Ever wondered where your Resene wallpaper comes from?

11 Jun 2025

If you’ve ever admired that pattern on your walls and thought, “How do they even make this stuff?”, you’re not alone. Turns out, your beautiful wallpaper might have started its life right here in New Zealand.

Aspiring Walls is New Zealand’s own wallpaper factory, and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere, where tradition meets technology to bring you the designs you love. From hand-mixed colours to embossing machines older than your first car, it’s a fascinating process that’s just as detailed as the wallpaper itself.

Aspiring Walls have been crafting exceptional wallpapers since the 1960s, using the same trusted conventional machinery that’s stood the test of time. The process is a blend of tradition, skill and precision.

“We started in 1960, so 65 years old this year,” says Neil Macdonald, owner of Aspiring Walls. “In the sixties we made more rolls of wallpaper in a year than the NZ population.”

Neil knows these machines inside and out and has been working on them since he was 16 years old – that’s 51 years on hands-on expertise! “I have worked here for 51 years and met my wife Tanya here at work,” he says. “My wife, three of my four daughters, my granddaughter and grandson all work in the business.”

First steps

Each project begins with a work order that sets the skilled team of six into motion. These experts have end-to-end knowledge of the entire manufacturing process – a rare and valuable trait in today’s production world.

Before a single pattern is printed, the team begins by colour-matching inks completely by eye – an impressive skill that requires precision and experience. Using a reference card, they mix the perfect shades to bring each design to life.

Gravure printing

The Gravure press is where the wallpaper starts to visually form. Each job uses up to eight cylinders, with each one adding a specific part of the design – think petals, leaves and branches. These are aligned perfectly using our press’s built-in register system, auto adjusting to stay in fit.

“Our Cerutti gravure printing machine was opened in 1974 by the Hon Robert Muldoon, the machine cost ¼ million dollars then,” says Neil.

Hot emboss

Next, the printed wallpaper passes through our hot emboss machine, heated to between 250°C – 300°C. The wallpaper is pressed against a heavy emboss cylinder that leaves a textured imprint, giving the wallpaper its luxurious, tactile finish. Once cooled, the wallpaper is wound into rolls.

Digital printing

Digital print is a newer way of printing and has endless benefits especially when paired with the conventional manufacturing processes. The digital print method operates separately from traditional printing. What makes Aspiring Walls' approach unique is that they first emboss the paper using conventional techniques – a rare step in digital printing. From there, each design is digitally printed and trimmed, allowing for endless customisation and small-batch runs. Every digital job is made to order, making each print one of a kind.

Every machine, every step and every person in the factory is dedicated to delivering a product that doesn’t just decorate – it tells a story of craftsmanship, history and innovation.

Neils top wallpaper tips:

• ·       Wall preparation is critical and is usually less than 10% of the cost of the project.
  
• ·       Be bold in your choices, porridge fades quicker than tropical gardens.
• ·       Take your time, there is no hurry.
• ·       Paste-the-Wall wallcoverings are easy to do and extremely satisfying to install and to be proud of.
• ·       Ask the staff at your local Resene ColorShop, they know the answer to your questions or at least where to get it.
• ·       Use Aspiring Walls website to search what wallcovering you are looking for, then the room visualiser to see how it looks on your walls, there are around 6,000 to choose from.
• ·       Make it truly personal using Resene WallPrint for your customised wallcovering, anything, any size, any scale and any colour.
• ·       You can manipulate a space with wallpaper, running a strip sideways to give the appearance of elongating the wall width.
• ·       NZ made Paste-the-Wall wallpaper is very durable, I have had it on the bonnet of my car for over a year, in the weather and the car wash! 

Next time you’re admiring a bold floral or textured finish on your walls, you’ll know there’s a whole lot of heart, history and hands-on skill behind it. Thanks to Aspiring Walls and Resene ColorShops, your wallpaper isn’t just made in New Zealand – it’s made with pride.

Published: 11 Jun 2025