Our People

After tackling general management roles in time and motion study, timber milling and retailing, the Egg Board, production management, receiving numerous awards for new car sales leadership, and hanging wallpaper in his spare time, Barry decided to devote his life in service to the wall covering industry.

Barry purchased Hume Internationale from a relative and close family friend in 1986 and since then has experienced all the industry has to offer.  From sourcing unique suede coverings to furnish a run down Arts Centre, numerous Hotels, office and shop refurbishments or fit outs, to redefining retail, repairing cracked surfaces on Heritage buildings, and reinventing children’s wall coverings,  he has been at the pointy end of the industry and survived. He has always said you can’t buy experience yet his purchase of Hume Internationale has delivered in spades. No-one knows the industry better.

Barry is absolutely passionate about the business of delivering; delivering the highest quality wall coverings and providing customers the best international range there is on offer!

Barry fast facts:

• What do you love about wall coverings:  The way in which they transform a surface and give it character.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage: The ranges we have on offer. No-one does it better.
• Where do you think the industry is headed: The industry is becoming more sophisticated and people are beginning to recognise the full value of wallpaper. This decade is about individuality and making your mark. Wallpaper serves this need, it creates individuality wherever it is placed.
   

Mitch finished school and, unlike most who retire to explore the world, set out to crawl through the bush as an Army Officer via Duntroon. 9 years later he set out again, this time to conquer the urban jungle; first oil logistics [Mobil], then transport sales  [Brambles] before stepping into retailing at Coles Myer. After 5 years he moved on to the diverse world of telecommunications [Telstra] where he spent over a decade expanding his customer marketing skills.  Mitch has spent his life slogging his way through the hard stuff to deliver big  results for both customers and organisations.  He really believes you only win if everyone wins, and has found more ways than most to bring this to life.

After years working for others, Mitch wanted to find a place with soul and joined Barry to drive this unique family business even further.  He has found the creative energy that wall coverings unleash, infectious; and cannot imagine being involved in any other industry. It’s a one way door, once you pass through, there is no way back.

Mitch fast facts:

• What do you love about wall coverings: I love the artistic energy they unlock. The designs available now allow building spaces to be transformed in ways previously unimaginable.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage: The way we do business.  We are in it for the long haul, we always put the relationship first, we only work with the best and will work harder than anyone else to deliver on our commitments.
• Where you think the industry is headed: The industry is expanding exponentially, people are opening up and exploring the visual domain in many new and diverse ways.  The Wallcovering industry allows this visual desire to be fully realised.
   

Peter left school, joined Hume Internationale in 1978 and learnt the business from the ground up. He started in the warehouse, moved into the office and then got out on the road covering the Vic/Tas market. Peter has seen the company through one ownership change, five location changes and watched its fortunes fall and rise with the movements in the market. He  can still remember the times when: retailers had warehouses full of wallpaper and every paint store sold wallpaper as a standard product. He has also watched customers struggling out of stores carrying enough wallpaper to cover two houses!  He knows what matters most in wall coverings; he may not tell you what you want to hear, but will always tell you what you need to hear.

Peter fast facts:

• What  do you love about wall coverings: I love the diversity, textures, and colours. Its not boring, it gives another dimension to a room. It makes a house a home.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage: The hands on approach, the wealth of organisation experience, we’ve been there  and done that, we will give you the right advice.
• Where do you think the industry is headed:  Wall coverings are going through a designer led renaissance. Paintablesare leading the way, we may be on the way back to the heady days of the ‘80’s. 

Terry started with Comdec Wallcoveringsin 1967 (a Division of ICI ) when they set up in Queensland and learned the industry from the ground up: working with paperhangers; selling in stores; and wholesaling as the business grew to establish a 60% Queensland market share over 9 years. Terry then moved on to manage Clunies Ross Fabric and Wallcoverings in 1976,establishing their flagship label Cottage Prints. His last corporate appointment gave him leadership of the Queensland operation of Ashley Wallcoverings, New Zealand before starting his own agency business in conjunction with his wife, Karen Cody as Cody and Clark Agencies in 1993.

Terry and Karen built their relationship with Hume Internationale as Cody + Clark Agencies grew into an operation representing not only the top wallcovering brands from overseas such as Marburg and Rasch but fabrics from Dedar, Sanderson, Jab and Sahco Hesslein as well as locally produced furniture.

Terry has now closed his wholesale operation and stepped away from other industry associations to focus solely on representing Hume Internationale in the Queensland wallcovering market.

Terry fast facts:

• What do you love about wall coverings: When one thinks they have seen everything, the industry invents something new and dictates that you haven't. The advances in surface printing and the addition of varied materials such as glass beads, mica etc have turned the Industry on its head.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage:  We have an amazing flexibility and and  an eye for innovation.
• Where do you think the industry is headed: The industry is definitely on the up, this generation are more discerning and continually looking for "the next best thing“, which Hume always has!

Neil started as a sales rep for Trend House, an SA wallpaper retailer in 1980, and when they closed their doors he started his own Agency in 1990.  A South Australian through and through, Neil is well known to anyone in SA who has an interest in wall coverings. He has seen the industry move from boom to bust and now back into boom again led by overseas designer trends and the technological advances in the product. From Neil’s perspective wallpaper has always been a fashion item that demands the attention of anyone looking to create a unique wall space. The  difference now, is that customers are discovering how easy it is to apply and remove.

Neil fast facts:

• What do you love about wall coverings: I love the satisfaction people get from the product, and the effect it gives. It’s a fashion thing.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage:  Hume has outlasted, the many “fly by nighters” who have damaged the industry over the years. We are a fair, honest Australian company who are very easy to deal with. You know what you are getting, when you are getting it, and where to go if there is a problem.
• Where do you think the industry is headed: The industry is moving into a position of sustained long term growth. The market players are really good businessmen who are managing the market well. The product is easy to apply and remove and the designs are amazing. The growth cycle will continue if we keep bringing in fashionable products.

Peter came to Australia from England in 1966 and settled in Perth. He tried his hand at metal roofing, guttering, installing garage doors, and then discovered sales as a rep for Bradford installation in the early 1970’s, rapidly rising to become their State Sales Manager. In the 80’s he joined Sunnite Steel Products and sold extendible steel ladders all over Australia and NZ before moving to ChemexEngineering and marketing light bulbs and power poles to Melburnians. In 1993 he stepped out on his own and hasn’t looked back since, starting his own agency as a representative for Hume Internationale and others. Along that journey he was also a motor mechanic, panel beater, spray painter, second hand furniture dealer, and auctioneer before finally getting the wall covering “bug”!

Peter fast facts:

• What do you love about wall coverings:  Being associated with wall coverings becomes a way of life. It would be hard to imagine not being involved in it. They designs are constantly changing, and no matter how much you have seen, there is always something new coming along.
• What do you see as the Hume advantage:  Hume is a very reliable, steady organisation. If we say we  are going to do something, we do it.
• Where do you think the industry is headed:  Wall coverings have evolved from  something you stick on a wall to a must have wall design item. The product is well on its way back and there is a lot of interest in what wallpaper can offer.