INTERIORS
WATCH THIS SPACE! Carla Longworth and her partner Tom Ingleton have created an exciting and innovative new product which will revolutionise bathrooms, offering unique printed wall and bath panels that are cost effective, quick to install and will add a real designer touch to make your home look unique
system I put it in the metal frame that they made and it literally fell apart as there was a flaw in their design. This then gave me the idea to produce our own frame, making the frame more secure. “QuickFix bath panels are the only bath panels that come with the independent metal frame included in the pack, and our system speeds up the installation process hugely and it literally takes minutes to install. Also, they are fully accessible in the event of leaks or maintenance and are removed without damage!” As true entrepreneurs they have formed a collaboration with well-known designer Becca Who, famous for her wallcoverings and upholstery. Carla continues, “Her designs are beautiful and we now have a licence to use them on our panels and furniture. We are also in the process of producing a vanity unit which is totally unique and features one of her designs on the inside of the drawers.” The QuickFix bath panel and Acrypanel can be made with any design and they also prevent any mould from forming, which is
the creation of Acrypanel. He said, “I did a lot of research and was very interested in the concept of using panels instead of traditional tiles, but they were made of glass. This meant that when cutting them the measurements had to be absolutely precise and transporting glass is a major problem because they can easily shatter. So, I decided to make panels which were easy to work with, versatile, robust and quick to install and so Acrypanel and the concept of making them in acrylic was born!” Following the initial designs of the Acrypanel, Tom decided that he needed a bath panel to complement the wall panels, so set about designing a bath panel. He was interested in the concept of a metal frame bath panel system he had seen on the market and decided that making them magnetic was the way forward.To see how this all worked he contacted the manufacturer of the frame to present his idea to them. “I took a full-size bath with me, with the frame for our bath panel and the acrylic panel to demonstrate, when I demonstrated our bath panel with their
Carla was in the property world for 20 years and worked for estate agent Spicerhaart. She began by selling older homes but in 2012 she became the New Builds Sales Manager for London and Essex working with developers and housing associations. Tom began his career as a contractor and eventually became a property developer. He said, “I eventually fell out of love with building homes – Covid and Brexit had a massive impact.” This led him to the decision to retire from development and concentrate more around his creative side and developing new products. They were lucky enough to have bought a 1 Euro home in Italy and Tom decided to spend his time renovating it, which he thoroughly enjoyed. “It was a great life, but then interest rates changed, the rental properties we had were not making us enough money and I had to go back to work to make ends meet. I hadn’t worked for anyone before and wasn’t sure what to do.” He always had a keen interest in interior design and building things, which led to
36 First Time Buyer April/May 2024
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