This year has seen us start working with the amazing Charlotte Tilbury — a brand as impressive as the woman behind it.

Since the launch of the brand in 2013, Charlotte Tilbury products have been awarded 197 awards, and boast offices in London, New York, and Hong Kong, two standalone London stores, five in the Middle East as well as hundreds of concessions worldwide. Despite almost doubling staff and revenues Charlotte Tilbury has actually been marked out as a future unicorn).

Here at Triplar we were tasked with creating the star fixture for the best-selling ‘Magic Cream’, a product twenty years in the making designed to transform and nourish skin. The fixture will be installed in twenty-five locations worldwide this December, but far from appearing overnight, work on the stars started in Spring, and the project has been a big learning curve for Triplar.

Featuring an infinity mirror produced in the UK rose gold varnish from France, beautiful polished steel from Italy and motors from China (the central display cream will undergo one rotation per minute), the installation is a feat of both design and diplomacy. The challenges of working with such varying material have required a succession of prototypes and ongoing modifications to ensure the final product will be flawless enough even for Charlotte.

Since the beginning of her career, Charlotte Tilbury, Makeup Artist to the Stars, has been known for amazing Goddess skin. Her now best-selling, award-winning, world-famous Charlotte’s Magic Cream has been the go-to cream of celebrities, models, actresses, makeup artists, editors, influencers and men and women of all ages, since they could get their hands on it. Charlotte’s Magic Cream is a uniquely magical blend of oils + actives…a ‘magic 8’ of skin-savior ingredients. This powerful, unique combination of both oils and actives means that the effects are immediate. The cream is instantly hydrating, soothing and gentle just like a beautifying comfort blanket for the ultimate, magical Goddess skin.

As Charlotte Tilbury’s Global Store Design Team said:

“We needed an in-store display that would sufficiently communicate this — a star for a star! We’re really impressed with how Triplar have worked Charlotte’s vision through to a functional and striking end product, and the communication and flexibility from the team was great throughout the entire process”

With installations currently planned for the USA, Middle East, Asia, UK, and Ireland, Charlotte Tilbury is hoping to increase the number from twenty-five to fifty in the near future. We are excited for this and any other future collaborations that will come our way! It’s been a pleasure to work with such a dynamic and passionate team, and we hope the installation will do justice to this much-loved product.

Challenges can come in all shapes and sizes in retail display, but the opportunity to play an integral part in the development of Europe’s largest factory store is one of the biggest and most rewarding Triplar’s team has faced.

Nike’s high-profile La Roca BIG BOX store in Barcelona opened at the end of May 2018. It boasts a sales area of 1,600m² and overall store footprint of over 2,600m².

Triplar project managers worked closely with Nike’s specialist in-house construction, brand, visual merchandising, store design, environmental graphic design and integrated technology teams to   develop several new premium fixtures. These were intended to not only elevate the environment of the store and enhance the consumer journey, but also literally elevate the furniture – making the most of the store’s height.

Heading up the design elements of this project was Oliver Leigh, Store Development Director.

“We created a concept that intended to capture both the Nike brand and the spirit of Barcelona in one space, thus giving our consumers an elevated retail experience.

Triplar partnered with us very early on in the design process to develop and value engineer new elements unique to the store.  We are very thankful for their dedication, professionalism and patience during the project.”

In addition to the 30 newly developed fixtures, which were each prototyped and developed over a period of eight months prior to fit-out, the level of involvement from all suppliers was far more extensive and challenging than a normal factory store. Triplar alone delivered 60 tonnes of material, spent 325 man-hours on site during installation whilst embracing Nike’s sustainability policy by diverting waste from landfill with the use of existing fixtures within the new refit.

Manos Kotsifakis, Construction Director for NFS & CFS within Nike, congratulated Triplar on their proactive and professional involvement after visiting the store for the grand opening;

“Nike La Roca was an incredibly exciting and challenging project. Triplar offered great support during the project, from the prototyping and development stages through to fantastic delivery on-site. We are all very pleased with the outcome.”

A sum of money every Christmas to three charities, global, regional and local. This year the chosen charities are Oxfam, CRASH and The Bamboozle Theatre Company.

Oxfam aims to save lives by responding quickly with aid and protection during emergencies. They encourage and empower people to work their own way out of poverty and campaign for lasting change to improve inequality in the world’s poorest countries.

CRASH is the construction industry’s charity that assists homeless and hospice charities with construction-related projects. By providing charities with the practical elements of their building projects, they are able to create better places for the homeless and vulnerable to live and feel safe.

The Bamboozle Theatre Company are based in Leicester and help children with learning difficulties through drama workshops, shows and multi-sensory experiences. They cater to individual needs to ensure that each child receives the best possible outcome on their visits.

The essence that makes up Penhaligon’s are their 130-year-old history and their stories, which make them a quintessential British institution providing their customers a truly unique experience.  Penhaligon’s quickly became a favourite of the aristocracy upon establishment in 1870 and continues to attract high profile attention to this day.

One new addition to their history is the remodel of their longest standing boutique in the Mayfair district of London. This listed building nestled on 20A Brook Street stands out like no other on the block being the only single story building, which houses retail space including a truly one of a kind glass domed top.  In addition to this, it is located just across the street from a previous residence of Jimi Hendrix who lived there in 1968.

Penhaligon’s chose Triplar, who now has a 2 year relationship, to provide the furniture along with Desert Oak to complete the shopfit. Triplar worked alongside Penhaligon’s and Desert Oak, who are known for their vast experience in refurbishing listed buildings in London, cooperated over a 4 week period to bring another unique chapter to the Penhaligon’s story.

The store which housed the previous eclectic, dark in tone and conservative in nature concept was transformed into a bright, inviting and modern retail space.  This resulted in the brand keeping its traditions while providing their staff and customers a more refined and innovative space, which included their digital profiling station on a 55inch touch screen television.

Triplar project manager Jason Castleberry said: “Penhaligon’s is one of the most interesting, challenging and rewarding brands I’ve ever worked with. They allow us to produce from a luxurious material palette, focus on a high attention to detail and maintain a very high level of quality. On the other hand, they are more than realistic on what can be done due to material and technological limitations. This allows their vendors to continually push above and beyond expectations while knowing that if they really do try their best as being a brand guardian there will be success to celebrate.”

Triplar recently attended the 2016 National Association of Shopfitters Presidents Spring Weekend – which offered a great opportunity to network with others in the industry, and learn about the innovative products of one of the event’s key sponsors.

The weekend took place on shores of Lake Como, Italy, and encompassed a number of events coordinated by organiser Blackcurrant Events. These included the NAS Spring meeting, a Gala dinner and an opportunity to tour Decolan SA’s headquarters.

Decolan SA has more than 20 years of experience in the decorative design industry. The company took the opportunity to highlight two new innovations in its range. Fusiontech is a technology that allows the fusing of a digital image into a variety of different substrates such as  ceramic, glass, wood, aluminium and High Pressure Laminates (HPL).

They also introduced their new Materica range, which combines modern designs with the advantages of HPL products. Besides perfectly reproducing a real feeling of fabrics, mortars and plasters, the surface has a finish that avoids all fingerprints.

The weekend included a number of other notable highlights and is an annual event open to NAS members. To find out more about more about the NAS visit the association’s website at www.shopfitters.org.

Triplar is pleased to announce the appointment of James Freeman to the company’s board.

A longstanding member of the team, James’ promotion sees his job role change from Operations Executive to Operations Director.

James has been with Triplar for 7 years, originally joining in March 2009 as Account Manager.

His newly expanded role will see him take complete control of Triplar’s day-to-day project operations, overseeing all client projects to ensure continuingly high standards are met.

James said: “I’m immensely proud of the team and what we achieve for our clients every day at Triplar. I look forward to what lies ahead and Triplar continuing to go from strength-to-strength in the coming years.”

After several years in the planning, Triplar finally helped Oxfam open its Cowley Road store in Oxford last month.

Delayed due to the complex nature of the build; the building interior had to be entirely demolished to allow for much needed rectification works and the construction of flats above the original retail unit.

A key store due to its proximity to the charity’s headquarters, it now aligns with the contemporary feel that many of Oxfam’s shops have following numerous refits across the UK.

The store design reflects the charity’s work across the world, with stencils across the shop floor referencing the codes used on water tank parts and the fitting rooms themselves designed to look like the crates that hold the tanks.

Oxfam has ensured that store furniture is made in the UK to reduce air miles and support the UK businesses that have worked closely in delivering the store refit programme. Joinery by Triplar’s Wellingborough factory is showcased in the store, while metalwork is by one of Triplar’s closest partners.

The store refresh is designed to bolster the charity’s position as one of the UK’s leading charities; enabling it to stand out on the high street  and increase retail fundraising, as well as connecting those funds to its day-to-day charity work. Oxfam is hoping that all the furniture showcased will, to some degree continue to be used in the scheme as part of a roll-out across the whole store network.

L’Artisan Parfumeur’s fragrances have remained true to their origins for over 40 years, but the company has recently updated its brands, product lines and Parisian boutiques.

Triplar was chosen to support the brand in refitting five shops in Paris, alongside five concessions that included Paris’s Printemps Haussmann retailer and Galarie Lafayette in Nice, Marseille and Cannes.

Triplar coordinated the refits with local Parisian architects Househam Henderson and their interior fit-out contractor AMT+.

Triplar provided L’Artisan with bespoke furniture for each shop, encompassing classic ornamental cornices detailed in the joinery work. White Carrara marble was chosen to provide a contrasting material and natural copper was used as a detail for logos that were wall mounted, recessed into the new oak herringbone floor and added to handrails and door handles.

In addition, the stores had botanical miniature gardens installed.  One version used a mobile freestanding unit, while another was built into the furniture. The gardens provided a connection between a modern facelift and L’Artisan’s founding philosophy of using natural materials and alchemy as the building blocks of its fragrances.

The first completed Paris store was on the high street location of Boulevard St German, followed by a store around the corner at Boulevard Raspail, then the best performing boutique in Le Marais and finally a shop on Rue de Vignon.

Triplar MD Tim Rodwell outlines his thoughts on the impending referendum to decide whether Britain remains in the EU.

“Close the doors, pull up the drawbridge.” “Keep them out.” “Row our own boat.” Just a few of the soundbites that have been heard over recent weeks and will likely be heard with increasing frequency in Britain before Thursday 23 June, when Britain decides whether to remain in the EU.

You might also hear meeker voices talking about inclusion, collaboration, and collective responsibility and action – of course mixed with a good dollop of irresponsible scaremongering from our most senior politicians.

What seems certain though it’s that this referendum isn’t going to set the electorate alight until it takes a more positive tone on both sides. There are downsides to remaining and leaving, but I believe that what the public want to hear are the positives on both sides.

It is easy to find oneself in a conflicted position. As a business owner headquartered in the UK, but with offices in the Czech Republic, I might find myself feeling one way on a personal level and another way entirely when I think of my business and it’s employees.

Most of Triplar’s clients are from outside the UK and having travelled all over Europe I value the relationships that i’ve forged across the continent.

It is hard to envisage how either outcome in this referendum will change that and alter the way in which we do business.

But one thing is for sure. Until this debate starts to take a more positive tone I’m going to reserve my judgement and hope reasoned argument and debate finally makes an appearance.

Triplar MD Tim Rodwell explains his philosophy to new business and account management.

Elusive and often tricky to handle, new customers are the lifeblood of any business. As well as the obvious benefits, they bring fresh impetus and drive to any team –  which in turn benefits existing clients.

So what is our approach? To sum it up we are joining your World, and not the other way around. We listen, then we listen…then we may well listen a little more. We will probably then tell you what we heard so as to make certain we heard correctly and have a full grasp of the brief

We never like starting big. Let’s start small and work up from there. We want to demonstrate our capabilities and earn the right to complete the largest and most complex projects; by virtue of the fact we complete the brief in-full and on-time.

We don’t have loads and loads of links in the delivery chain. You will only ever deal with one person. They will take the brief and they will send you the invoice, they are the only person that you will need to speak to. Accountability and responsibility are core values at Triplar.

Our core philosophy is very simple: listen, understand, plan and deliver. You will never hear the ‘usual’ excuses from the team at Triplar, because we set-out to be the best. And we understand that being a seamlessly successful component of our clients’ teams is all they want.