The Second Coming – A New Generation Of Formica

Formica is pushing the boundaries of laminate applications with the launch of exciting new laminates products and colours, plus new artworks in collaboration with Unitec School of Design students.

Formica in June commissioned eight Unitec interior design and 3D sculpture students to design installation artworks using both traditional laminates and metallic finish DecoMetal laminates. The results were on show at launch functions in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch last week. (July 29, July 30 and August 1, respectively).

The functions also celebrated the release of a brand new benchtop solid surfacing material called Azteque, the launch of 21 new laminate colours, and the re-release of DecoMetals. Azteque, the feature material in the Australian Big Brother house kitchen, is an upmarket benchtop material which can be heat-moulded into cutting-edge design shapes.

And the functions featured a presentation by internationally renowned interior design and colour consultant Judy Dymond. Judy Dymond, based in Melbourne, is in frequent demand for international seminars on interior design and has most recently spoken at the Milan Furniture Fair and at Design Ex in Australia. Judy Dymond gave a presentation titled The Sensory Landscape – which explores the design process and interior environments.

Judy Dymond has a wealth of experience in design. She has a fashion background, developed a lifestyle brand for Myer Grace Brothers, headed the Myers design forecasting office and developed the Witchery home collection. She headed the product design team at Nylex for eight years and has also consulted on product design for companies like Freedom and Formica (N.Z.) Limited parent, The Laminex Group.

Lianne Ning, Formica (N.Z.) Limited marketing manager, says Formica believes it is time people looked at laminates in a new light. “Formica is a cultural icon and a brand we have all grown up with. It’s a name we all know – whether we remember it with fond memories, or not-so-fond recollections of seventies oranges and browns!”

This year, Formica (N.Z.) Limited has made a significant investment in regenerating the brand. “We are the world’s number one selling laminate – but we aren’t just about laminates anymore,” Ning says. “We are involved in a fashion industry and we are about giving a truly fashionable edge to form and function in both domestic and commercial settings,” Ning says. New logos, graphics, brochures and point-of-sale material further illustrate Formica’s new fashion positioning.

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