James Latham partners with CLEAF

This landmark agreement between James Latham and CLEAF, one of the world’s most sought-after and innovative decorative surface brands,  sees the market-leading independent distributor become the UK and Ireland’s sole- supplier of CLEAF’s entire catalogue.

The collaboration opens up access to CLEAF’s extensive range of premium melamines, laminates, and matching edgings, nationwide. Comprising a stocked collection of over 100 attractive finishes in a variety of different tones, colours, and patterns, plus a ‘made to order’ option on thousands of additional combinations. these panels are now only available from James Latham’s 11 strategically-located timber and panel depots.

Image credit: James Latham / CLEAF

“James Latham has consistently proven itself as a distribution partner that truly understands our materials, and the audiences we want to engage with.,” commented Roberto Caspani, Managing Director at CLEAF. “It has a widespread reach across the decorative surface markets and we look forward to building awareness of CLEAF with them, to increase our share of the market”.

“CLEAF is one of the most sophisticated and stylish décors brands on the market, which keeps on raising the bar in terms of ‘premium’ within the category,” added Nick Widlinski, Panels Director at James Latham. “As the appetite for luxury interiors continues to grow for residential and commercial design space, we see CLEAF as an aspirational product that will offer the right balance of form and function, achieving almost any look whilst delivering a robust, easy-to-maintain finish”.

Similar to James Latham, CLEAF has a long track record of delivering best-in-class products and services. Founded in 1975 in Lissone, Italy, by the Caspani Family, which still owns and operates the business, the brand has become respected and celebrated by hospitality designers for the uncompromisingly high-quality of its surfaces.

Image credit: James Latham / CLEAF

What sets it apart is that its products are manufactured using specialised processing techniques which create deeply textured surfaces, making them nearly indistinguishable from the natural materials they mimic, such as woodgrains, natural stone, burnished metals, fluted marble and even plush, full grain leathers.
In addition, the proprietary detailing technique also makes each panel incredibly robust, with the decorative layers tightly bonded to a stable and sustainable chipboard substrate. This means it’s suitable for almost any built-in or free-standing furniture application, whether an ultra-cool bar in a five-star hotel or the sophisticated built-in wardrobes for a palatial penthouse.

Yet CLEAF never rests on its laurels, always striving for perfection. Evocative of its roots in the European ‘Capital of Design’, it’s also a brand that’s always ahead of the zeitgeist, regularly consulting with some of the world’s leading designers to develop ‘the next big thing’ for high-end interior décors specification.

“It’s this pioneering spirit, shared by James Latham, that makes this a perfect partnership. Like CLEAF, we’re well known for pushing the envelope and launching industry firsts which often become the norm,” concluded Widlinski. “Like them, we’re constantly engaging with our audiences to offer them the very best, highest quality possible across everything we do. Both organisations benefit from this collaboration, reinforcing our positions as the premium proposition within our markets, only working with like-for-like businesses2.

CLEAF surfaces are now available exclusively through James Latham. A Clerkenwell showroom will also follow later in 2024, allowing visitors to witness the outstanding surfaces in person.

James Latham is one of our Recommended Suppliers and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our Recommended Suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.

Main image credit: James Latham / CLEAF