Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC) will return to ExCeL London on 20-22 March with a main stage designed for the second year running by Harp Design.

Harp Design have a team of unique designers who have an eye for success and have worked in hospitality businesses, understanding practical industry issues as well as bringing creative flair and designing unique interiors for hotel, bars, restaurants and more.

HRC caught up with Harp Design Owner Haley Roy to find out more about this year’s project.

What was your starting point for designing the Vision Stage at HRC 2023?

It’s hard to know where to start when you have complete free reign with a design project but, luckily, we were bursting with ideas after working on last year’s show! We wanted to create a sophisticated look that was filled with fun, balanced with a feeling of calm that you would expect to feel when you walk into a well-run establishment.

With hotels and restaurants in mind, we look at colours that would represent the industry first and foremost, and at Harp Design we love teal, dusty pink and grey as colours that represent the feeling of entering a hospitality business.

What do those colours mean to you?

Time for the geeky psychology part! For many people teal symbolises decency and renovation. A shy colour, its reserved nature promotes clarity, open communication and practical thinking. Teal is helpful for applications designed for stress relief and it’s the colour of restfulness and mental and spiritual balance.

Dusty pink has been in the limelight of fashion for the last 10 years and is generally perceived as a positive emotional colour associated with kindness, care, gentleness. It is also regarded as a colour which represents nurturing and compassion, and it gives one feelings of understanding and acceptance. For many people, pink gives off joyful, creative and refreshing vibe.

Grey is the colour of settlement: being neither dark nor white-coloured, it has a feeling of cool and self- restraint, and alleviates you from a riotous world. From colour psychology point of view, it looks exquisite and formal, yet never captivating.

What was your approach to sustainability within this year’s design?

There are many suppliers we’ve used for the Vision Stage design that are nailing the sustainability issues we are faced with today, from fabrics that are made from recycled bottles or tyres, to sustainable recycled upholstery. There are FSC certified, UK manufactured products that haven’t had to travel the earth to get to the show! We have a lot to show everyone, and we’ll be shouting about it over the next few weeks on social media.

These are just a few of the over 20 suppliers we’re working with to bring the Vision Stage to life.

Naturewall specialise in decorative wall panels as an impactful alternative to traditional wall covering. They are an FSC® accredited business, handcrafting their entire SlatWall panel range by hand at the company’s bespoke manufacturing site in the UK. The recycled felt backing on the SlatWall panels divert millions of plastic bottles from landfill each year, and they still use reclaimed

timber which is repurposed to create planks and 3D products. In addition to this, they are continuously exploring more ways we can be eco-friendly throughout all aspects of the business.

Muraspec Wallcoverings is an international leader in the commercial and bespoke wallcoverings industry. Their wallcovering available with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), meaning that by using Muraspec, clients can earn further valuable credits towards their environmentally responsible fit-out schemes such as SKA and LEED.

Wallcovering, upholstery and curtain fabric supplier Vescom is a member of VinylPlus, an initiative started by the international vinyl-processing industry to improve sustainable production and use of PVC. The company’s quality assurance system was certified in accordance with ISO 9001 as long ago as 1993. Ever since, Vescom has incorporated environmental legislation and policy into their work instructions as a matter of course. Drawing up and executing company environmental plans a mandatory element of business policy. In 2001, they were the first company in their sector to introduce the ISO 14001 environmental management system.

Sunbury Design is a Green Mark accredited company. Green Mark was originally developed with the help of the European Social Fund, London Met University and Greater London Enterprise (Now Newable) and is an internationally recognised environmental certification for companies that want to assure their clients and employees that they are conducting business to recognised environmental standards.

Symphony & More are experts in the supply of quality furniture solutions for the hospitality, leisure and care home sectors. Their team of trusted professionals provide a range of services, from contract furniture supply to re-upholstery and supply of banquette seating. Always delivering on their promise of quality and WOW factor, they work closely with all of their clients to ensure that they receive furniture that is not only stylish and functional but also fits within their budget. With years of experience in the industry, Symphony & More are proud to be known as one of the most reliable and recommended teams around.

Other businesses we're working with this year include Ted Baker, Formica, Clarke & Clarke, Dulux, FDM, ILIV, Lindhurst Fabrics, GS Contracts, Adfors, Vescom, HRC, HARP, Cooler Aid, Karndean Flooring and Philip Cowan