people on the stands that had brushes or rollers in some form.

Please put it in your diary for next year: 24th and 25th November 2020. Be sure to get there early to obtain one of the packed goody bags given away to the first 1000 through the door! Doors open at 9am and be prepared; there will be a queue. 

If you want to learn more about the stand holders check out their names in the quick search at www.brushexpert.com/directory or, for more about www.brushexpert.com please contact me, Josie Wadd, Director at Brush Expert Ltd from the link below.