State of the Art clarifies a few facts for Elmwood

In response to Paul Middlebrook’s letter (DW 19 April), we would like to clarify the following points. According to Borden Decorative Products, it contacted Elmwood and State of the Art and asked if they would undertake an unpaid pitch – both said no.

In response to Paul Middlebrook’s letter (DW 19 April), we would like to clarify the following points.

According to Borden Decorative Products, it contacted Elmwood and State of the Art and asked if they would undertake an unpaid pitch – both said no. Therefore, both companies were asked to provide quotations: State of the Art’s proved to be the most cost-effective and it was awarded the project.

The Crown Wallcoverings and Shand Kydd corporate identities were launched in January and, so far, an excellent response has been received (in fact, State of the Art has been nominated for a design award for this project).

Elmwood works for Visions, a subsidiary of Shires, and not Shires Bathrooms – they are two totally separate companies.

Obviously, a large, well-established and successful company like the 19-year-old Elmwood can refuse to undertake unpaid work. But a five-year-old company striving to succeed in a weak economy is in a much more precarious position. State of the Art has a policy not to accept unpaid project work. However, the Shires Bathrooms pitch was for an ongoing account and we felt confident the quality and standard of our designs would prove successful.

Perhaps if Middlebrook con- centrated on reading the editorial facts rather than jumping to the wrong conclusion, he would have had second thoughts about writing his letter – sour grapes are so unnecessary for a company with such a high profile.

Also, it might be less embarrassing for his consultancy if he kept a check on Elmwood’s client list from time to time!

Louise Harrison

State of the Art

Leeds LS28 6AT

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