Fired Earth announces major paint launch in collaboration with the National Trust

We're excited to announce that Fired Earth has launched the National Trust paint collection, building on our 2009 campaign to raise money to support the Trust's work and further strengthening our ongoing relationship with them.

The new palette – comprising 36 gorgeous, subtle, harmonious and timeless colours perfect for today’s home – is inspired by the wealth of beauty within the National Trust’s historic houses and gardens and has been created by revisiting the organic earth shades of the past to inspire the creation of colours for today.

Colours in the range are soft, muted and offer a rich, sometimes chalky finish. From the beautiful White Garden at Sissinghurst to humble back-to-back terraces in Birmingham, the Trust’s archives have been used as the inspiration for this truly unique collection.

Colours have been found in unusual places. For example, Cooks Cream was inspired by the shade of original shelving found inside a cupboard at Upton House in Warwickshire. The inspiration for Strangford came from the evening light over the waters of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland.

The paint collection – the only one approved and authorised by the National Trust – has been carefully developed to meet the ethical and environmental standards of both Fired Earth and the National Trust and all colours and finishes fall into the minimal VOC level category.

The water-based paint comes in two finishes – Hardwearing Emulsion, a specially formulated washable high-opacity paint which dries to a tough, flat matt finish, perfect for use in high-traffic areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms and hallways and Acrylic Eggshell, a tough paint specially formulated for use on woodwork and trims to resist moisture, staining and general wear and tear.

Fired Earth has an ongoing relationship with the National Trust and has been supporting its work through donations from the sale of its hugely successful Colour by Kevin McCloud paint collection.

Rob Whitaker from Fired Earth said: “We are excited the National Trust has chosen to work with Fired Earth on this very special paint collection. We believe the work of the Trust is hugely important and are delighted to be working with them on this very exciting project.”

Christine Sitwell, the Trust’s Paintings and Painted Surfaces Conservation Adviser, said: “Colour is everywhere in the National Trust, from the smallest detail of plasterwork in a huge ceiling to the pure colour of white snapdragons against a lichen-covered wall in the garden.

“Inspired by the possibilities of this large palette of colours, Fired Earth has created 36 paints which really capture the colour, mood or spirit of the National Trust.”

The paint will be competitively priced at £15.50 for 750ml of acrylic eggshell and £31.50 for 2.5 litres of hardwearing emulsion and will be available from Fired Earth’s 55 stores nationwide and online at www.firedearth.com from 17th May 2010.