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2009 Contest Winners
Members of the National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (NGPP) recognized nine exceptional wallcovering installation projects in the 2009 Winning Walls with Wallcoverings Awards. The Zinsser Company, maker of wallcovering installation products, again has proudly sponsored NGPP’s Winning Walls with Wallcoverings program.
The program is open to any NGPP member who has completed a wallcovering project during the calendar year. An independent panel of judges in cooperation with the PDRA in St. Louis assesses each entry by assigning point scores to 15 different project factors, including creativity, special challenges, materials, time constraints, and the quality of the entry presentation. The panel of judges was made up of designers and installers.
The awards were presented at a luncheon held during the 2009 NGPP Convention and Tradeshow in Niagara Falls, September 11-12, 2009
First Place Winners
- Residential Category: Eunice & Frank Bokstrom, Design Wallcovering Professional Installation, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Commercial Category: Dennis George, C.P. Hung Right Wallpaper Special, LaQuinta, CA.
- Specialty Category: Sarah Smyth, John J. Smyth Ltd, Medford, MA
Second Place Winners
- Residential Category: Vincent LaRusso, Time For A Change Wallcovering, Brewster, NY
- and Elsie Kapteina, C.P., Wallpaper Hangups by Elsie, Bethel, CT
- Commercial Category: Cyndi Green, C.P., Cyndi Green Papering, Monroe, LA and Pam McCartney, Wall Fashions, Mineola, TX
- Specialty Category: Michael Kelly, Michael J. Kelly & Son, Wayne, PA
Honorable Mentions
- Residential Category: Tim Bodine, Professional Wallpaper & Paint, St. Louis, MO
- Commercial Category: Frank & Eunice Bokstrom, Design Wallcovering Professional Installation, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Specialty Category : Phil Reinhard, Reinhard Wallcoverings, Galloway, NJ and Cliff Hayes, Best Paperhanging Company, Farmingdale, NJ.
Residential
1st Place Winner
Eunice & Frank Bokstrom, Design Wallpapering Professional Installation, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Entry Description: Three different wallcoverings—a Belgian paper-backed textile, a Bradbury & Bradbury untrimmed hand screened paper and a historic reproduction paper with a coordinating border were used in this historic sandstone mansion built in 1913. The job entailed removal, repair and installation, working around a large metal cabinet containing the PA system, inside offset corners waving in and out of plumb and bulging corners. Careful engineering of two rooms was required so as not to mismatch where the paper wrapped through the doorway while maintaining continuity of the ceiling line. Perhaps, most time consuming was to create the illusion of the room being plumb. The installers “hung to the room”, installing it level, but cheating at inside and outside corners using a variety of methods such as taking excess material out of the background and cutting around the design and appliquéing it.
2nd Place Winner
Vincent LaRusso, Time For A Change Wallpapering, Brewster, NY and Elsie Kapteina, C.P., Wallpaper Hangups, Bethel, CT
Entry Description: The installers had to be right on the money with the measurements to be sent to the art designer and then shipped to China. If the measurements were off a tiny bit, the whole project would not line up with the room size. This Chinoisenie paper, made by lttle squares, which are Fang Kuai (pieced) on 36” by 10’ panels. Each section is hand painted one by one and put together, piece-by-piece to form beautiful scenery.
Honorable Mention
Tim Bodine, Professional Wallpaper & Paint, St. Louis, MO.
Entry Description: The paper for this project had a selvedge edge and when trimmed was only 18.5” across. It came from the back of a closet to be revived in a powder room. The paper was very dry and brittle and hard to unroll without cracking. It was very water sensitive and when touched with a damp rag turned to wet tissue. After researching the paper, the installer found it to be 100 years old and hand painted on a rag-type paper. The client couldn’t afford to have the paper digitally scanned so that was not an option. The walls were lined with acid free liner paper and with luck, a lot of skill, and some antique tools from a grandfather’s toolbox, it proved to be the right mix. The wheat paste was mixed using an old whisk and the walls sized with an old paste brush. Other old tools used were a mahogany straight- edge and a rotary trimmer, a casing knife and a wheel trimmer. There was just enough paper and with luck and skill, the room turned out beautifully.
Commercial
1st Place Winner
Dennis George, C.P., Hung Right Wallpaper Specialist, LaQuinta, CA.
Entry Description: When is wallcovering not wallcovering? When the manufacturer can’t answer questions, you must rely on experience. The material was shiny, like Mylar, yet flimsy and quite bulky. Through trial and error, the right adhesive was found. It took four days, working ten to eleven hours a day to complete the wallcovering. Once completed the members of the country club were extremely satisfied on timeliness in getting the job finished for the opening.
2nd Place Winner
Cyndi Green, C.P., Cyndi Green Papering, Monroe, LA and Pam McCartney, Wall Fashions, Mineola, TX
Entry Description: This job included the ordering of material, removal of old vinyl, preparation and installation…but not your ordinary removal. It took a grueling 864 man-hours to complete the job with 2/3 of the time spent in wall preparation. The vinyl had been hung with a non- strippable adhesive. Creativity and experience with the right materials for the job saved the day and allowed the project to be completed around the electricians’ cut outs and repairs, etc. The installers also had to work around a company’s business schedule by working nights and weekends.
Honorable Mention
Frank & Eunice Bokstrom, Design Wallcovering Professional Installation, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Entry Description: Some work had been done but it was time to finish and there was a time crunch. The restaurant was opening in a week with walls not yet built. The wallcovering was black and shiny so the walls had to be flawless. Installing a black and white pattern on the ceilings was the most difficult and taxing part of the job. One side had a long straight wall and the other side had jogs and angles. The first run of vinyl was over 20 feet long. Sprinkler heads protruding from the ceiling held the vinyl away and many vents and spotlights and the placement and cutting had to be done with precision as the bold pattern would show any mismatch. Another challenge was an outside corner where the wall and curved ceiling portion met was not straight. Challenges were met with skill and experience. The installers finished their project just hours before the restaurant opening for the evening.
Specialty
1st Place Winner
Sarah Smyth, John J. Smyth Ltd, Medford, MA
Entry Description: A novel idea turned into wallpaper! A dream home and a treasure called blue prints. Paper the walls with the original blueprints. The idea was there but the know-how and putting this idea to work came from the installer. The 84 year old blueprints were delicate and needed special care, liner paper, proper handling and measuring. In the end the blueprints were no longer clutter in the attic but had a beautiful and unique new life as wallpaper in a dream home.
2nd Place Winner
Michael Kelly, Michael J. Kelly & Son, Wayne, PA
Entry Description: Imagine a hand painted mural on jute muslin cloth that had to be soaked, shrunk and ironed before the sealer and paint could be applied. The three panels were 12 feet wide and 20 feet long, the center panel measured 12 feet wide and 24 inches long and the rear panel measured 12 feet wide by 18 feet long and the border was 130 linear feet by 12 inches wide. From the engineering of the scaffolding to the precise careful installation of a one-of a—kind hand painted mural (worth a year’s salary) to the precise installation that afforded no room for error, this was a challenge for the strong at heart. Opting for a dry hang method and using a man lift with a sono tube, allowed the installer to drape the material and position in the precise location. Laser ,lines, push pins and use of the proper adhesive were also essential compnenets. Due to the overwhelming size of the mural and the fact that it was installed on a two story foyer ceiling, experience and skill were proven to be a factor in this 96 man- hour job. The installer was offered ( by the artist) future installations in Italy as the job was truly a work of art.
Honorable Mention
Phil Reinhard, Reinhard Wallcoverings, Galloway, NJ and Cliff Hayes, Best paperhanging Company, Farmingdale, NJ
Entry Description:Misprint…misprint…misprint. The mural measured over 250 feet in length and 18 feet high. The location was a high-end clothing store so work needed to be done at night and everything needed to be set for business during the day. Removal was the first big headache as the substrate disintegrated and the poor condition of the walls meant the entire 4500 square floor surface had to be skim coated. Then the installers found that the mural was printed out of scale. Reprint. Then another printing error and another delay; then a shading problem and another reprint. Luckily the installers were able to catch the problems before installation. These professionals were able to overcome obstacle after obstacle, making corrections as needed and complete a spectacular display.
2010 Contest
Entry forms for the 2010 Winning Walls with Wallcovering contest will be available in the spring of 2010. Bring your camera and start taking those photographs before, during, and after, as you never know when that one project may turn out to be a winner.
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