August 12, 2025 • 45 mins
In this episode of the Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast, hosts Mike and Trey Farley from Farley Pool Designs delve into the world of artificial green walls with Sebastian, the owner of VISTAFOLIA, and Tim, the commercial director. They discuss the history, benefits, and customization options of VISTAFOLIA's UV and fire-resistant synthetic plant products, which are used to create stunning, low-maintenance green walls and other installations. Highlighting the product's durability, especially in harsh climates like Florida, and its environmental benefits, the discussion also touches on applications in residential and commercial settings, including notable projects and exhibitions. The episode rounds off with a BBQ segment, personal anecdotes, and future aspirations for VISTAFOLIA in the synthetic green wall industry.
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00:00 Welcome to Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast 01:31 Meet the Experts from VISTAFOLIA 03:06 The Story Behind VISTAFOLIA's Artificial Green Walls 08:42 Customization and Applications of VISTAFOLIA Panels 15:42 BBQ Bits Segment: Exploring Twin Eagles Grills 19:21 Global Reach and Installation of the Products 22:36 Realism and Customer Experiences 24:28 Client Confidentiality and NDAs 24:45 Challenges of Living Walls 25:21 Craftsmanship and Realism in Faux Walls 26:20 Shipping and Installation of Signature Panels 29:14 Maintenance and Durability Concerns 31:23 Biophilic Design and Mental Health Benefits 39:23 Future of VISTAFOLIA 42:01 Personal Favorites and Travel Dreams 44:55 Conclusion and Show Purpose
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:02):
Welcome to Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast with Mike and Trey
Farley of Farley Pool Designs.
For over 40 years, we've helpedhomeowners turn their backyards
into personal retreats, spaces ofjoy, relaxation and unforgettable
memories, and whether it's a cozy as.
Scape or a resort style oasis.
We design it all.
(00:24):
We know how overwhelming a projectcan feel, and nothing feels worse than
a homeowner having a bad experience.
And that's why after decades of designingand teaching in this industry, we're
here to share our knowledge, helping you.
The process with confidence.
Every week we break down designtrends and insider tips that
turn your vision into reality.
(00:45):
And since this is about creating somethingamazing together, drop a comment.
If you have any questions, ideas, orjust want to be part of the conversation,
if you find this helpful, a like helpsget this out to more people like you.
And if you want to keep upwith what's next, go ahead
and hit that subscribe button.
We'd love to have you along for the ride.
Let's build your paradise together.
Mike (01:17):
good morning.
This is Mike Farley from Farley PoolDesigns, and we are hosting once
again, the Luxury Outdoor LivingPodcast, along with Trey Farley.
We thank you Spider forshowing up early with us.
And he's the one that makeseverything happen behind the scenes.
we're talking to the.
Professionals with Vista Foliatoday, and they're in England
Thank you for being with us.
(01:38):
And so if you guys could whydon't you just tell our audience
who you are and what your backgroundis and we'll start with that.
Sebastian (01:45):
Good morning everyone.
My name is Sebastian.
I am the owner and managingdirector of Vista Folia.
For the past six months or so before thatI've had a career in the corporate world,
but I finally took the entrepreneurialplunge about, yeah, about half a year ago.
And I'm now looking toexpand our business.
Mike (02:05):
Awesome.
Congratulations with yourpurchase of the company.
So I followed the product for quite awhile I think it's a, marvelous product.
So I'm guessing that you'll seesome amazing growth with it.
Sebastian (02:16):
Thank you.
Tim (02:17):
I am Chu.
I am, I've been, I'm the commercialdirector for Vista Folia.
Been in the industry for over 10 years.
I've started off from the artificialgrass industry, worked my way all
up to the artificial plants bigmanufacturing backgrounds, civils.
Worked in industry fora very long time now.
And it's a project wherewe have just elevated.
(02:38):
Artificial plants to be somethingbetter than what is actually
available on the market.
So very proud to be withpart of this Folia team.
Mike (02:45):
Yeah, so you guys have an amazing product, and we started
using synthetic plants probablyabout seven, eight years ago.
We've been using turf forprobably about 12 years.
And so yours is beyond, what somepeople find searching on the internet.
So what I'd like, can you explain thisproduct and how it came into being?
Sebastian (03:06):
Yeah.
I'll talk a little bit about the historyand then Tema, maybe you can dig a bit
deeper into the product aspect of things.
But the category, artificial green walls,the way I understand it was ca came
to life about 11, 12 years ago, when.
The original founder of Vista Foliawas visiting Malaysia and he's
an award-winning Forti Culturist.
(03:26):
He has won various medals at theprestigious Chelsea flower show.
He was visiting Malaysia andcame to talk to someone who was
building a prestigious hotel.
And that particular person wasinterested in a green wall,
but was wondering whether.
Paul Elder the previous ownerof the business could create an
(03:47):
artificial version of it with hisbackground as a horticulturist.
And so a few months later significantlya. Sizable green Wall appeared in
Malaysia, and that one is still there.
And as a small side note, I usedto actually live in Malaysia and
coincidentally right next to this hotel.
So back in the day, I had no idea.
I was actually living next to whatwas going to be the prototype of the
(04:11):
of the company I now own and run.
Mike (04:13):
Wow that's a pretty cool story.
Yeah.
So how long ago was that wall installed?
Sebastian (04:19):
I believe that must be over a decade now.
Yeah, 11 years now.
Mike (04:23):
Okay.
So green walls have been a popularthing and become more and more
popular, but the challenge with astandard green wall is there's a
lot of maintenance involved in it.
There's a lot of requirementsregarding, irrigation and
lighting and all those things.
So this product, does thatsolve a lot of those challenges?
Tim (04:42):
Absolutely.
The artificial plants weren't createdto compete with the living Wol.
They were created to apply where livingplants can't work or the maintenance
costs are so high, it wouldn't be viableto actually put living plants there.
The great thing about our productsare that we are the only company
(05:03):
that starts off by first supplyingthem as UV resistant, so they were
actually protected from fading.
Then we progressed on and we foundthat making 'em fire retardant was
important as well for safety reasons.
We then went on, tested them, certifiedthem, and progressed them to where they
are today, where they are UVFR products.
(05:24):
They go up on walls very easily.
They have a minimum five year guaranteewhen they're used by Vista failure,
of course, and they have a lifeexpectancy of around 10 plus years.
So in the scheme of things, the carbonfootprint of artificial plants is
considerably lower than living plants.
Mike (05:41):
Okay.
So you just mentioned a coupleof things rattling off there,
so it's really intriguing.
this is a fire retardant product?
Tim (05:50):
Absolutely.
Mike (05:51):
Okay.
Tim (05:52):
Tested and certified to ISO standards.
Mike (05:55):
Okay, so if you're using it, unlike a real plant, which could dry
out and die and things like that.
The other thing is with the UVproducts that you've based it on,
you can actually be, not just on aninterior situation, but you can be
in an exterior situation as well.
Tim (06:14):
Absolutely.
Our products are designedto be internal and external.
One of our best projectsis around in Florida.
It was put up nearly seven years ago.
It's called the Harbor.
Over 1900 panels have gone up andthey're still there this day, which
you can actually go and see it.
Mike (06:31):
And was that a commercial building?
Tim (06:33):
Yes, it's absolutely
Mike (06:34):
Oh wow.
So in a pretty harsh environment setting.
And they've been up for seven yearsin the heat of, you said Florida.
Tim (06:41):
Absolutely.
Mike (06:42):
Okay.
So one question that I had is, froma temperature swing standpoint, is
this something that gets brittleor hard to deal with when it's
a certain too cold or too hot?
Tim (06:55):
Yes it can if it's an inferior product.
Ours are obviously testedto the highest standards.
So ours, the proofs in thepudding where we've got products,
say in Heathrow Airport wherethey've been there for 10 years.
The Malaysian project, 11years, the products up at the
harbor seven years and so forth.
We've done thousands of projectsand because our formula is a
(07:16):
secret formula that we protect.
Our products are only madefrom our Vista Folia specialty
protected formula, which is UVFR.
Of course.
Trey (07:25):
I'm wondering and keep the secret in the bottle.
I'm not asking what the secretis or anything, but how do
y'all achieve such realism?
What the foliage that y'all have,because I'm looking at these photos
and like, it's rare to see a lot offake plants just look so natural.
Sebastian (07:40):
I think that's part of what makes this unique.
So every.
product, every individualalmost to the leaf level is
designed in the UK and London.
And that's predominantlywhat makes us unique.
We do not just source products,import them stamp our brand
on them and sell them on.
It's really The design is part ofour core DNA and that's also why
(08:02):
the company was founded by a anaward winning horticulturist who as
incredible amount eye for detail.
And that's really what sets us apart.
Mike (08:11):
So did he actually use this product in the Chelsea flower show?
Sebastian (08:16):
Not in the Chelsea Flower Show, no.
No, that's something that we'reworking towards in the future.
Mike (08:21):
Okay.
Oh I've always wanted to go there.
That's like a, my background is, Ihave a degree in landscape architecture
and I've specialized in residentialdesign, and I've always looked at the.
The show is an inspiration onwhat you can do in small spaces.
'cause it's amazing all the differentdesigners and what they create.
But I was just curious ifit had been used there.
Sebastian (08:42):
So as a business about 24 months ago, we were a one trick
pony where we had one productand that's our signature panel.
Over the last 24 months, we'veexpanded our range of panels, but
we now also have artificial trees.
So we sell two incrediblybeautiful olive trees.
We have a nice range of very colorfulbo We have hedges and we have now
(09:05):
a range of smaller plants as well.
So, The Chelsea Flower Show is, itbecomes more and more relevant to
us as we grow our product portfolio.
Trey (09:14):
So that's interesting to me how customizable is this product y'all have
Tim (09:18):
The signature panel itself can be customized as we sell
something called color boxes.
Trey (09:23):
Okay.
Tim (09:23):
On the side.
So you can get things like lavenderor pink hop, and you can actually take
these and put them into the panels andcreate your own individual appearance.
You can actually take someplants out and you can.
Them with replace plantsfrom our color box range.
I would like to add that our products,because they're not made of cheap
(09:45):
matting, they're actually on stainlesssteel grids and they're hand tied
on with stainless steel hog ties.
They can actually be replaced,repaired, upgraded, and customized.
we are the only ones thatactually do that, and that's what
makes our panels very special.
Trey (10:02):
It is special.
Being able to upgrade it without rippingout the whole thing and just replacing
the whole thing is extraordinary.
Mike (10:09):
you touched on one thing that I was curious about is, so this is a
product, your original product, okay?
Your panels is to create a green wall.
what has to be there when you to attachto, so are you attaching to a wood frame?
Does it need to be masonry?
What type of structuredoes it have to attach to?
Tim (10:31):
Again, it can attach to any brick wall.
Anything that is sturdy, thatcan take six kilograms per
say, square meter at minimum.
We have our own fitting that wedesigned that actually goes straight
into the substrate that we're goingto fix the panel to, which then the
panel will go onto and then clipinto and they're wind tested as well.
(10:53):
And we are wind testing constantly, sowe're trying to do some testing at the
moment in Japan on hurricane level winds.
We do take testing very seriously.
We have our research and developmentdepartment in the United Kingdom where
we can UV, test, fire, test, and doother developments ourselves in-house.
Mike (11:13):
Wow.
So you're looking at trying to set upon an exterior with hurricane winds?
Yes.
Trey (11:20):
Wow.
That's a tough product.
Mike (11:22):
That's a tough, that's tough.
So I noticed
Tim (11:24):
pass the test first though.
Let's test, pass the test first.
But yes, we are testing to that level.
Mike (11:31):
You're working towards it.
So I did notice in one of your projectsthat it was a screen wall in Denver.
So on a rooftop garden was in one of yourpieces of literature that you sent me.
Which would be a very windyapplication on a rooftop garden.
And it was not up against a masonry wall.
It looked like they built just ascreen and this was attached to it.
Tim (11:52):
That can be done as well.
Mike (11:54):
Okay.
Tim (11:54):
If you've got a weak wall that cannot take the weight loading or anything to
do with a panel, you can build a fakestainless steel wooden frame behind
it and then attach the panels to that.
Mike (12:08):
Okay, so on that particular application, do you know if they
had panels on both sides of it?
So
Tim (12:14):
I'm not sure off the top of my head, but I usually it's one sided.
Mike (12:17):
Yeah.
That's what I would assume, butit was just a screen, of course.
You don't really Yeah.
Necessarily have to make itlook good for the neighbors.
Just what you're looking at.
Tim (12:26):
Well, It depends how nice you want to be.
Yeah.
I mean, If you really love yourneighbors, you will put it double
sided and be really good about it.
Right.
If there's things you don'tlike, then you just, it.
Mike (12:36):
Okay.
You did mention other materialsother than your panels.
so how big's a panel?
Tim (12:44):
It's 800 by 800 millimeters.
That's 80 centimeters by80 centimeters as standard?
Yes.
Mike (12:50):
Okay.
Trey (12:51):
I'm wondering with the UV resistant, is there like a theoretical,
like it may be 10 years, it needs to beresprayed with some kind of resistant
spray, or how long do you think thatthe product will be able to withstand
just being outside without fading?
Or is it just indefinite?
Tim (13:08):
It's not indefinite.
Yeah, I see.
It'll fade over a period of time.
It will fade.
Yep.
The difference is if you get a let's justcall it a budget product and put it up
within a year, you'll see some substantialfading, whereas ours will fade very.
Gradually very by smallportions going over the years.
(13:29):
So if you did go to, say the Harborand you took a brand new panel from
us today, you would be able to seethe difference between a panel that's,
say seven, eight years to one that wasmanufactured this year or month ago,
Trey (13:43):
is it frowned upon if you put some kind of sealer on top of it?
Every so often.
Tim (13:48):
We don't recommend applying anything to the panels because we don't
know what the consequences would be.
Okay.
Of applying externalspray onto the product.
Trey (13:57):
Okay.
And at
Tim (13:57):
that point you would void your guarantee with Vista Folia?
Because we can't just guarantee ifsomeone's applying anything onto it,
but something that we've approved.
Trey (14:07):
Okay.
So it is warranted atsome level the product?
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yes, absolutely.
Mike (14:11):
So maintenance on the panel, is there something that you need for it
to be done to, keep it looking good?
Nothing
Tim (14:21):
if it's out, if it's outside, you will get dust, right?
Et cetera.
That's by the wind, but thenadditionally you get rain, which
will then wash it all clean.
Trey (14:30):
Yeah.
Tim (14:30):
So externally, there's not really much to do.
We have in the UK had a few occasionswhere birds have nested in our panels.
So yeah, that's a good sign.
I'm gonna say, birds like it.
We have the approval ofnature on that one internally.
You will get some dust as you'll geton anything that is internal, and
(14:53):
the best way is to go over it witha duster or maybe a gentle blower.
None of these, leaf blowers thatgive it hurricane level blowing, but.
Something that cangently just blow it off.
But we have them in our office inthe uk and I personally haven't
dusted them in the last few years.
So, I can't really spot the dust on it.
That's
Trey (15:11):
good.
I'm just wondering how common is thisin residential versus commercial?
Like what's the primary avenue for y'all?
Sebastian (15:19):
We go both we enjoy dealing with everyone.
Okay.
Of course it's always nice to to securea prestigious commercial project.
But on the other hand we install somany panels and, on nice terraces in
central London or around the world.
And that gives us a lot of joy as well.
So it's not that we're focused onjust residential or just commercial.
BBQ Intro (15:44):
We are gonna take a break here for a second and get into outdoor living.
So with outdoor living, we like togo to barbecue bits here we're gonna
share some information of everythingthat you may want to consider in
your outdoor living space as far asfeatures, especially for the kitchen.
Hope you enjoy this.
Mike (16:03):
So I know there's different manufacturers and I know one of the
ones that's at the top that a lot ofpeople really like is Twin Eagles.
Correct.
And so walk me through about their productline and what do you like about it?
Bobby (16:15):
Um, twin Eagles is a buy once grill and whenever you grab the handle on a
Twin Eagles grill, you're gonna know itsdifference the way it's spring loaded lid.
It's still really heavy.
Uh, very thick, robust, uh,3 0 4 marine grade stainless.
They don't stop there.
They polish all theappointments from the hood.
There's ventilation on the backsideof the grill so it doesn't overheat.
(16:38):
Uh, all the backlit bezels that areLED blue don't do anything but support
of what this grill can actually do.
It cooks and it cooks.
Awesome.
One thing that a lot of peopledon't really know about is the
rotisserie and the value added piece.
It's got an interior wall,chain driven rotisserie.
So if I were to takethis particular spit rod.
(16:59):
And, and put it in thisgrill and turn it on.
It'll hold up to 35, 40 pounds of meat.
There's no counterbalance that's needed.
It has a stowaway warming rack.
And if I did a big, nice juicy primerib, uh, for Christmas, then I could
pull this lid down and it acts as anoven environment, and you would only use
(17:20):
the rear infrared burner on this grill.
Uh, I've never, I've co, I've soldthis grill for over 20 years, and I've
never replaced a burner on this grill.
Mike (17:29):
Wow.
Yeah.
That, that says a lot about
Bobby (17:31):
their quality.
So, uh, so when you build one in Yes.
And an an, an afterthought and alot of things that we're seeing out
there in the market is, uh, thirdparty, OEM cabinetry, I'm gonna
mention names, Danver Nature cast.
These particular companiesthat need a combustion sleeve.
This company offers an insulated jacket.
(17:53):
When you put the grill inside ofthe jacket, you would think that it
would compensate as far as airflow.
Uh, but it doesn't, the air drafting runsright above the drip tray on this grill.
So if it's in an insulated jacketor one of those third party company
cabinetry, it does not deprive it of air.
It can breathe very, very well.
And they've, uh, had some forethoughton how to build this grill to do that.
Mike (18:16):
Amazing.
Yep.
So that's a, it's a quality grow.
If you're looking at.
That.
Bobby (18:22):
Yeah.
Yep.
Hexagonal cooking grids, um,different pedigree than what
anybody does in the industry.
What does that do?
Uh, more meat, uh, surface searing,uh, that's more equal, easier to clean.
And then briquettes.
Uh, briquettes are fine foundin your higher end grills.
The briquettes evenly distribute the heat.
They'll minimize flareupsand they'll promote flavor.
(18:43):
Why should I buy sear?
You'll notice in what is the sear.
So two versions.
We will ask your customers.
Do you want a sear mark or do you wantcrust on your filet on that Wagyu filet?
Well, if you like crust, sell the sear.
It's gonna give you that crust andcaramelization where the standard burner
will give you more of a sear mark.
Mike (19:03):
Awesome.
Yeah.
Appreciate the details.
Yep, you bet.
BBQ Ends (19:07):
So I hope you enjoyed the barbecue bits that we just featured today,
and we'll have more coming up next week.
If there's something in particular thatyou're interested for, let us know and
we'll get back into the episode now.
Mike (19:21):
So when I first reached out to you, actually, I reached
out to a representative that'shere in Dallas-Fort Worth.
you have installation, outlets scatteredall over the United States and abroad.
Or we just happen tobe lucky and have one?
Or if a client's like, I'm reallyinterested in this product, can I go
see it somewhere and if I like it,who's gonna be doing my installation?
(19:46):
Or is this something you just selland then somebody else installs it?
Tim (19:50):
We have distributors worldwide, from the US to Europe,
to Japan, and Middle East.
and these distributors are not justsupplied by us, but they're trained by us.
So the installers will be trained to fitthe panels correctly to a high standard.
So in the US if you would liketo get some of our products, we
(20:11):
have five distributors in the us.
can contact us at thehead office in the uk.
We will direct you to the nearestdistributor to direct geographically,
who will then give you a call.
They're absolutely lovely.
All our distributors they'll sendyou samples out if you want them.
They will come and visit you ifit's a large project, and they
will arrange to bring the products,install them, if you like, et cetera.
(20:34):
So, you know, we're not justabout selling the product.
We take a lot of pride.
The installation partof the business as well.
Sebastian (20:41):
And maybe to add to that, it's not just the proximity to our end
users, but we also strongly feel thatyou have to see and almost touch the
product to realize how good it actuallyis, how impressive a product it is.
And so we would recommend everyonewhether you have a small or big
project To contact us or contact anydistributor and go and have a look.
(21:04):
' cause that's really when ourproduct comes to life, so to speak.
Mike (21:07):
So do they have just your standard panels or do they have some of these
new products that you have as well?
The trees and theboganville and, yes, they
Tim (21:17):
have the range.
Mike (21:18):
Okay.
Tim (21:18):
They do have the range.
So we've got three panels.
We have our beautiful signature panel.
We then have our flowering panel,and then we have our boxwood panel.
Our distributors also carry our trees.
They carry our plants, ourhedges, and our trailers.
We have trailers that will extend toabout two meters, but then we've got
(21:38):
a new design that we've developedourselves where you can attach
them to one another and they canextend up to 10 meters in length.
we've actually gone a long way tomake sure we can actually cater
for a lot of people's requirements.
Mike (21:51):
I noticed in your brochure again that I saw a project that I
was familiar with 'cause Ryan Hughesdesigned it and he also carries your
product, I believe in his distributionStore so is he one of your applicators
Tim (22:06):
Solana Limited in?
Yes.
Or I think it's limited.
Solana Limited in Floridais our distributor.
Solana is a sister company to Ryan Hughes.
Mike (22:16):
Correct.
Tim (22:16):
And Ryan Hughes works very closely with Solana and Yes, Solana is one
of our key distributors for Florida.
Mike (22:22):
Yeah.
A lot of people on the podcast arefamiliar with Ryan's work and so Yes.
If you look at the foliage that'sused on his project, that's what
we're talking about here today.
Tim (22:33):
Yeah.
It is Vista FOIA that they'reusing on their projects.
Trey (22:36):
I'm wondering if y'all have any stories that come into mind because you
mentioned earlier that, get to get reallyclose and almost touch it to understand.
Good.
The quality of this product is, andI'm just thinking in my head like, see
fake foliage and plants all the timein restaurants and stuff like that.
In Texas, we see a lot of fakecactuses and it sticks out
and it kind of looks obvious.
But with this product it's like almostI had that go, walk up and just touch it
(22:59):
for myself to understand it's not real.
Do you have any storiesthat might come to mind?
'cause podcasts, people love stories.
Tim (23:06):
Absolutely.
I was in Germany as an exhibition.
And we set up the exhibition beautifully.
We had our panels all around ourtrees, and this person came along,
they walked up to me and they said,wow, these plants are beautiful.
I said, thank you, thank you.
And they said, what do you feed it tokeep them so lush and looking beautiful?
(23:28):
I said, they're fake, they're folk.
And they looked at me and they went, no.
I went, yes.
They went, no.
I went, yes.
And they went, I don't buy fake.
And I just looked at them and I was like,but you believe they were thing real?
Trey (23:40):
Yeah.
Tim (23:41):
But now because you know that they're not real, you don't want to buy them.
We had a whole conversation aroundcarbon footprint because this
person was a, how'd you call it?
A green piece person orsomeone that just loved nature,
which we love nature as well.
We are not competing against nature.
Nature is our friend, and I explainedto 'em that it can work hand in hand.
(24:02):
Yeah.
With living natural plants, becausewhere nature doesn't wanna grow,
or like I said before, wherecosts are strictly prohibited,
especially on a massive project,this is where faux plants come in.
But this has happened several times.
To me at exhibitions, atconferences at different places.
So a lot of the time, becauseof the quality of our products,
(24:25):
people do actually think thatthey're real, which is great.
Sebastian (24:28):
maybe On the other hand, we have clients that ask us to sign
NDAs because they do not want us touse their project In our collateral
because they don't want peopleto know that it's a full wall.
So as the other side of the story
Tim (24:44):
mm-hmm.
I'll add to that, that there is severalbig sporting venues in the United
Kingdom, several and in America,where we have had to sign NDAs.
And not let anyone know that theytook down living walls to put up
our faux walls because of disease.
Drying up water shortages, highmaintenance costs, using sprays,
(25:08):
insecticides, et cetera, which areall very damaging to the environment.
Yep.
And replacing with our products.
So.
We could definitely point 'emout to you, we are not allowed
to tell you who they're,
Trey (25:17):
where.
They're
Tim (25:18):
not
Trey (25:18):
NDA doesn't think isn't
Tim (25:19):
the largest.
And you've got them.
Mike (25:21):
Yeah, that's one of my first experiences in using a artificial plant.
Is we went through the whole gamutof looking for a source of a material
and we saw some really ugly stuffthat did not look very real at all.
And we finally settled on something andwe installed it, and the first time had
(25:45):
a client look at it, they walked overand was like, how long ago was this done?
Because this is such anamazing looking wall.
It was boxwood.
And they literally went up andtouched it before they realized
that it was not a real product.
So it's amazing with craftsmanshipwhat you can create that is a beautiful
(26:09):
piece of work that people can enjoy.
And the amazing thing about it is the.
All the problems that are associated withthe green wall go away with your product.
Trey (26:20):
I'm wondering with the signature piece, the panel, 'cause
it has a lot of longer foliage thathangs out when you're shipping it.
how is it being shipped?
Do you have to fluff itup once you unbox it?
does it ever get creed orfolded or anything like that?
How does that ' 'cause Well, let
Tim (26:35):
me explain that a little bit to you.
The signature panel comesin, three panels in a box.
Okay.
But they are A, B, and C panels.
So what?
Each panel has 16 varieties of plantsand 72 plants overall on each panel.
Each panel is configuredslightly differently.
So when you take them out of thebox and you put them up on the
(26:58):
wall, you go A, B, C, and theylook different, they look natural.
And then you take another box,take another three out, and you can
go B, C, A, and you can just keepon swapping those three around.
So it always looks like the productis completely natural, okay?
But when you do take 'emoutta the box, you are right.
They do lie flat.
So once you get them up on thewall, we call it dressing up.
(27:21):
So we'll go out and we'll fluff them up.
So they come out andthey jump out the wall.
We'll put some extra foliage in if we wantto, if we wanna change it a little bit.
And again, we fluff it up.
So that's how we do itonce it comes out the box.
Trey (27:34):
So do y'all have any problem with it actually, like folding, increasing
and like not hanging naturally?
Or is that like, covered bywarranty or something like that?
Tim (27:43):
No, we don't have that problem at all.
Okay.
Actual products, they're made in sucha way where they're pliable so they
can actually be moved and bent a littlebit without snapping or breaking.
Of course, if you get aggressive withit and think that you can hang off it,
it will probably snap or break, youknow, let's manage our expectations.
Trey (28:01):
Yeah.
Tim (28:01):
But yes, they are pliable, so that does allow you some
leeway to move them around.
That's good.
Mike (28:06):
So most of the applications I saw were on a vertical wall.
So can it be mounted on a ceiling?
Tim (28:12):
It has been done.
Okay.
It has been put in ceilings.
I do know of a project in the UK wherethe owner had a whole nature thing
going and they put it on their ceilingand their walls of their bathroom.
They felt that they wanted to havea bath or a shower in the forest.
I don't wanna add any morebeyond that, just to make of
it what you wanna make of it.
Mike (28:33):
No, no.
We did a thing on outdoorshowers just recently.
Yeah.
So we could have an indoorshower now and have a natural
Sebastian (28:41):
situation and an indoor outdoor shower or another example is
where we're speaking to a hotel atthe moment who has a Mexican restaurant
and they want a roof full of panels.
Give that more tropical feel.
Oh yeah.
Mike (28:56):
we do a lot of structures that have outdoor kitchens in them.
And so I think that.
Most of the time it's masonry that'son the back wall with this kitchen.
And I was just thinking how itwould be very striking to have all
foliage there instead of masonry.
Yeah.
But the one question that I was concernedabout is when we're cooking and there's
(29:20):
some grease that's in the air andstuff like that, and if it got on the
plants, is that gonna create a realproblem from a maintenance standpoint or
Trey (29:28):
the, The hot smoke as well?
Mike (29:29):
Yeah.
Tim (29:30):
The smoke won't actually damage the product.
Smoke is smoke, it will bounce off it.
Okay.
But hot oil hitting the plant coulddamage it or leave marks on it.
if you do a barbecue next to it andthe extreme heat right, hits it,
It will damage the product.
It's the same with artificial grass,coming from that industry myself, the
amount of times as the people, you'vegot beautiful artificial grass now.
(29:53):
Please do not do a barbecue on it.
And within a month or two, they've calledme up and said yeah, yeah, we've done
a barbecue on it, but there's a bighole now can you come and repair it?
And it's like, oh yeah,we can come and repair.
But we did say don't do a barbecue on it.
So yeah.
the product does have limitations.
Yeah.
But the good news is,is is fire retardant.
So if someone was to set a putflame to it, it won't ignite.
(30:13):
What it will do is it'll startburning and then cr could it
create a char layer around it?
And as soon as the flame's takenaway, it will self extinguish.
Okay.
Mike (30:22):
Okay.
So I assumed that it would besomething I wouldn't like, wanna
put right behind the grill.
Yeah.
But anyway, I was just wanting toclarify that in case someone else
was thinking about it and didn't not
Tim (30:35):
do it.
There will be a lot of peoplethat would be thinking about that.
I can almost assure you that there wasmany people lining up and measuring
right now how to put them behind
or somewhere like that.
So thank you for asking that question.
Please carry on
Mike (30:51):
certainly.
one of the things we have we have asection that we call outdoor Living True
Crime, and Outdoor Living True crime issomething that's happened to somebody
and it's a crime that it happened.
And so we're gonna tell the storyso it doesn't happen to more people.
Trey (31:07):
Yeah.
No, that's fine.
lot of the time it's like we'llhave like pool designers or someone
else that's in their like marketand they've seen something from a
competitor or whatever it might be.
Or maybe they even were at adifferent company at some time and
they just saw a practice that waslike, man why is this even a thing?
Have y'all seen I guess mental healthor workplace productivity benefits
(31:28):
with y'all's projects in general?
Are these, are hospitals maybeusing these at all in some areas
or anything like that at all?
Sebastian (31:35):
Quite funny you mention it.
Yeah,
Trey (31:37):
please.
Sebastian (31:38):
No, go ahead, Sarah.
well, well, I was just gonna say,funny you mentioned because we do have
some hospitals with our products, butwe've just, done a study where this
is part of the things we look at.
And whilst obviously they're not livingplants because they're ultra realistic.
The brain doesn't reallyknow that they're foe.
(31:59):
Yeah.
And so therefore you do get thiscalming productivity enhancing effect.
And that's not us doing this study.
That's us just.
Quoting other research.
There are obviously other benefits youget from living walls or real plants
that you won't get from artificial.
But if you're thinking aboutthe whole biophilic spectrum
There's definitely some benefitsyou get from faux walls and
(32:22):
plants and some You don't.
Trey (32:24):
No.
Yeah.
I hundred percent.
go
Tim (32:26):
ahead.
I would like to add that we've done ahospice in the United Kingdom recently.
And we had the panels go up.
We had them up on the ceilings, wehad plants coming down and I did ask
them why they wanted the plants there.
And they did say that this is ahospice, it's the last days of people.
And they said it did have anice calming effect on people.
(32:48):
It was very enjoyable for them to seethem, and they didn't have the socio
maintenance cost to go with them.
Additionally, they did add that.
Our plants are fo living.
Plants in hospitals aren't reallyacknowledged in the United Kingdom
because people suffer from pollen.
Hay fever, They can dropdebris, which then of course
(33:08):
causes mess in the hospitals.
So hospitals don't really encourageliving plants anymore inside the hospital.
the days of coming up with a big bunchof flowers in the United Kingdom, for
example, isn't really done anymore.
It's more about bringing chocolates.
Spring some fake plants.
So it does have its benefits inhospitals where we can still create
(33:29):
that biophilic environment, but withoutthe associated maintenance costs.
Hey, fever sufferers that wouldsuffer from et cetera, et cetera.
Trey (33:36):
Yeah.
And I think even when you do know they'refoe for me personally at least, it's
nice to look at, it softens the vibe orthe aesthetic or whatever it might be.
And I didn't even think about the,like sanitation and the allergies
and all that kind of stuff.
So it just makes sense to havesomething like that in that environment.
And that's good that it is.
Mike (33:54):
We've talked about biotic design quite a bit.
Oh yeah.
And how we're the ultimate solution andthe fact that we can take people out
into nature and create a space for them.
But there's a lot of transition spacesin between inside and outside, which, you
know, because of the heavy shade in those.
Porch areas.
(34:14):
It's virtually impossibleto get, greenery to grow.
Where this is, I imagine, a phenomenalsolution in those spaces, in,
in those walls, and then can betransitioned further into the home
and continue that living space.
Tim (34:29):
Great.
Mike (34:30):
Is there anything that we should think about that there's a a challenge
with either the installation of thisor and putting it in that, we should
think carefully about how we handle it.
Tim (34:43):
mean, For the olive trees, for example, in the Boganville trees.
They would have the samelimitations as a normal tree.
If you hang on one of thebranches, it will break.
And I think that's one thing thatwe need to get across to people
because we have a olive tree thatwe've got planted outside our office.
I say planted.
It's not a living plant,but it's in the ground.
(35:03):
And we do have to keep an eye that someonedoesn't come over and try and climb on it
or pull on it because it will damage it.
So where's a living tree?
You could snap it and it'll grow back.
That's not the same for fauxplants and because say on the
trees it is a molded product.
It's made to exact design.
Repair on the tree might not be aseasy as it would be, say, on the
(35:25):
work thing, on one of the panelsthat goes up against the wall.
I think that's the main limitation.
The only other thing that I've noticed.
With our panels is the people that lookwith their hands and not with their eyes.
And they'll go over and they'll pulland tug at the plants until they
actually snap it or pull it off.
And I think that's the only other thingrestriction I'd see with our products.
(35:48):
Otherwise, no, we don't really struggle.
And I will say this, in the last11 years, I think you can count
on two hands the amount of.
Complaints we've had back, and Iwouldn't say complaints where someone's
tried to challenge the warranty andit again, on every case, we've always
looked at it and found that it was neveractually our product that was a problem.
(36:09):
It was the way it was maintained orabused that brought it to where it was.
Mike (36:14):
one of the things, is there a certain dimension from a width
or a height standpoint that youwould recommend not going beyond?
Sebastian (36:22):
Not really.
No.
Like we have people framing single panelsmore as a piece of art all the way up
to multi thousand panel installations.
Trey (36:33):
Is there any specific, like just hotels or locations that you could point
to that aren't under NDA, obviously.
that if someone's like wondering howmuch of a spectacle could this be and
they could just like Google it or goto your website or something like that.
Is there any particular locationsthat are just stunning and beautiful?
Tim (36:50):
Yeah, sure.
Come over to our website.
We have a lot of casestudies on our website.
You can have a look at that andif someone's really interested,
they can always reach out to us.
We have got projects across the USAthat we could actually direct them
to, that they could possibly look at.
Mike (37:05):
it's Tina, I think that's here in Dallas-Fort Worth, is that correct?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So I could reach out to Tina andshe could tell me of places that
are local here to go Absolutely.
And check out as well.
Correct.
Okay.
we mentioned the true crime, is there aparticular project or story that you can
think of that would help somebody, notexperience something that would help out?
Tim (37:27):
I don't think we've really suffered crime because our products
are quite installed quite well.
Yeah.
And you'd really have to know theproduct to be able to find a way
to take it off on a personal level.
I lost my father several years agoand he, the cemetery is buried.
I decided that rather than puttingliving plants that always die, you
(37:47):
go there, you have a little cry, youput your plants and then you leave.
I took some of our color products fromour color boxes, some of our plants, and
I put them there and they look beautiful.
All summer they were there.
They looked beautiful.
They look like they're the realthing other people putting on theirs.
Along came winter.
Everyone else's plants died,but the ones I put on my
(38:08):
father's grave looked excellent.
And then recently when mymother went to speak to my dad
at his grave, they were gone.
It's a crime as in they stole myfaux plants or my father's grave.
I dunno where they've put themor how they've used them and
I've had to replace them again.
But I think that is the biggest crime thatI've seen when it comes to our products.
(38:30):
I'm sorry I couldn't give you a betterstory, but that's a true story at least.
Mike (38:34):
No.
The crime is, it's probably in somebody'sliving room vase now, you know?
So, jeez.
Sebastian (38:42):
That's low.
That's low.
Yeah.
That's pretty bad.
Mike (38:44):
But thank you for sharing that.
it's a tribute to know that,you would even use that at the
memorial of your father.
So speaks highly true.
Evergreen, always
Tim (38:54):
green.
It does work and it does look beautiful.
Yeah.
And he always liked lavender,so I put lavender there.
Mum liked the pink hops.
She put some pink there.
I've got a few white petroldrop ones that I put in there.
it looks beautiful and think whenyou go to visit your loved ones in
their place of rest think it should bebeautiful for them and beautiful for you.
(39:15):
When you sit there and you say your prayerand you have your little moment with them.
So I think it you can makesomething special of somewhere
where you've lost someone.
Yeah.
That's just a personal opinion.
Mike (39:24):
So what's in the future for Vista Folia?
Can you tell us any secret?
Sebastian (39:28):
Ooh big question.
I think we're it's still, it'sreally early days for this very niche
category of artificial green walls and.
Outdoor rated artificial plants.
So I think we're onlyscratching the surface.
And personally, my goal with VistaFolia is to remain a thought leader or
deth thought leader in the industry.
(39:49):
Continue to develop our product offering.
Continue to develop our, orimprove upon our formula and
especially making sure that.
People like your listeners aswell as architects and interior
designers are aware of the optionof an artificial green wall.
And then within this niche industry,what are the differences between a high
(40:13):
quality, more expensive product and a.
Really low quality, cheapand cheerful version.
And at the end of the dayyou get what you pay for.
And so there's a lot of education requiredjust to grow the industry as a whole.
And then I think Vista Foliawill continue to thrive and get
its fair share of, that growth.
Mike (40:33):
We look forward to it for sure.
love Green and growers, but thereare circumstances where they will
not grow or they grow very poorly andyou're constantly nursing them along.
And so the solution is, a syntheticproduct that, looks and acts like
(40:53):
a real product is a great solution.
And so that's what we wanted tohave y'all on for today, and we
look forward to working with y'allin the future on some things.
So do you ever do shows orthings like that in the us You
mentioned a show earlier whereyour products were on display.
Is that something that happens?
(41:14):
Here?
Tim (41:15):
our distributors do various shows around the USA throughout the year.
So again, reaching out to ourdistribution network and saying, where
are you guys gonna be exhibiting isprobably a good one because they'll
tell you exactly where they're gonna be.
And I said, we've got several distributorsin the US and they all have their own
favorite shows they like to go to, whetherit's in New York, California, Florida.
(41:35):
Texas, Tennessee, et cetera.
So, We do yeah, plentyof shows around the USA.
Mike (41:40):
Perfect.
Wow.
Look forward to, as I said,working with y'all in the future.
And any parting words.
It's you guys have before, Treyhas some standard questions
he likes to ask everybody.
Yep.
Sebastian (41:51):
I think it was a real pleasure to be on this podcast a real honor.
yeah, we look forward to working withyou, answering any questions your
listeners may have around the country.
it was fun to be here.
Trey (42:01):
Okay I always ask at the end of the podcast, what's your favorite?
Meal or just favorite food in general?
Your favorite book and your favoritemovie would be just to get to
know y'all a little bit better.
Tim (42:12):
I'm gonna let you go first.
Sebastian.
Sebastian (42:15):
I was gonna go see there might be a theme here.
Favorite meal.
I'm a man of extremes.
get as much joy out of a pizzaas I get out of a 12 course meal.
So basically either, eitherone of those two extremes.
Favorite book?
Sapiens probably.
Trey (42:30):
Okay.
Sebastian (42:31):
Might not have been the first one that has
mentioned that on this podcast.
Really enjoy Sapiens favorite movie.
I'm more of a series.
I'm more of a series person, to be honest.
Trey (42:40):
What's your favorite series?
Probably The
Sebastian (42:41):
Godfather then.
Okay.
Okay.
Breaking Bad Series wise,
Trey (42:44):
that's probably too, yeah.
Mike (42:46):
And one, one I
Tim (42:47):
shift in there.
Yeah.
Sorry,
Mike (42:48):
one question to add since we're on you, Sebastian.
So if you were to travel anywhere,where would you want to go?
Sebastian (42:55):
Questions.
Where wouldn't I wanna go?
I feel like I, live to travel and exploreand show the world to my children now.
I have a four and a 5-year-old.
And yeah I've seen a decentpart of the world already.
A couple of countriesthat are high on my list.
I've never been to Canada and I'dlove to like backpack in Canada.
Iceland.
I think Iceland has twoseasons, so you have to go in
winter time and in summertime.
(43:16):
I haven't been.
So I think those two countries.
And then finally JordanJordan I think is beautiful.
Mike (43:22):
Awesome.
we just got back from backpackingin the Rocky Mountains.
Colorado,
Sebastian (43:27):
so
Tim (43:27):
fantastic.
Yeah, very nice.
Mike (43:29):
Okay.
Trey (43:30):
Tamai,
Tim (43:30):
I think it's your turn.
I'm still thinking big silence.
You're up.
Well, My favorite foods is Mediterranean.
Okay.
So you know, the Mediterranean dietis what I've grown up on is what
I love and I'll always continue.
So olives, olive oils,all these kind of things.
Lends itself to me.
So that's my favorite foods, my favoritebooks I'm sorry, but I love Stephen King.
(43:52):
Whether you start from Christine andgo up to Carrie and all these other
Tommy Knockers, all these books,I do love a Stephen King novel.
And if I was gonna say my favorite movie.
I'm split between my ultimatefavorite Star Wars and the Matrix.
Those are good one.
My inner child jumps out big time there.
Mike (44:11):
Those are good ones.
And where would you travel to?
Tim (44:14):
Me?
South Africa.
Mike (44:15):
Okay.
Tim (44:16):
South Africa is part of a continent that I haven't been to.
I've been to most parts of the world.
But Africa I haven't been to.
I would start of South Africaand just work my way around that
continent, there's so much there andI would love to go on a real safari.
Not sure about getting eaten by lions.
I'm a little scared of the hyenas, butfascinated by elephants and gorillas.
(44:36):
For me it's gotta be Africa.
Mike (44:38):
That would be a fun adventure.
Oh yeah, for sure.
Thank you again so much for beinghere and sharing some time with
us in your day great product.
And we thank you for allthat you've provided.
Tim (44:50):
Nice.
Thank you for having us.
You have a good one.
Absolute pleasure.
Talk to you both.
Absolute pleasure.
Outro (44:56):
This show is all about helping you become a better buyer, a better pool
owner, and hopefully you're gonna findsome insights into how to enjoy your pool
even more so how to help your friends,your family, anybody looking to buy a
pool in the future or that want to remodeltheir backyard, add an outdoor fireplace,
fire pit, add an outdoor kitchen area, addsome shade cells, or whatever else it is.
(45:19):
We wanna be that resource for you, andthat's the end goal here, and we promise.
That there's gonna bea ton of information.
We'll try to go through it, youknow, as relatively quickly, but
also slow so people can understand.
But the intent of the show, thereason Mike and I are doing this
is because we just got a lot inour heads and we wanna share it.
So we hope to see youhere every single week.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast with Mike and Trey
Farley of Farley Pool Designs.
For over 40 years, we've helpedhomeowners turn their backyards
into personal retreats, spaces ofjoy, relaxation and unforgettable
memories, and whether it's a cozy as.
Scape or a resort style oasis.
We design it all.
(00:24):
We know how overwhelming a projectcan feel, and nothing feels worse than
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And that's why after decades of designingand teaching in this industry, we're
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(00:45):
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Let's build your paradise together.
Mike (01:17):
good morning.
This is Mike Farley from Farley PoolDesigns, and we are hosting once
again, the Luxury Outdoor LivingPodcast, along with Trey Farley.
We thank you Spider forshowing up early with us.
And he's the one that makeseverything happen behind the scenes.
we're talking to the.
Professionals with Vista Foliatoday, and they're in England
Thank you for being with us.
(01:38):
And so if you guys could whydon't you just tell our audience
who you are and what your backgroundis and we'll start with that.
Sebastian (01:45):
Good morning everyone.
My name is Sebastian.
I am the owner and managingdirector of Vista Folia.
For the past six months or so before thatI've had a career in the corporate world,
but I finally took the entrepreneurialplunge about, yeah, about half a year ago.
And I'm now looking toexpand our business.
Mike (02:05):
Awesome.
Congratulations with yourpurchase of the company.
So I followed the product for quite awhile I think it's a, marvelous product.
So I'm guessing that you'll seesome amazing growth with it.
Sebastian (02:16):
Thank you.
Tim (02:17):
I am Chu.
I am, I've been, I'm the commercialdirector for Vista Folia.
Been in the industry for over 10 years.
I've started off from the artificialgrass industry, worked my way all
up to the artificial plants bigmanufacturing backgrounds, civils.
Worked in industry fora very long time now.
And it's a project wherewe have just elevated.
(02:38):
Artificial plants to be somethingbetter than what is actually
available on the market.
So very proud to be withpart of this Folia team.
Mike (02:45):
Yeah, so you guys have an amazing product, and we started
using synthetic plants probablyabout seven, eight years ago.
We've been using turf forprobably about 12 years.
And so yours is beyond, what somepeople find searching on the internet.
So what I'd like, can you explain thisproduct and how it came into being?
Sebastian (03:06):
Yeah.
I'll talk a little bit about the historyand then Tema, maybe you can dig a bit
deeper into the product aspect of things.
But the category, artificial green walls,the way I understand it was ca came
to life about 11, 12 years ago, when.
The original founder of Vista Foliawas visiting Malaysia and he's
an award-winning Forti Culturist.
(03:26):
He has won various medals at theprestigious Chelsea flower show.
He was visiting Malaysia andcame to talk to someone who was
building a prestigious hotel.
And that particular person wasinterested in a green wall,
but was wondering whether.
Paul Elder the previous ownerof the business could create an
(03:47):
artificial version of it with hisbackground as a horticulturist.
And so a few months later significantlya. Sizable green Wall appeared in
Malaysia, and that one is still there.
And as a small side note, I usedto actually live in Malaysia and
coincidentally right next to this hotel.
So back in the day, I had no idea.
I was actually living next to whatwas going to be the prototype of the
(04:11):
of the company I now own and run.
Mike (04:13):
Wow that's a pretty cool story.
Yeah.
So how long ago was that wall installed?
Sebastian (04:19):
I believe that must be over a decade now.
Yeah, 11 years now.
Mike (04:23):
Okay.
So green walls have been a popularthing and become more and more
popular, but the challenge with astandard green wall is there's a
lot of maintenance involved in it.
There's a lot of requirementsregarding, irrigation and
lighting and all those things.
So this product, does thatsolve a lot of those challenges?
Tim (04:42):
Absolutely.
The artificial plants weren't createdto compete with the living Wol.
They were created to apply where livingplants can't work or the maintenance
costs are so high, it wouldn't be viableto actually put living plants there.
The great thing about our productsare that we are the only company
(05:03):
that starts off by first supplyingthem as UV resistant, so they were
actually protected from fading.
Then we progressed on and we foundthat making 'em fire retardant was
important as well for safety reasons.
We then went on, tested them, certifiedthem, and progressed them to where they
are today, where they are UVFR products.
(05:24):
They go up on walls very easily.
They have a minimum five year guaranteewhen they're used by Vista failure,
of course, and they have a lifeexpectancy of around 10 plus years.
So in the scheme of things, the carbonfootprint of artificial plants is
considerably lower than living plants.
Mike (05:41):
Okay.
So you just mentioned a coupleof things rattling off there,
so it's really intriguing.
this is a fire retardant product?
Tim (05:50):
Absolutely.
Mike (05:51):
Okay.
Tim (05:52):
Tested and certified to ISO standards.
Mike (05:55):
Okay, so if you're using it, unlike a real plant, which could dry
out and die and things like that.
The other thing is with the UVproducts that you've based it on,
you can actually be, not just on aninterior situation, but you can be
in an exterior situation as well.
Tim (06:14):
Absolutely.
Our products are designedto be internal and external.
One of our best projectsis around in Florida.
It was put up nearly seven years ago.
It's called the Harbor.
Over 1900 panels have gone up andthey're still there this day, which
you can actually go and see it.
Mike (06:31):
And was that a commercial building?
Tim (06:33):
Yes, it's absolutely
Mike (06:34):
Oh wow.
So in a pretty harsh environment setting.
And they've been up for seven yearsin the heat of, you said Florida.
Tim (06:41):
Absolutely.
Mike (06:42):
Okay.
So one question that I had is, froma temperature swing standpoint, is
this something that gets brittleor hard to deal with when it's
a certain too cold or too hot?
Tim (06:55):
Yes it can if it's an inferior product.
Ours are obviously testedto the highest standards.
So ours, the proofs in thepudding where we've got products,
say in Heathrow Airport wherethey've been there for 10 years.
The Malaysian project, 11years, the products up at the
harbor seven years and so forth.
We've done thousands of projectsand because our formula is a
(07:16):
secret formula that we protect.
Our products are only madefrom our Vista Folia specialty
protected formula, which is UVFR.
Of course.
Trey (07:25):
I'm wondering and keep the secret in the bottle.
I'm not asking what the secretis or anything, but how do
y'all achieve such realism?
What the foliage that y'all have,because I'm looking at these photos
and like, it's rare to see a lot offake plants just look so natural.
Sebastian (07:40):
I think that's part of what makes this unique.
So every.
product, every individualalmost to the leaf level is
designed in the UK and London.
And that's predominantlywhat makes us unique.
We do not just source products,import them stamp our brand
on them and sell them on.
It's really The design is part ofour core DNA and that's also why
(08:02):
the company was founded by a anaward winning horticulturist who as
incredible amount eye for detail.
And that's really what sets us apart.
Mike (08:11):
So did he actually use this product in the Chelsea flower show?
Sebastian (08:16):
Not in the Chelsea Flower Show, no.
No, that's something that we'reworking towards in the future.
Mike (08:21):
Okay.
Oh I've always wanted to go there.
That's like a, my background is, Ihave a degree in landscape architecture
and I've specialized in residentialdesign, and I've always looked at the.
The show is an inspiration onwhat you can do in small spaces.
'cause it's amazing all the differentdesigners and what they create.
But I was just curious ifit had been used there.
Sebastian (08:42):
So as a business about 24 months ago, we were a one trick
pony where we had one productand that's our signature panel.
Over the last 24 months, we'veexpanded our range of panels, but
we now also have artificial trees.
So we sell two incrediblybeautiful olive trees.
We have a nice range of very colorfulbo We have hedges and we have now
(09:05):
a range of smaller plants as well.
So, The Chelsea Flower Show is, itbecomes more and more relevant to
us as we grow our product portfolio.
Trey (09:14):
So that's interesting to me how customizable is this product y'all have
Tim (09:18):
The signature panel itself can be customized as we sell
something called color boxes.
Trey (09:23):
Okay.
Tim (09:23):
On the side.
So you can get things like lavenderor pink hop, and you can actually take
these and put them into the panels andcreate your own individual appearance.
You can actually take someplants out and you can.
Them with replace plantsfrom our color box range.
I would like to add that our products,because they're not made of cheap
(09:45):
matting, they're actually on stainlesssteel grids and they're hand tied
on with stainless steel hog ties.
They can actually be replaced,repaired, upgraded, and customized.
we are the only ones thatactually do that, and that's what
makes our panels very special.
Trey (10:02):
It is special.
Being able to upgrade it without rippingout the whole thing and just replacing
the whole thing is extraordinary.
Mike (10:09):
you touched on one thing that I was curious about is, so this is a
product, your original product, okay?
Your panels is to create a green wall.
what has to be there when you to attachto, so are you attaching to a wood frame?
Does it need to be masonry?
What type of structuredoes it have to attach to?
Tim (10:31):
Again, it can attach to any brick wall.
Anything that is sturdy, thatcan take six kilograms per
say, square meter at minimum.
We have our own fitting that wedesigned that actually goes straight
into the substrate that we're goingto fix the panel to, which then the
panel will go onto and then clipinto and they're wind tested as well.
(10:53):
And we are wind testing constantly, sowe're trying to do some testing at the
moment in Japan on hurricane level winds.
We do take testing very seriously.
We have our research and developmentdepartment in the United Kingdom where
we can UV, test, fire, test, and doother developments ourselves in-house.
Mike (11:13):
Wow.
So you're looking at trying to set upon an exterior with hurricane winds?
Yes.
Trey (11:20):
Wow.
That's a tough product.
Mike (11:22):
That's a tough, that's tough.
So I noticed
Tim (11:24):
pass the test first though.
Let's test, pass the test first.
But yes, we are testing to that level.
Mike (11:31):
You're working towards it.
So I did notice in one of your projectsthat it was a screen wall in Denver.
So on a rooftop garden was in one of yourpieces of literature that you sent me.
Which would be a very windyapplication on a rooftop garden.
And it was not up against a masonry wall.
It looked like they built just ascreen and this was attached to it.
Tim (11:52):
That can be done as well.
Mike (11:54):
Okay.
Tim (11:54):
If you've got a weak wall that cannot take the weight loading or anything to
do with a panel, you can build a fakestainless steel wooden frame behind
it and then attach the panels to that.
Mike (12:08):
Okay, so on that particular application, do you know if they
had panels on both sides of it?
So
Tim (12:14):
I'm not sure off the top of my head, but I usually it's one sided.
Mike (12:17):
Yeah.
That's what I would assume, butit was just a screen, of course.
You don't really Yeah.
Necessarily have to make itlook good for the neighbors.
Just what you're looking at.
Tim (12:26):
Well, It depends how nice you want to be.
Yeah.
I mean, If you really love yourneighbors, you will put it double
sided and be really good about it.
Right.
If there's things you don'tlike, then you just, it.
Mike (12:36):
Okay.
You did mention other materialsother than your panels.
so how big's a panel?
Tim (12:44):
It's 800 by 800 millimeters.
That's 80 centimeters by80 centimeters as standard?
Yes.
Mike (12:50):
Okay.
Trey (12:51):
I'm wondering with the UV resistant, is there like a theoretical,
like it may be 10 years, it needs to beresprayed with some kind of resistant
spray, or how long do you think thatthe product will be able to withstand
just being outside without fading?
Or is it just indefinite?
Tim (13:08):
It's not indefinite.
Yeah, I see.
It'll fade over a period of time.
It will fade.
Yep.
The difference is if you get a let's justcall it a budget product and put it up
within a year, you'll see some substantialfading, whereas ours will fade very.
Gradually very by smallportions going over the years.
(13:29):
So if you did go to, say the Harborand you took a brand new panel from
us today, you would be able to seethe difference between a panel that's,
say seven, eight years to one that wasmanufactured this year or month ago,
Trey (13:43):
is it frowned upon if you put some kind of sealer on top of it?
Every so often.
Tim (13:48):
We don't recommend applying anything to the panels because we don't
know what the consequences would be.
Okay.
Of applying externalspray onto the product.
Trey (13:57):
Okay.
And at
Tim (13:57):
that point you would void your guarantee with Vista Folia?
Because we can't just guarantee ifsomeone's applying anything onto it,
but something that we've approved.
Trey (14:07):
Okay.
So it is warranted atsome level the product?
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yes, absolutely.
Mike (14:11):
So maintenance on the panel, is there something that you need for it
to be done to, keep it looking good?
Nothing
Tim (14:21):
if it's out, if it's outside, you will get dust, right?
Et cetera.
That's by the wind, but thenadditionally you get rain, which
will then wash it all clean.
Trey (14:30):
Yeah.
Tim (14:30):
So externally, there's not really much to do.
We have in the UK had a few occasionswhere birds have nested in our panels.
So yeah, that's a good sign.
I'm gonna say, birds like it.
We have the approval ofnature on that one internally.
You will get some dust as you'll geton anything that is internal, and
(14:53):
the best way is to go over it witha duster or maybe a gentle blower.
None of these, leaf blowers thatgive it hurricane level blowing, but.
Something that cangently just blow it off.
But we have them in our office inthe uk and I personally haven't
dusted them in the last few years.
So, I can't really spot the dust on it.
That's
Trey (15:11):
good.
I'm just wondering how common is thisin residential versus commercial?
Like what's the primary avenue for y'all?
Sebastian (15:19):
We go both we enjoy dealing with everyone.
Okay.
Of course it's always nice to to securea prestigious commercial project.
But on the other hand we install somany panels and, on nice terraces in
central London or around the world.
And that gives us a lot of joy as well.
So it's not that we're focused onjust residential or just commercial.
BBQ Intro (15:44):
We are gonna take a break here for a second and get into outdoor living.
So with outdoor living, we like togo to barbecue bits here we're gonna
share some information of everythingthat you may want to consider in
your outdoor living space as far asfeatures, especially for the kitchen.
Hope you enjoy this.
Mike (16:03):
So I know there's different manufacturers and I know one of the
ones that's at the top that a lot ofpeople really like is Twin Eagles.
Correct.
And so walk me through about their productline and what do you like about it?
Bobby (16:15):
Um, twin Eagles is a buy once grill and whenever you grab the handle on a
Twin Eagles grill, you're gonna know itsdifference the way it's spring loaded lid.
It's still really heavy.
Uh, very thick, robust, uh,3 0 4 marine grade stainless.
They don't stop there.
They polish all theappointments from the hood.
There's ventilation on the backsideof the grill so it doesn't overheat.
(16:38):
Uh, all the backlit bezels that areLED blue don't do anything but support
of what this grill can actually do.
It cooks and it cooks.
Awesome.
One thing that a lot of peopledon't really know about is the
rotisserie and the value added piece.
It's got an interior wall,chain driven rotisserie.
So if I were to takethis particular spit rod.
(16:59):
And, and put it in thisgrill and turn it on.
It'll hold up to 35, 40 pounds of meat.
There's no counterbalance that's needed.
It has a stowaway warming rack.
And if I did a big, nice juicy primerib, uh, for Christmas, then I could
pull this lid down and it acts as anoven environment, and you would only use
(17:20):
the rear infrared burner on this grill.
Uh, I've never, I've co, I've soldthis grill for over 20 years, and I've
never replaced a burner on this grill.
Mike (17:29):
Wow.
Yeah.
That, that says a lot about
Bobby (17:31):
their quality.
So, uh, so when you build one in Yes.
And an an, an afterthought and alot of things that we're seeing out
there in the market is, uh, thirdparty, OEM cabinetry, I'm gonna
mention names, Danver Nature cast.
These particular companiesthat need a combustion sleeve.
This company offers an insulated jacket.
(17:53):
When you put the grill inside ofthe jacket, you would think that it
would compensate as far as airflow.
Uh, but it doesn't, the air drafting runsright above the drip tray on this grill.
So if it's in an insulated jacketor one of those third party company
cabinetry, it does not deprive it of air.
It can breathe very, very well.
And they've, uh, had some forethoughton how to build this grill to do that.
Mike (18:16):
Amazing.
Yep.
So that's a, it's a quality grow.
If you're looking at.
That.
Bobby (18:22):
Yeah.
Yep.
Hexagonal cooking grids, um,different pedigree than what
anybody does in the industry.
What does that do?
Uh, more meat, uh, surface searing,uh, that's more equal, easier to clean.
And then briquettes.
Uh, briquettes are fine foundin your higher end grills.
The briquettes evenly distribute the heat.
They'll minimize flareupsand they'll promote flavor.
(18:43):
Why should I buy sear?
You'll notice in what is the sear.
So two versions.
We will ask your customers.
Do you want a sear mark or do you wantcrust on your filet on that Wagyu filet?
Well, if you like crust, sell the sear.
It's gonna give you that crust andcaramelization where the standard burner
will give you more of a sear mark.
Mike (19:03):
Awesome.
Yeah.
Appreciate the details.
Yep, you bet.
BBQ Ends (19:07):
So I hope you enjoyed the barbecue bits that we just featured today,
and we'll have more coming up next week.
If there's something in particular thatyou're interested for, let us know and
we'll get back into the episode now.
Mike (19:21):
So when I first reached out to you, actually, I reached
out to a representative that'shere in Dallas-Fort Worth.
you have installation, outlets scatteredall over the United States and abroad.
Or we just happen tobe lucky and have one?
Or if a client's like, I'm reallyinterested in this product, can I go
see it somewhere and if I like it,who's gonna be doing my installation?
(19:46):
Or is this something you just selland then somebody else installs it?
Tim (19:50):
We have distributors worldwide, from the US to Europe,
to Japan, and Middle East.
and these distributors are not justsupplied by us, but they're trained by us.
So the installers will be trained to fitthe panels correctly to a high standard.
So in the US if you would liketo get some of our products, we
(20:11):
have five distributors in the us.
can contact us at thehead office in the uk.
We will direct you to the nearestdistributor to direct geographically,
who will then give you a call.
They're absolutely lovely.
All our distributors they'll sendyou samples out if you want them.
They will come and visit you ifit's a large project, and they
will arrange to bring the products,install them, if you like, et cetera.
(20:34):
So, you know, we're not justabout selling the product.
We take a lot of pride.
The installation partof the business as well.
Sebastian (20:41):
And maybe to add to that, it's not just the proximity to our end
users, but we also strongly feel thatyou have to see and almost touch the
product to realize how good it actuallyis, how impressive a product it is.
And so we would recommend everyonewhether you have a small or big
project To contact us or contact anydistributor and go and have a look.
(21:04):
' cause that's really when ourproduct comes to life, so to speak.
Mike (21:07):
So do they have just your standard panels or do they have some of these
new products that you have as well?
The trees and theboganville and, yes, they
Tim (21:17):
have the range.
Mike (21:18):
Okay.
Tim (21:18):
They do have the range.
So we've got three panels.
We have our beautiful signature panel.
We then have our flowering panel,and then we have our boxwood panel.
Our distributors also carry our trees.
They carry our plants, ourhedges, and our trailers.
We have trailers that will extend toabout two meters, but then we've got
(21:38):
a new design that we've developedourselves where you can attach
them to one another and they canextend up to 10 meters in length.
we've actually gone a long way tomake sure we can actually cater
for a lot of people's requirements.
Mike (21:51):
I noticed in your brochure again that I saw a project that I
was familiar with 'cause Ryan Hughesdesigned it and he also carries your
product, I believe in his distributionStore so is he one of your applicators
Tim (22:06):
Solana Limited in?
Yes.
Or I think it's limited.
Solana Limited in Floridais our distributor.
Solana is a sister company to Ryan Hughes.
Mike (22:16):
Correct.
Tim (22:16):
And Ryan Hughes works very closely with Solana and Yes, Solana is one
of our key distributors for Florida.
Mike (22:22):
Yeah.
A lot of people on the podcast arefamiliar with Ryan's work and so Yes.
If you look at the foliage that'sused on his project, that's what
we're talking about here today.
Tim (22:33):
Yeah.
It is Vista FOIA that they'reusing on their projects.
Trey (22:36):
I'm wondering if y'all have any stories that come into mind because you
mentioned earlier that, get to get reallyclose and almost touch it to understand.
Good.
The quality of this product is, andI'm just thinking in my head like, see
fake foliage and plants all the timein restaurants and stuff like that.
In Texas, we see a lot of fakecactuses and it sticks out
and it kind of looks obvious.
But with this product it's like almostI had that go, walk up and just touch it
(22:59):
for myself to understand it's not real.
Do you have any storiesthat might come to mind?
'cause podcasts, people love stories.
Tim (23:06):
Absolutely.
I was in Germany as an exhibition.
And we set up the exhibition beautifully.
We had our panels all around ourtrees, and this person came along,
they walked up to me and they said,wow, these plants are beautiful.
I said, thank you, thank you.
And they said, what do you feed it tokeep them so lush and looking beautiful?
(23:28):
I said, they're fake, they're folk.
And they looked at me and they went, no.
I went, yes.
They went, no.
I went, yes.
And they went, I don't buy fake.
And I just looked at them and I was like,but you believe they were thing real?
Trey (23:40):
Yeah.
Tim (23:41):
But now because you know that they're not real, you don't want to buy them.
We had a whole conversation aroundcarbon footprint because this
person was a, how'd you call it?
A green piece person orsomeone that just loved nature,
which we love nature as well.
We are not competing against nature.
Nature is our friend, and I explainedto 'em that it can work hand in hand.
(24:02):
Yeah.
With living natural plants, becausewhere nature doesn't wanna grow,
or like I said before, wherecosts are strictly prohibited,
especially on a massive project,this is where faux plants come in.
But this has happened several times.
To me at exhibitions, atconferences at different places.
So a lot of the time, becauseof the quality of our products,
(24:25):
people do actually think thatthey're real, which is great.
Sebastian (24:28):
maybe On the other hand, we have clients that ask us to sign
NDAs because they do not want us touse their project In our collateral
because they don't want peopleto know that it's a full wall.
So as the other side of the story
Tim (24:44):
mm-hmm.
I'll add to that, that there is severalbig sporting venues in the United
Kingdom, several and in America,where we have had to sign NDAs.
And not let anyone know that theytook down living walls to put up
our faux walls because of disease.
Drying up water shortages, highmaintenance costs, using sprays,
(25:08):
insecticides, et cetera, which areall very damaging to the environment.
Yep.
And replacing with our products.
So.
We could definitely point 'emout to you, we are not allowed
to tell you who they're,
Trey (25:17):
where.
They're
Tim (25:18):
not
Trey (25:18):
NDA doesn't think isn't
Tim (25:19):
the largest.
And you've got them.
Mike (25:21):
Yeah, that's one of my first experiences in using a artificial plant.
Is we went through the whole gamutof looking for a source of a material
and we saw some really ugly stuffthat did not look very real at all.
And we finally settled on something andwe installed it, and the first time had
(25:45):
a client look at it, they walked overand was like, how long ago was this done?
Because this is such anamazing looking wall.
It was boxwood.
And they literally went up andtouched it before they realized
that it was not a real product.
So it's amazing with craftsmanshipwhat you can create that is a beautiful
(26:09):
piece of work that people can enjoy.
And the amazing thing about it is the.
All the problems that are associated withthe green wall go away with your product.
Trey (26:20):
I'm wondering with the signature piece, the panel, 'cause
it has a lot of longer foliage thathangs out when you're shipping it.
how is it being shipped?
Do you have to fluff itup once you unbox it?
does it ever get creed orfolded or anything like that?
How does that ' 'cause Well, let
Tim (26:35):
me explain that a little bit to you.
The signature panel comesin, three panels in a box.
Okay.
But they are A, B, and C panels.
So what?
Each panel has 16 varieties of plantsand 72 plants overall on each panel.
Each panel is configuredslightly differently.
So when you take them out of thebox and you put them up on the
(26:58):
wall, you go A, B, C, and theylook different, they look natural.
And then you take another box,take another three out, and you can
go B, C, A, and you can just keepon swapping those three around.
So it always looks like the productis completely natural, okay?
But when you do take 'emoutta the box, you are right.
They do lie flat.
So once you get them up on thewall, we call it dressing up.
(27:21):
So we'll go out and we'll fluff them up.
So they come out andthey jump out the wall.
We'll put some extra foliage in if we wantto, if we wanna change it a little bit.
And again, we fluff it up.
So that's how we do itonce it comes out the box.
Trey (27:34):
So do y'all have any problem with it actually, like folding, increasing
and like not hanging naturally?
Or is that like, covered bywarranty or something like that?
Tim (27:43):
No, we don't have that problem at all.
Okay.
Actual products, they're made in sucha way where they're pliable so they
can actually be moved and bent a littlebit without snapping or breaking.
Of course, if you get aggressive withit and think that you can hang off it,
it will probably snap or break, youknow, let's manage our expectations.
Trey (28:01):
Yeah.
Tim (28:01):
But yes, they are pliable, so that does allow you some
leeway to move them around.
That's good.
Mike (28:06):
So most of the applications I saw were on a vertical wall.
So can it be mounted on a ceiling?
Tim (28:12):
It has been done.
Okay.
It has been put in ceilings.
I do know of a project in the UK wherethe owner had a whole nature thing
going and they put it on their ceilingand their walls of their bathroom.
They felt that they wanted to havea bath or a shower in the forest.
I don't wanna add any morebeyond that, just to make of
it what you wanna make of it.
Mike (28:33):
No, no.
We did a thing on outdoorshowers just recently.
Yeah.
So we could have an indoorshower now and have a natural
Sebastian (28:41):
situation and an indoor outdoor shower or another example is
where we're speaking to a hotel atthe moment who has a Mexican restaurant
and they want a roof full of panels.
Give that more tropical feel.
Oh yeah.
Mike (28:56):
we do a lot of structures that have outdoor kitchens in them.
And so I think that.
Most of the time it's masonry that'son the back wall with this kitchen.
And I was just thinking how itwould be very striking to have all
foliage there instead of masonry.
Yeah.
But the one question that I was concernedabout is when we're cooking and there's
(29:20):
some grease that's in the air andstuff like that, and if it got on the
plants, is that gonna create a realproblem from a maintenance standpoint or
Trey (29:28):
the, The hot smoke as well?
Mike (29:29):
Yeah.
Tim (29:30):
The smoke won't actually damage the product.
Smoke is smoke, it will bounce off it.
Okay.
But hot oil hitting the plant coulddamage it or leave marks on it.
if you do a barbecue next to it andthe extreme heat right, hits it,
It will damage the product.
It's the same with artificial grass,coming from that industry myself, the
amount of times as the people, you'vegot beautiful artificial grass now.
(29:53):
Please do not do a barbecue on it.
And within a month or two, they've calledme up and said yeah, yeah, we've done
a barbecue on it, but there's a bighole now can you come and repair it?
And it's like, oh yeah,we can come and repair.
But we did say don't do a barbecue on it.
So yeah.
the product does have limitations.
Yeah.
But the good news is,is is fire retardant.
So if someone was to set a putflame to it, it won't ignite.
(30:13):
What it will do is it'll startburning and then cr could it
create a char layer around it?
And as soon as the flame's takenaway, it will self extinguish.
Okay.
Mike (30:22):
Okay.
So I assumed that it would besomething I wouldn't like, wanna
put right behind the grill.
Yeah.
But anyway, I was just wanting toclarify that in case someone else
was thinking about it and didn't not
Tim (30:35):
do it.
There will be a lot of peoplethat would be thinking about that.
I can almost assure you that there wasmany people lining up and measuring
right now how to put them behind
or somewhere like that.
So thank you for asking that question.
Please carry on
Mike (30:51):
certainly.
one of the things we have we have asection that we call outdoor Living True
Crime, and Outdoor Living True crime issomething that's happened to somebody
and it's a crime that it happened.
And so we're gonna tell the storyso it doesn't happen to more people.
Trey (31:07):
Yeah.
No, that's fine.
lot of the time it's like we'llhave like pool designers or someone
else that's in their like marketand they've seen something from a
competitor or whatever it might be.
Or maybe they even were at adifferent company at some time and
they just saw a practice that waslike, man why is this even a thing?
Have y'all seen I guess mental healthor workplace productivity benefits
(31:28):
with y'all's projects in general?
Are these, are hospitals maybeusing these at all in some areas
or anything like that at all?
Sebastian (31:35):
Quite funny you mention it.
Yeah,
Trey (31:37):
please.
Sebastian (31:38):
No, go ahead, Sarah.
well, well, I was just gonna say,funny you mentioned because we do have
some hospitals with our products, butwe've just, done a study where this
is part of the things we look at.
And whilst obviously they're not livingplants because they're ultra realistic.
The brain doesn't reallyknow that they're foe.
(31:59):
Yeah.
And so therefore you do get thiscalming productivity enhancing effect.
And that's not us doing this study.
That's us just.
Quoting other research.
There are obviously other benefits youget from living walls or real plants
that you won't get from artificial.
But if you're thinking aboutthe whole biophilic spectrum
There's definitely some benefitsyou get from faux walls and
(32:22):
plants and some You don't.
Trey (32:24):
No.
Yeah.
I hundred percent.
go
Tim (32:26):
ahead.
I would like to add that we've done ahospice in the United Kingdom recently.
And we had the panels go up.
We had them up on the ceilings, wehad plants coming down and I did ask
them why they wanted the plants there.
And they did say that this is ahospice, it's the last days of people.
And they said it did have anice calming effect on people.
(32:48):
It was very enjoyable for them to seethem, and they didn't have the socio
maintenance cost to go with them.
Additionally, they did add that.
Our plants are fo living.
Plants in hospitals aren't reallyacknowledged in the United Kingdom
because people suffer from pollen.
Hay fever, They can dropdebris, which then of course
(33:08):
causes mess in the hospitals.
So hospitals don't really encourageliving plants anymore inside the hospital.
the days of coming up with a big bunchof flowers in the United Kingdom, for
example, isn't really done anymore.
It's more about bringing chocolates.
Spring some fake plants.
So it does have its benefits inhospitals where we can still create
(33:29):
that biophilic environment, but withoutthe associated maintenance costs.
Hey, fever sufferers that wouldsuffer from et cetera, et cetera.
Trey (33:36):
Yeah.
And I think even when you do know they'refoe for me personally at least, it's
nice to look at, it softens the vibe orthe aesthetic or whatever it might be.
And I didn't even think about the,like sanitation and the allergies
and all that kind of stuff.
So it just makes sense to havesomething like that in that environment.
And that's good that it is.
Mike (33:54):
We've talked about biotic design quite a bit.
Oh yeah.
And how we're the ultimate solution andthe fact that we can take people out
into nature and create a space for them.
But there's a lot of transition spacesin between inside and outside, which, you
know, because of the heavy shade in those.
Porch areas.
(34:14):
It's virtually impossibleto get, greenery to grow.
Where this is, I imagine, a phenomenalsolution in those spaces, in,
in those walls, and then can betransitioned further into the home
and continue that living space.
Tim (34:29):
Great.
Mike (34:30):
Is there anything that we should think about that there's a a challenge
with either the installation of thisor and putting it in that, we should
think carefully about how we handle it.
Tim (34:43):
mean, For the olive trees, for example, in the Boganville trees.
They would have the samelimitations as a normal tree.
If you hang on one of thebranches, it will break.
And I think that's one thing thatwe need to get across to people
because we have a olive tree thatwe've got planted outside our office.
I say planted.
It's not a living plant,but it's in the ground.
(35:03):
And we do have to keep an eye that someonedoesn't come over and try and climb on it
or pull on it because it will damage it.
So where's a living tree?
You could snap it and it'll grow back.
That's not the same for fauxplants and because say on the
trees it is a molded product.
It's made to exact design.
Repair on the tree might not be aseasy as it would be, say, on the
(35:25):
work thing, on one of the panelsthat goes up against the wall.
I think that's the main limitation.
The only other thing that I've noticed.
With our panels is the people that lookwith their hands and not with their eyes.
And they'll go over and they'll pulland tug at the plants until they
actually snap it or pull it off.
And I think that's the only other thingrestriction I'd see with our products.
(35:48):
Otherwise, no, we don't really struggle.
And I will say this, in the last11 years, I think you can count
on two hands the amount of.
Complaints we've had back, and Iwouldn't say complaints where someone's
tried to challenge the warranty andit again, on every case, we've always
looked at it and found that it was neveractually our product that was a problem.
(36:09):
It was the way it was maintained orabused that brought it to where it was.
Mike (36:14):
one of the things, is there a certain dimension from a width
or a height standpoint that youwould recommend not going beyond?
Sebastian (36:22):
Not really.
No.
Like we have people framing single panelsmore as a piece of art all the way up
to multi thousand panel installations.
Trey (36:33):
Is there any specific, like just hotels or locations that you could point
to that aren't under NDA, obviously.
that if someone's like wondering howmuch of a spectacle could this be and
they could just like Google it or goto your website or something like that.
Is there any particular locationsthat are just stunning and beautiful?
Tim (36:50):
Yeah, sure.
Come over to our website.
We have a lot of casestudies on our website.
You can have a look at that andif someone's really interested,
they can always reach out to us.
We have got projects across the USAthat we could actually direct them
to, that they could possibly look at.
Mike (37:05):
it's Tina, I think that's here in Dallas-Fort Worth, is that correct?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So I could reach out to Tina andshe could tell me of places that
are local here to go Absolutely.
And check out as well.
Correct.
Okay.
we mentioned the true crime, is there aparticular project or story that you can
think of that would help somebody, notexperience something that would help out?
Tim (37:27):
I don't think we've really suffered crime because our products
are quite installed quite well.
Yeah.
And you'd really have to know theproduct to be able to find a way
to take it off on a personal level.
I lost my father several years agoand he, the cemetery is buried.
I decided that rather than puttingliving plants that always die, you
(37:47):
go there, you have a little cry, youput your plants and then you leave.
I took some of our color products fromour color boxes, some of our plants, and
I put them there and they look beautiful.
All summer they were there.
They looked beautiful.
They look like they're the realthing other people putting on theirs.
Along came winter.
Everyone else's plants died,but the ones I put on my
(38:08):
father's grave looked excellent.
And then recently when mymother went to speak to my dad
at his grave, they were gone.
It's a crime as in they stole myfaux plants or my father's grave.
I dunno where they've put themor how they've used them and
I've had to replace them again.
But I think that is the biggest crime thatI've seen when it comes to our products.
(38:30):
I'm sorry I couldn't give you a betterstory, but that's a true story at least.
Mike (38:34):
No.
The crime is, it's probably in somebody'sliving room vase now, you know?
So, jeez.
Sebastian (38:42):
That's low.
That's low.
Yeah.
That's pretty bad.
Mike (38:44):
But thank you for sharing that.
it's a tribute to know that,you would even use that at the
memorial of your father.
So speaks highly true.
Evergreen, always
Tim (38:54):
green.
It does work and it does look beautiful.
Yeah.
And he always liked lavender,so I put lavender there.
Mum liked the pink hops.
She put some pink there.
I've got a few white petroldrop ones that I put in there.
it looks beautiful and think whenyou go to visit your loved ones in
their place of rest think it should bebeautiful for them and beautiful for you.
(39:15):
When you sit there and you say your prayerand you have your little moment with them.
So I think it you can makesomething special of somewhere
where you've lost someone.
Yeah.
That's just a personal opinion.
Mike (39:24):
So what's in the future for Vista Folia?
Can you tell us any secret?
Sebastian (39:28):
Ooh big question.
I think we're it's still, it'sreally early days for this very niche
category of artificial green walls and.
Outdoor rated artificial plants.
So I think we're onlyscratching the surface.
And personally, my goal with VistaFolia is to remain a thought leader or
deth thought leader in the industry.
(39:49):
Continue to develop our product offering.
Continue to develop our, orimprove upon our formula and
especially making sure that.
People like your listeners aswell as architects and interior
designers are aware of the optionof an artificial green wall.
And then within this niche industry,what are the differences between a high
(40:13):
quality, more expensive product and a.
Really low quality, cheapand cheerful version.
And at the end of the dayyou get what you pay for.
And so there's a lot of education requiredjust to grow the industry as a whole.
And then I think Vista Foliawill continue to thrive and get
its fair share of, that growth.
Mike (40:33):
We look forward to it for sure.
love Green and growers, but thereare circumstances where they will
not grow or they grow very poorly andyou're constantly nursing them along.
And so the solution is, a syntheticproduct that, looks and acts like
(40:53):
a real product is a great solution.
And so that's what we wanted tohave y'all on for today, and we
look forward to working with y'allin the future on some things.
So do you ever do shows orthings like that in the us You
mentioned a show earlier whereyour products were on display.
Is that something that happens?
(41:14):
Here?
Tim (41:15):
our distributors do various shows around the USA throughout the year.
So again, reaching out to ourdistribution network and saying, where
are you guys gonna be exhibiting isprobably a good one because they'll
tell you exactly where they're gonna be.
And I said, we've got several distributorsin the US and they all have their own
favorite shows they like to go to, whetherit's in New York, California, Florida.
(41:35):
Texas, Tennessee, et cetera.
So, We do yeah, plentyof shows around the USA.
Mike (41:40):
Perfect.
Wow.
Look forward to, as I said,working with y'all in the future.
And any parting words.
It's you guys have before, Treyhas some standard questions
he likes to ask everybody.
Yep.
Sebastian (41:51):
I think it was a real pleasure to be on this podcast a real honor.
yeah, we look forward to working withyou, answering any questions your
listeners may have around the country.
it was fun to be here.
Trey (42:01):
Okay I always ask at the end of the podcast, what's your favorite?
Meal or just favorite food in general?
Your favorite book and your favoritemovie would be just to get to
know y'all a little bit better.
Tim (42:12):
I'm gonna let you go first.
Sebastian.
Sebastian (42:15):
I was gonna go see there might be a theme here.
Favorite meal.
I'm a man of extremes.
get as much joy out of a pizzaas I get out of a 12 course meal.
So basically either, eitherone of those two extremes.
Favorite book?
Sapiens probably.
Trey (42:30):
Okay.
Sebastian (42:31):
Might not have been the first one that has
mentioned that on this podcast.
Really enjoy Sapiens favorite movie.
I'm more of a series.
I'm more of a series person, to be honest.
Trey (42:40):
What's your favorite series?
Probably The
Sebastian (42:41):
Godfather then.
Okay.
Okay.
Breaking Bad Series wise,
Trey (42:44):
that's probably too, yeah.
Mike (42:46):
And one, one I
Tim (42:47):
shift in there.
Yeah.
Sorry,
Mike (42:48):
one question to add since we're on you, Sebastian.
So if you were to travel anywhere,where would you want to go?
Sebastian (42:55):
Questions.
Where wouldn't I wanna go?
I feel like I, live to travel and exploreand show the world to my children now.
I have a four and a 5-year-old.
And yeah I've seen a decentpart of the world already.
A couple of countriesthat are high on my list.
I've never been to Canada and I'dlove to like backpack in Canada.
Iceland.
I think Iceland has twoseasons, so you have to go in
winter time and in summertime.
(43:16):
I haven't been.
So I think those two countries.
And then finally JordanJordan I think is beautiful.
Mike (43:22):
Awesome.
we just got back from backpackingin the Rocky Mountains.
Colorado,
Sebastian (43:27):
so
Tim (43:27):
fantastic.
Yeah, very nice.
Mike (43:29):
Okay.
Trey (43:30):
Tamai,
Tim (43:30):
I think it's your turn.
I'm still thinking big silence.
You're up.
Well, My favorite foods is Mediterranean.
Okay.
So you know, the Mediterranean dietis what I've grown up on is what
I love and I'll always continue.
So olives, olive oils,all these kind of things.
Lends itself to me.
So that's my favorite foods, my favoritebooks I'm sorry, but I love Stephen King.
(43:52):
Whether you start from Christine andgo up to Carrie and all these other
Tommy Knockers, all these books,I do love a Stephen King novel.
And if I was gonna say my favorite movie.
I'm split between my ultimatefavorite Star Wars and the Matrix.
Those are good one.
My inner child jumps out big time there.
Mike (44:11):
Those are good ones.
And where would you travel to?
Tim (44:14):
Me?
South Africa.
Mike (44:15):
Okay.
Tim (44:16):
South Africa is part of a continent that I haven't been to.
I've been to most parts of the world.
But Africa I haven't been to.
I would start of South Africaand just work my way around that
continent, there's so much there andI would love to go on a real safari.
Not sure about getting eaten by lions.
I'm a little scared of the hyenas, butfascinated by elephants and gorillas.
(44:36):
For me it's gotta be Africa.
Mike (44:38):
That would be a fun adventure.
Oh yeah, for sure.
Thank you again so much for beinghere and sharing some time with
us in your day great product.
And we thank you for allthat you've provided.
Tim (44:50):
Nice.
Thank you for having us.
You have a good one.
Absolute pleasure.
Talk to you both.
Absolute pleasure.
Outro (44:56):
This show is all about helping you become a better buyer, a better pool
owner, and hopefully you're gonna findsome insights into how to enjoy your pool
even more so how to help your friends,your family, anybody looking to buy a
pool in the future or that want to remodeltheir backyard, add an outdoor fireplace,
fire pit, add an outdoor kitchen area, addsome shade cells, or whatever else it is.
(45:19):
We wanna be that resource for you, andthat's the end goal here, and we promise.
That there's gonna bea ton of information.
We'll try to go through it, youknow, as relatively quickly, but
also slow so people can understand.
But the intent of the show, thereason Mike and I are doing this
is because we just got a lot inour heads and we wanna share it.
So we hope to see youhere every single week.
Thanks for listening.
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