Swim Through Enchanting Waters With Craig Bragdy Design

After years of producing ceramic murals, a small family business that began in the ‘50s has skyrocketed to international success. Considered today as a leader in the large handmade ceramic murals market and specializing in swimming pool design, Craig Bragdy Design has honed its values, expertise and keen ability to listen to its clients. And it all began in a converted flour mill in the quaint town of Denbigh, North Wales.

The voice of Shon Powell exudes excitement and nostalgia as he begins to tell the charming story of the successful rise of Craig Bragdy Design, a company that was founded by his artistic parents more than five decades ago.

Still a fairly small, yet growing ceramic tile company, it was in 1985 when Craig Bragdy Design realized its potential to expand onto untreaded waters: swimming pool design.

The idea was unearthed when a wealthy citizen in the Middle East noticed that the ceramic tiles in his swimming pool were bleeding colour. Confiding his troubles to a friend, the man was put in contact with Craig Bragdy Design, which deftly fixed the problem by expertly installing high-quality ceramic tiles to replace his old, worn ones. The urban clay tiles they positioned at the bottom of the pool immediately stood out. They were painstakingly handmade, beautifully painted and when put together, formed the image of a delicately crafted Persian rug, bursting with splendid colours and intricate, patterned details fit for a king.

Shon began working with his parents at the tender age of 16, by helping his mother and father mould ceramic pots in their makeshift manufacturing plant in a flour mill in the small town of Denbigh, North Wales. His mother, Jean, had been a gifted art teacher at a local university, where she met Rhys, a mature student who left the Navy to study art. The pair eventually married and had four children: Simon, Nick, Shon and Ianto.

Jean left teaching soon after and with her husband began crafting ceramic pots for customers in Wales. The Powell couple started off slowly and soon enough, their productions caught the eye of the public.

It all began with a simple request for a handmade, ceramic plaque to be offered as a wedding gift. Shortly after, increasing requests for portraits, murals and plaques came forth and almost overnight, the Powell family witnessed a rising demand for their creations from residents across North Wales.

Because of the influx, the Powell family decided to relocate their business to a factory in the local industrial area. Before doing so, they had worked from the flour mill and then from their home, which inspired the name of the company. The Powell family home was a “craig bragdy,” which translates to rock brewery in Welsh. At the time, Craig Bragdy Design began producing work for the U.K. government, until the oil crisis caused a government cutback in artwork. But that didn’t stop Craig Bragdy Design: it moved forth by adorning entrance foyers with large murals for commercial buildings.

Throughout the years, Craig Bragdy Design has caught the attention of an eclectic mix of clients, mostly heads of states from the Middle East, members of royal families, private individuals and wealthy entrepreneurs.

At 49, Shon is a director at Craig Bragdy Design and oversees production for clients from Russia and the Middle East. His brother Nick, who joined the company at a young age after completing a photography course, is also a director, and has been handling clients (mostly successful business people) from the U.S.

“We started getting work from the Middle East and then it spread to the Far East: Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei and now in America we are doing quite a few,” says Shon.

It’s not just about your economical status, says Shon. He explains that the idea of highlighting your pool to impress your family and guests is a design method that appeals to those who are passionate about one-of-a-kind artwork – it’s for those who are looking to reach outside the conventional box of having a regular pool.

“People want something a little bit different, a bit unusual from the norm. [It’s for] those who want to make their pool a feature; it’s for people who are looking for something unique.

And unique is exactly what Craig Bragdy Design is known for. From designing waterworlds replete with symmetry and bursts of colour and dazzling embellishments, a pool designed by Craig Bragdy Design has the power to transport you and your guests to a different world.

Swimming with charming mahi-mahi through waters illuminated by precious diamonds and gems, staring in the eyes of a Great White Shark, or splashing in the waves of a Caribbean beach are fantasies come true with a design crafted by this leader in ceramic murals.

Also, if your pool is shallow with a flat bottom, or if you want to evoke an atmosphere of serenity, an expertly designed mural married with deceptive lighting can feign depth and comfort.

When asked what the most unusual request has been, Shon laughs and tells about how Craig Bragdy Design was commissioned to design a New York taxi cab at the bottom of a pool for a customer. Another client asked for mermaids, with specific faces.

“We do like it when we get unusual requests,” says Shon, who loves the challenge and encourages unusual requests because they are a personal reflection of an individual’s character and needs. His job entails a lot of travelling, but the most integral part of the job, says Shon, revolves around reassuring his clients that Craig Bragdy Design is there to produce what they want into a reality.

“It’s not our design, it’s working with the customer,” says Shon. “We create a design based on what the customer tells us. They tell us what to do and what they want, what they are looking for. And it’s only after talking – a lot of communication goes on between clients and ourselves – before the completion of the design.”

Perhaps it’s the uniqueness of what this company has to offer. After all, it does have a tight grip on a niche market that no other company comes close to. But Shon doesn’t agree.

“The quality of the artwork is first and foremost. We know that we produce good quality art work. We take our time in our initial design proposal, we show them samples, pictures – we show [the client] what they are actually buying,” says Shon.

And since murals are all handmade using high-quality urban clay, Shon adds: “The work we have done 25 years ago still looks beautiful.”
The company today has grown into a skilled team of 60 designers, artists, mural makers and installers who have developed and produced unimaginable masterpieces.

Jean still lives in the Powell family home and continues to hold the title of designer-in-chief. Her husband Rhys past away 13 years ago and had excellent sales skills, says son Shon.

If you compare its success to the amount of employees, Craig Bragdy Design is small. And because of this, it can only complete about 15 pools a year. “When we are too busy, we say we’re too busy,” says Shon. But every mural they design, either small, large, abstract or pictorial, is always executed with a deeply embedded approach, as well as a consideration for architectural space.

“We have a lot of respect from a number of different clients who come back to us. We know how to give really good customer service,” says the hard-working director.

Shon chuckles while recalling the story of a particular client. “We had a client who ordered work from us in the south of Spain for a very large villa. The artwork was such a talking point in her home that people wanted to know where she got the work from. But the client did not want anyone else to have work as nice as hers and refused to tell them. But one of her friends was determined to find us and eventually, after 12 months, she did. And then ordered a mural for her pool which of course, was much bigger than her friend’s!”

When asked how he defines living la dolce vita, Shon pauses, but then responds on behalf of Craig Bragdy Design. “Our dolce vita is created by loving the work that we do, having the opportunity to travel the world and meet different people from different walks of life and also from having a very strong and a close family who respects and enjoys family values.”

When it comes to explaining if he ever thought Craig Bragdy Design would skyrocket to success, Shon is humble yet confident in his explanation.

“Not at all, not in a million years. But we are quite convinced – because my brother goes to America and I go to the Far East – that there is no one in the world that produces handmade ceramic designs on the scale that we produce work. We ensure that the quality of the artwork that we produce and the customer service we give is of the highest standard.”

As for the future, Craig Bragdy Design is looking forward to creating artwork for Canadian clients. www.craigbragdydesign.co.uk

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Gallery 3: Shon, six, slicing the clay and brother Nick, nine, pressing the clay over the plaster mould.

Gallery 4: Shon Powell–director of Craig Bragdy Design.

Gallery 5: Jean finishes a terracotta figure as the pottery business takes off.

Gallery 6: Jean, now in her 70s but as imaginative and productive as ever, continues in her role as designer-in-chief.

Gallery 7: Nick Powell–director of Craig Bragdy Design.

Gallery 8: A spectacular coral reef where life-sized marlin chase mahi mahi into the rock caves.

Gallery 9: This handmade, symmetrical design carries the individuality and nuances of an antique Persian rug.

Gallery 10: The vast ceramic palette of color is supremely suited to recreating this underwater theme.

Gallery 11: An ornamental water feature with a Yucca tree mural, attracting butterflies and humming birds.