How did you end up in the interior design sector?
Caroline Schrijnemakers: “Because of my passion for fabrics and beautiful materials. I used to work in the fashion industry and due to a combination of circumstances I was given an opportunity at an interior design company. At the time I thought it would be a short ‘excursion… but as you can see I’m still working in this industry 16 years later, now with my very own “label”. ”
Where does the name Prades come from?
“They are places in both Spain and France. My ex-colleague stumbled upon the name on one of her many travels. We had been looking for a unique name for a long time, and had come up with all sorts of things, but this name immediately left an impression. Prades gives a feeling of luxury, you can pronounce it in virtually any language and it’s not very difficult to remember.”
What inspires you when designing furniture or a fabric?
“Well… actually everything around me. For example, I discover new things when I walk through town or go out for a meal. It’s a fusion of colours and shapes, of almost everything you feel and see.
At the same time, clothing (read: fashion) still plays an important role in my design process.
A new design should really have an added value and should be applicable in many styles. I love an eclectic mix. Sometimes you can take a certain design to add a nice classic element or contemporary flavour, making the end result all the more interesting.”
What materials do you use for your designs?
“At first we only had pure products, made of natural materials. Of course, there’s positive and negative sides to this. There’s also a lot of regulations that have changed over the years. For example, there are certain chemicals you can no longer use, which results in the furniture losing its colour more quickly. As a result, we’ve started using more artificial materials to comply with both these regulations and the needs of our customers. For example, if you have a home that lets in a lot of light and only use natural materials, even though it will look beautiful, they will discolour in no time. We have many solutions to this problem. These days it is important to keep up with the times and many artificial materials do not look artificial at all.”
Why did you decide to exhibit at ETC Design Center Europe?
“We came here a long time ago, almost a decade ago I believe. We opened up a stand here because we didn’t have our own showroom in the Netherlands and wanted to present our products to a wider audience. Because the Expo mainly focuses on furniture, we also started to include furniture in our collection, which definitely wasn’t our intention from the start! However, in the end this has led to a complete package. We were one of the first companies that profiled ourselves in such a way. ETC Design Center Europe has developed itself very nicely over the years and many beautiful brands have joined. They have really held on to the high quality level. This place has become the best alternative for people with no showroom.”
What does the future of the profession look like?
“I think a lot of people will start working from home or their own offices. You also see more and more people taking a liking to wallpaper with patterns in unique colour combinations. If you want to combine a feathered pillow with a sturdy leather one, that’s okay. Anything is possible! Individual tastes are becoming more and more important.”
