Early 2012

Building the Faux Fireplace in the Showroom

The Strategic Move to Brisbane and the Emergence of a Physical Identity

In 2012, the entire family, including Richard, Bryce, their parents, and Bryce’s new girlfriend, relocated to Brisbane, Queensland’s capital with a population of approximately 2.2 million. The move was prompted by the idea that they needed to be in a location where trade customers could easily visit them, rather than being tucked away in a small country town.

They leased a commercial space in Sumner Park on the city’s outskirts, sharing the facility with an electrical engineer named Roc. Roc evolved into a treasured family friend and mentor, imparting valuable business wisdom to Richard and Bryce. Their neighbors were all family-business owners, and their landlord’s family were butchers with a lineage tracing back to mid-19th century London. This close-knit community of industrious individuals understood their struggles, having walked a similar path themselves.

In a significant development in August 2012, they proudly installed an IMGS sign above their business’s entrance, a tangible emblem of their hard-earned success.

The production aspect of the business saw an upgrade, too – they purchased an automatic Fotoba trimmer, which would trim the wallpaper very accurately down the sides, creating butt joins. Gone were the days of double-cut installs for their wallpaper, it was a simple as paste, place, go! Together, Hunter and the boys constructed a massive 40 foot table, on which they hand rolled each wallpaper roll and packaged them (professionally, with a logo on the box and everything!) before dropping them off at the local depot for delivery.