Bolon, the Swedish family-owned design company, celebrates 75 years of pioneering sustainable practices in the design industry. Since its inception in 1949, Bolon has been at the forefront of transforming waste into premium woven flooring and rugs, revolutionising the way we perceive sustainable design.
From the outset, Bolon embarked on a mission to repurpose textile waste into stylish rag rugs, setting the stage for decades of sustainable innovation. Today, Bolon proudly announces a ground-breaking achievement – all products now contain an impressive 68% waste material, with zero climate impact per square metre.
Operating from its climate-neutral factory in Ulricehamn, Sweden, Bolon has made a bold decision to integrate sustainability into every aspect of its operations, abstaining from the concept of a separate green collection. Instead, sustainability is ingrained in every product, reflecting the company’s unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship.
Bolon is one of the only climate-neutral commercial flooring brands where all collections are climate neutral without the need to offset carbon. Production is in its climate-neutral factory in Ulricehamn, Sweden.
In 2020, Bolon set an ambitious goal to halve its climate impact and ensure that all products contain at least 50% recycled material by 2028. Through strategic investments in talent and technology, Bolon is proud to announce that it has surpassed this goal, offering 68% recycled material across its entire product range.
“Sustainability has always been embedded in the DNA of the brand. With the implementation of BIO-sourced PVC, recycled PVC, and recycled chalk from marble slab production, we have not only exceeded our goals but also achieved zero climate impact. This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to sustainable innovation.” – Marie Eklund, CEO and owner of Bolon.
As innovators in the design industry, Bolon remains steadfast in its mission to thrill the world with brave innovation for a sustainable design experience. With 75 years of pushing recycling boundaries, Bolon continues to inspire change and set new standards for sustainable design practices.
About Bolon UK
Bolon specialise in the creation of high-performance design floorings. They believe in design for the long run. Where durability and aesthetics are equally important. Where effortless cleanability and maintenance comes naturally, and honest sustainability stands above it all.
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Bolon, the renowned Swedish flooring company, is set to make a significant splash at Clerkenwell Design Week with three exciting events showcasing their latest innovations and sustainability achievements.
Experience Bolon’s Graphic collection, a fusion of contemporary flair and timeless elegance. This avant-garde concept combines nostalgia with cutting-edge style, offering a range of flooring that endure the test of time. Experience the unveiling of this remarkable collection at the Bolon showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week.
In a bold move towards sustainability, Bolon has achieved a ground-breaking milestone. All Bolon floorings are climate neutral manufactured in Bolon’s climate neutral factory, in Ulricehamn, Sweden and contain 68% recycled material with 0% climate impact.
Join Bolon as they celebrate this achievement in collaboration with Jestico + Whiles at the Bolon showroom courtyard, Sutton Yard. A sustainable installation that embodies their commitment to environmental responsibility.
Embark on an exclusive journey into the Bolon lifestyle at the newly refurbished Bolon Urban House London. By appointment only, guests will have the opportunity to experience a taste of the Bolon lifestyle first-hand, a fusion of design, comfort and sustainability that defines Bolon. Featuring artwork by @AnnicaEklundStudio, furniture by @DustyDeco and a captivating bedroom transformation inspired by Villa La Madonna, Bolon’s boutique vineyard and hotel.
Dates: May 21st – May 23rd, 2024 Time: 09:00 – 20:00 Locations: Bolon Showroom, Courtyard at Sutton Yard, Bolon Urban House London
Don’t miss out on this extraordinary opportunity to discover design and sustainability with Bolon at Clerkenwell Design Week. For more information and to schedule appointments, please contact [email protected]
About BOLON UK
Bolon specialise in the creation of high-performance design floorings. They believe in design for the long run. Where durability and aesthetics are equally important. Where effortless cleanability and maintenance comes naturally, and honest sustainability stands above it all. Produced using 100% renewable energy and recycled materials, Bolon’s high quality flooring solutions are specified for contract interiors, featuring in the offices of renowned brands around the world. When you design interiors with Bolon flooring as a base, you are set with an extensive palette of colours, shapes and patterns – making the design possibilities endless.
In March, Bolon is relaunching Graphic, a design concept that is contemporary, nostalgic, and avant-garde – all at once. The updated collection retains several of its classics and adds a stripe design and a new leathery warp colour.
“Weaves and textiles have always been a great source of inspiration for me! The designs in Graphic can be derived from a selection of classic textile patterns”, says Lisa Jarhult, Product Developer and Designer at Bolon.
The collection consists of four timeless patterns: Herringbone, a true classic zigzag pattern, Gradient that celebrates eclectic aesthetics with soft textile references, String, Mache, Tan, Etch a group with a discrete pattern that has the ability to blend in without ever being ordinary, and the newcomer, Duo, a symmetric stripe that is both elegant and edgy.
“The new pattern Duo has a subtle colour range with three colours, but each has its own expression – one crisp, one soft and one spicy. In developing the new warp colour, we were looking for a colour with the perfect balance of a comforting, soft brown and spicy orange. Just like the name Cinnamon indicates, we found a warm, sweet neutral colour with confidence!” says Lisa.
Effortless combinations can be made within the collection, and Graphic also opens up for new exciting matches with other Bolon flooring and rugs.
All Bolon flooring and rugs contain 68% waste material with 0% climate impact. On top of that, all products are 100% made in Sweden in our climate-neutral production.
Available worldwide now!
Recycling lies at the core of Bolon’s history. Over 70 years ago, the company was founded with the bold idea to create woven flooring out of waste materials. Unlike many others, we go beyond offering a limited eco-collection and instead incorporate recycled materials into all of our products.
To support our commitment to recycling, we have invested in a state-of-the-art integrated recycling facility. This facility efficiently handles all waste materials generated during the production process. In addition to recycling our own waste, we also buy waste from other companies. In 2022 alone the recycling plant processed 1,100 tons of waste, transforming it into new floors.
“I am proud that our sustainability work covers all our products and not just selected niche collections. This means that when it comes to sustainability work, Bolon is the global industry leader”, says Marie Eklund, CEO.
In 2023 the average recycled material content in Bolon’s floors was 28%, a number that increases yearly.
When broken down by product types, rolls and rugs contain 22% recycled material, tiles contain 31%, and acoustic flooring boasts an impressive 32% recycled content. Our acoustic flooring goes even further by incorporating post-consumer waste from PET bottles in the felt backing. In 2022, a remarkable 70 tons of post-consumer waste were utilized in the production process.
Our dedication to recycling ensures that Bolon flooring not only exhibits stunning design and durability but also reduces environmental impact by reutilising materials effectively.
Read more about Bolon’s sustainability work here!
Join BOLON at their showroom for an exclusive evening of inspiration and discovery with their Head of Sustainability Håkan Nordin and design journalist Roddy Clarke. Håkan will share his invaluable insights and the latest groundbreaking developments, while inviting you to indulge in innovative, wild and sustainable food by Native.
Curated shapes for hyper-personalised flooring. A reshaped Bolon concept, now with endless possibilities.
“Our relaunched Bolon Studio is creativity at its best. Playful, and clever! Introducing new shapes – making this concept a designer’s tool with endless possibilities for hyper-personalised flooring. Very Bolonish as we say”, says Klara Persson, Head of Product Management.
Simple shapes at first glance… But when put together these curated tiles build mind-blowing immersive expressions, by mixing and matching textures and colours from the Bolon collections! A woven flooring renaissance making use of the direction of the weft and warp to reflect light while playing with spatial intelligence.
Bolon Studio is stepping onto eternal geometry. At Bolon dreamers and innovators come together to reinvent – big bangs are ever only created when worlds collide. This time geometric, graphic, and organic shapes resurface as super creative flooring.
“In reality, all shapes already exist out there in the universe. Creativity is the ability to combine existing ideas and make new ones. What we have created with the Bolon Studio concept is a tool to reshape the world of flooring”, says Lisa Jarhult, Product Developer and Designer at Bolon.
New dimensions to shape things up and make any floor a fantasy-come-true. See for yourself!
About Bolon
Bolon is a Swedish design company specialising in innovative and sustainable flooring and rug solutions for public spaces. Under the leadership of sisters Annica and Marie Eklund, the third-generation family business has transformed from a traditional weaving mill into an international design brand with clients such as Armani, Google, Four Seasons Hotels, Chanel, Adidas, Apple and Missoni Home. With a strong commitment to sustainability, Bolon designs and manufactures all products in its facility using only renewable energy. The company has gained worldwide recognition for their award-winning design, superior quality, and collaborations with some of the world’s most acclaimed innovators and creatives.
Following the success of Bolon’s Bold Women in Design series, in partnership with L&L Lectures, Bolon is delighted to invite you to a 5-part programme of evening lectures on Scandinavian Design.
They will be exploring the development of Nordic Design, from the National Romantic movement c.1900 to the distinctive modernism of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and from the organic forms of the Post-War period to the colourful vibrancy and experimental forms of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The work of key figures, including Alvar Aalto, Tapio Wirkkala, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Oiva Toikka, Gunnel Nyman, Ingeborg Lundin and Kaj Frank and of companies such as Iittala, Orrefors and Svenskt Tenn, are considered within their social and cultural context.
Drinks, nibbles and mingle at 17:45. Lectures take place 18:30 – 19:30.
WEEK 1: 18 April. National Romanticism and Nordic Design, Dr Lis Darby.
WEEK 2: 25 April. Scandinavia: Approaches to Modernist Furniture Design, Dr Lis Darby.
WEEK 3: 2 May. ’Swedish Grace’ and Inter-War Glass, Ceramics and Metalwork, Lis Bogdan.
WEEK 4: 9 May. The Golden Years: Post-War to Pop Furniture, Dr Lis Darby.
WEEK 5: 16 May. Beauty and Functionalism: More Post-War Design, Lis Bogdan.
Participants can choose to take the entire series, or dip in and out. SBID Members earn 1 x CPD Point (per lecture) for attending!
Sustainable Swedish design company, Bolon, has expanded its long-standing and best-selling collections, Artisan and Botanic, with new colourways, which were unveiled at the brand’s Clerkenwell showroom for London Design Festival.
Inspired by traditional craftsmanship, yet produced using innovative fibres, Artisan is a fusion of old and new. Designed for high-traffic areas, such as offices and hospitality spaces, the collection has been selected for use in a diverse range of projects, both in the UK and internationally.
Bolon has now expanded the collection with ten new dynamic and lively colourways, that complement the existing collection’s vibrant and expressive energy and add to the brand’s portfolio.
Play is a summery and vivid orange that looks stunning on a larger scale. Love is an intensely warm red. Alive and happy, it is bursting with energy. Fresh is a cool, almost transparent green that appears new and thrilling when paired with natural tones. A deep green, Wild, has the capacity to soften other hues. The one-of-a-kind, yellow toned green shade, Spring, shines and brings other colours to life. True is a noble blue that complements the red options within the Artisan collection. Water is a brave colour that appears youthful and energising. Ink is a deep blue, nearly black tone, that appears neither sharp nor silky when combined with other colours. A powerful and assured black, Noir, can stand alone or be styled with neutrals or brights. The collection is completed with Chalky, a shade between beige and grey, that is nearly white with a feather-like sensation.
Inspired by the natural world, the Botanic collection consists of a varied range of soft, warm and intelligent tones. Having proved popular since its launch, Bolon has now expanded the collection’s colour palette with eight new shades that transcend what first meets the eye.
Blanche is creamy and mild and brings a sophisticated softness that belongs to a new kind of luxury. Caramel and golden, Honey, is thoughtful with a natural warmth. It is a new type of beige with its own identity. Rich and dreamy, Chestnut is an intriguing kind of brown and an elegant evolution of colour. Inspired by the desert, Canyon is a heated terracotta. The reddish-brown tone adds timelessness to any room. Attractive and compelling, Vintage is both soft and dark and is the colour of the full moon. Rain is a refined blue tone with a hint of purple, which reflects how rainwater can shimmer. Fresh and nourishing, Spearmint, is a brightening colour, which can work like a white tone, as it contrasts and enhances. Library is supreme and luxurious. Just as the name suggests, it is a classic green.
Throughout LDF, the new Artisan and Botanic colour palettes were displayed at Bolon’s Clerkenwell showroom, as part of a collaborative installation of furniture, flooring and lighting, created in partnership with Moooi.
Cathrine Ahlenius, Head of Research and Design at Bolon commented, “Artisan and Botanic each have their own identity. Artisan is a lively and expressive collection and the Botanic range is soft and warm with intelligent tones. We want to highlight those characteristics with new colours that provide more combination possibilities, both within the collections and with other items in Bolon’s product portfolio.”
Sarah Herman, Marketing Director at Bolon UK, added, “We are delighted to introduce the new colourways for these popular collections.”
Headquartered in Sweden but globally renowned, Bolon is passionate about sustainability which is woven into the brand’s DNA. Botanic is made in Sweden, only with renewable energy and using a mixture of recycled and new material. The designs are available in roll, 50x50cm tiles and as Bolon Studio tiles.
Cover image: Bolon Circle, Ivory, Garnet, Quartz
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Only a few days before London Design Festival returns on Saturday 17 September! For a whole week, LDF will celebrate and promote the city as a design capital on the global stage, offering an expansive programme of over 13 design disciplines, ranging from digital design and art, to landscape, interiors and materials.
Are you ready to dive into the world of design? Read the SBID’s helpful guide to the festival to plan your diary, get inspired and engage with the design industry. Ensure you don’t miss any important events and CPD sessions from SBID members!
London Design Festival 2022
Where: Multiple venues across London
When: 17 – 25 September
Arper joins LDF in celebrating the city’s creativity in newly restyled London showroom to present its latest 2022 collections with a range of engaging events and creative activities across Clerkenwell Design Trail.
Learn more
An immersive installation of pioneering designs showcases objects developed by Zaha Hadid Design over the past 15 years. The exhibition fills the sculptural spaces of the striking gallery designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2011.
Kohler invites you to explore their recently refurbished London showroom in Clerkenwell, attend an exclusive Breakfast Meeting with networking, talk and tour, and discover the latest product innovations in the KBB sector.
Parkside are hosting a Breakfast Club with live CPD event alongside fresh pastries and coffee as part of the Clerkenwell Design Trail! Unlock knowledge on tiling patterns, innovations in sustainable materials and how to specify bespoke surfaces.
House of Rohl’s networking brunch in partnership with SBID will bring together a collection of luxury kitchen and bathroom brands and provide an opportunity to meet peers and exchange ideas.
VitrA London showroom will run a series of free virtual reality CPD experience sessions, where they will turn bathroom designs into 4-D, enabling people to explore a fully immersive virtual bathroom space.
RAK Ceramics Design Hub is an interactive and immersive environment to inspire – explore the latest in bathroom designs, materials, finishes and colours with exclusive showroom tour, showcasing RAK Ceramics ranges, kitchen taps, and brassware.
Drop by Karndean’s Commercial Showroom to grab a mocktail or a bite to eat, meet the team and view an exclusive collection preview – take a first look at their new abstract flooring designs launching this autumn!
EDGE presents a variety of products, installations, CPDs, workshops, talks and events surrounding sustainable design, highlighting the industry’s best in circular products and materials for living and working spaces.
VitrA is hosting an immersive colour experience using artwork by Carnovsky, which experiments with the interaction between colour in print and light form.
Bolon is showcasing their latest products, celebrating the launch of new colour palettes for their bestselling collections, and holding a variety of talks on sustainability during the London Design Festival week.
The art of high-tech returns as Cosentino celebrates breathtaking new collections at the Cosentino City Showroom. Presenting award-winning carbon neutral materials with ‘DJ Nadia Noudle’ and tapas.
Bolon is hosting a CPD session led by Bolon’s visionary Head of Sustainability Håkan Nordin to learn about how Bolon’s experience in sustainable design has informed their approach and understanding of the circular economy today.
EDGE (Eco Design Green Environment) is celebrating their first anniversary with a short talks programme focusing on sustainability and regenerative thinking.
If you’d like to publish your news or features with SBID, get in touch to find out more.
If you’d like to join our community and become Accredited, click here for more information.
The company was originally founded in Stockholm in 1949, by Nils Erik Eklund, who came up with the idea of recycling textile offcuts into woven rag rugs. In many ways, our founder was ahead of his time and his ability to see an opportunity where others couldn’t still inspires us. Today, his granddaughters Annica and Marie keep this same spirit alive but since they took over the company from their parents Lars and Monica in 2003, they have also been on a mission – to make Bolon a design-led innovator and fuse the conservative, traditional flooring industry with the boundless creativity of the world of fashion. Under their leadership, business has transformed from a traditional weaving mill into an international design brand with clients such as Armani, Google, Four Seasons Hotels, Chanel, Adidas, Apple and Missoni Home and we’ve collaborated with world-renowned designers and architects. We are proud of our progress, but our story continues – we want to keep moving forward and innovating, creating sustainable, world leading flooring and rug solutions.
We have a team of people, both in the UK and internationally, who work closely with interior designers to keep them abreast of our new products. We aim to offer the best service possible every step of the way, including quick and efficient technical, design and sample support.
Innovation, inspiration and unique flooring and rug products.
Bolon creates beautiful flooring and rugs that stay looking that way, even after years of use. Our multiple custom options mean that there is a unique solution for each project a designer is working on, depending on the requirements of the client.
Sustainability is a big part of our DNA and we are proud of our impressive sustainability credentials. We have noticed that these are of increasing interest to all interior designers, and we’re thrilled that this has become such an important part of how designers work. It is also essential that our flooring and rugs are long lasting, so the cleanability of our flooring is also of increasing interest. Designers and their clients need flooring and rugs that are practical, as well as beautiful. People have had bad experiences with flooring that is not cleanable and therefore looks tired quickly after very little use, so they love how easy our flooring is to clean.
We’ve also noticed a number of requests for rugs that can be used both inside and outdoors.
Questions answered by Sarah Herman, Director, Bolon UK.
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