Making high-quality, natural, breathable paint with the least impact possible
Beautiful Materials, Intelligent Making
We take a pioneering approach to materials and making, using natural, mineral based materials to create beautiful paints, colours and surface finishes. We use our technical skills in harmony with our environmental care. Every finish we make is a natural, breathable and virtually VOC-free paint, created to be better for your home and healthier to live with.
Our manufactory is based on a farm in the heart of the South Downs, surrounded by nature. Our paint and materials are produced using clean, locally sourced materials and is fed by a reservoir for our water and manufacturing needs. Being rooted in landscape and utilising local resources, anchors our thinking and decision making.
We use minimal smart science to carefully formulate our natural, mineral-based paint to be completely breathable, virtually VOC-free and full of locally sourced natural materials. It is exceptional quality, clean smelling and a pleasure to use.
Our slow and simple manufacturing culture is grounded in non-industrial production methods. The hand of the maker and human agency is at the heart of how we make paint.
Find out more about our paint
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99% of our paint is derived from natural materials, including minerals drawn from the earth such as calcium carbonate and dolomite, and a bio-resin made from vegetable waste crops. We believe the remaining materials and careful science are necessary to make paint that lasts and is beautiful to use.
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95% of the materials used in our paint are sourced in the UK, with the remainder coming from Europe. Sourcing this way keeps transport emissions low and supports UK manufacturing.
You can read all the source locations below –or on our product and application guides.
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All our finishes are formulated to be highly breathable. They create safe homes, ensuring buildings and humans breathe, regulate moisture and improve air quality.
We measure our paints against SD Class 1 (below 0.14), our benchmark for breathability:
True Matt Emulsion: 0.004
Steadfast Matt Emulsion: 0.0615
Wood & Metal finishes: 0.1
Every finish carries only minimal or trace VOCs:
True Matt Emulsion: trace VOC (0.07g/l)
Steadfast Matt Emulsion: trace VOC (0.09g/l)
Wood & Metal paint: low VOC (6g/l)
All are completely free from heavy metals, ammonia, glycols and micro-plastics.
All our pigments are VOC-free.
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All our products are made in-house at our manufactory in East Sussex. It has the particularity of being based on a farm in the heart of the South Downs surrounded by nature. Being rooted in landscape and utilising local resources anchors our thinking and decision making. It allows to hold environmental care even closer than ever.
You can find out more about our manufactory here.
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We aim to keep our waste and CO2 emissions through the entire production process to a minimum. This starts by having our paint developed and made in our own factory, less than 50 miles from London, to keep transport to a minimum. We then use lean production values and simple, human methods, colouring every tin to order in our studio in Bermondsey to avoid unnecessary waste.
We offer hand-painted A4 colour cards instead of sample pots to minimise waste and transportation, as well as removing the recycling burden from our customers.
Our paint charts are painted in-house, using our True Matt Emulsion, avoiding mass printing and ensuring that customers have a true interaction with our paint and colours.
Our paint is supplied in fully recyclable tins made in the UK, instead of being shipped from abroad.
We also choose to limit international deliveries within Europe so that all deliveries can be made by road.
Our packaging is all recycled and/or recyclable card or paper, and we limit the use of printed marketing material to items that we believe customers would want to keep.
All of our printed material is on FSC approved and recycled paper, using UK printers.
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Our formulations and processes are always evolving. We keep refining them, testing and improving as our understanding grows. This is a slow, considered process, rooted in both traditional knowledge and new techniques, always in service of paint that performs beautifully.
Find out about our available finishes here.
True Matt Emulsion ingredient list
Main ingredients:
Filtered Water — Britain
Freshly pumped from our factory reservoir in East Sussex. Water acts as a solvent which allows paint to spread smoothly.
Pure Minerals — Britain
A balanced blend of dolomite and calcium carbonate in various particle sizes. This is to ensure great coverage and robustness and allows to fine-tune gloss levels. The PH stability of calcium carbonate also acts as a natural preservative, which allows us to minimise other preservatives.
Pigments — Britain and Europe
We use Titanium Dioxide as base pigment to adjust coverage, sheen level and how easily the paint spreads. We source the highest grades from the UK only, and do not use sulphate-based production sources, as this contributes to water pollution.
Our colours are formulated using up to 12 pigments, most of which are earth or mineral based, with some man-made where we believe this is a better environmental and human choice. All of them are VOC and APE free.
Bio-resin — Germany
We choose to use bio-resin rather than acrylic or vinyl-based options. It is made from simple, raw materials including sugar, bio ethanol, vegetable oil produced from waste crops, castor oil and/or linseed oil.
Additives:
Thickener —0.1% - Germany
Natural cellulose from wood or cotton linter. This helps regulate the viscosity, which facilitates application.
Dispersing agent —0.1% - France
This helps prevent the pigment from lumping together.
Defoamer —0.05% - Netherlands
This helps prevent the formation of foam.
Flash-rust inhibitor —0.01% - Britain
This protects the tins from corrosion.
Preservative —0.0013% - Britain
Isothiazolinone – a man-made organic preserving compound. This is our only preservative, and it is necessary to prevent the raw materials from becoming mouldy, but we use the minimum viable amount possible– 13ppm.
PH modifier —0.001% – Britain
This counteracts variations in other raw materials and to maintain the stability of the paint. We choose our formulation to be PH neutral, so that they can be used on the widest variety of surfaces, including lime plaster and previously painted lime and other mineral based paints. This avoids the need for additional primers or preparatory products.
Steadfast Matt Emulsion ingredient list
Main ingredients:
Filtered Water — Britain
Freshly pumped from our factory reservoir in East Sussex. Water acts as a solvent which allows paint to spread smoothly.
Pure Minerals — Britain
A balanced blend of dolomite and calcium carbonate in various particle sizes. This is to ensure great coverage and robustness and allows to fine-tune gloss levels. The PH stability of calcium carbonate also acts as a natural preservative, which allows us to minimise other preservatives.
Pigments — Britain and Europe
We use Titanium Dioxide as base pigment to adjust coverage, sheen level and how easily the paint spreads. We source the highest grades from the UK only, and do not use sulphate-based production sources, as this contributes to water pollution.
Our colours are formulated using up to 12 pigments, most of which are earth or mineral based, with some man-made where we believe this is a better environmental and human choice. All of them are VOC and APE free.
Bio-resin — Germany
We choose to use bio-resin rather than acrylic or vinyl-based options. It is made from simple, raw materials including sugar, bio ethanol, vegetable oil produced from waste crops, castor oil and/or linseed oil.
Wax — Britain
We use natural wax to give our Steadfast Emulsion paint its resistant properties.
Additives:
Thickener —0.1% - Germany
Natural cellulose from wood or cotton linter. This helps regulate the viscosity, which facilitates application.
Dispersing agent —0.1% - France
This helps prevent the pigment from lumping together.
Defoamer —0.05% - Netherlands
This helps prevent the formation of foam.
Flash-rust inhibitor —0.01% - Britain
This protects the tins from corrosion.
Preservative —0.0013% - Britain
Isothiazolinone – a man-made organic preserving compound. This is our only preservative, and it is necessary to prevent the raw materials from becoming mouldy, but we use the minimum viable.
PH modifier —0.001% – Britain
This counteracts variations in other raw materials and to maintain the stability of the paint. We choose our formulation to be PH neutral, so that they can be used on the widest variety of surfaces, including lime plaster and previously painted lime and other mineral based paints. This avoids the need for additional primers or preparatory products.
Wood & Metal ingredient list
Main ingredients:
Filtered Water — Britain
Freshly pumped from our factory reservoir in East Sussex. Water acts as a solvent which allows paint to spread smoothly.
Pure Minerals — Britain
A balanced blend of dolomite and calcium carbonate in various particle sizes. This is to ensure great coverage and robustness and allows to fine-tune gloss levels. The PH stability of calcium carbonate also acts as a natural preservative, which allows us to minimise other preservatives.
Pigments — Britain and Europe
We use Titanium Dioxide as base pigment to adjust coverage, sheen level and how easily the paint spreads. We source the highest grades from the UK only, and do not use sulphate-based production sources, as this contributes to water pollution.
Our colours are formulated using up to 12 pigments, most of which are earth or mineral based, with some man-made where we believe this is a better environmental and human choice. All of them are VOC and APE free.
Water–based Emulsion Resin — Britain
A binder is what makes paint stick onto a surface. For our Wood & Metal paint, rather than acrylic or vinyl, we use a binder from a carbon neutral supplier who is ISO–14001 Responsible Care Approved and has earned the Energy Star Award for sustained excellence five years in a row.
Wax — Britain
We use natural wax to give our Wood & Metal paint its resistant properties.
Additives:
Thickener —0.1% - Germany
Natural cellulose from wood or cotton linter. This helps regulate the viscosity, which facilitates application.
Dispersing agent —0.1% - France
This helps prevent the pigment from lumping together.
Defoamer —0.05% - Netherlands
This helps prevent the formation of foam.
Flash-rust inhibitor —0.01% - Britain
This protects the tins from corrosion.
Preservative —0.0013% - Britain
Isothiazolinone – a man-made organic preserving compound. This is our only preservative, and it is necessary to prevent the raw materials from becoming mouldy, but we use the minimum viable.
PH modifier —0.001% – Britain
This counteracts variations in other raw materials and to maintain the stability of the paint. We choose our formulation to be PH neutral, so that they can be used on the widest variety of surfaces, including lime plaster and previously painted lime and other mineral based paints. This avoids the need for additional primers or preparatory products.
Product FAQs
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We focus on making clean and healthy paint in our own manufacturing site in East Sussex.
We prioritise materiality and intelligent making, by using an innovative bio-based binder, instead of acrylic or plastic alternatives.
We also choose UK sourced and environmentally sound ingredients.
We put humans and the environment at the centre of all our decision making.
The result is a natural, breathable and virtually VOC-free paint that supports better indoor air quality and a healthier, safer home.
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Atelier Ellis paint is made from natural, mineral-based ingredients, including calcium carbonate, dolomite and a plant-based bio-resin, with only minimal, carefully chosen additives. You can see our full ingredients list above – or by reading our product and application guides.
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Around 99% of our paint is derived from natural and mineral-based ingredients such as dolomite and calcium carbonate, which is what gives it its breathable, low-VOC qualities.
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Breathable paint lets moisture vapour pass through your walls instead of trapping it, which helps prevent damp, mould and peeling paint. Breathability is easiest measured through steam diffusion values (SD). This measures the paint's resistance to water vapour moving through it. The higher the number, the more difficult it is for the vapour to get through. The lower the number, means the breathability and moisture regulation improves. Less is always more.
SD Class 1 - less than 0.14 is the best. If you need or want breathability this is the marker you should always choose your paint from.
Our True Matt Emulsion is measured at 0.004, our Steadfast Matt Emulsion is 0.0615, and our Wood & Metal finishes are 0.1 .
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Truly breathable paint should list its SD values in its product or data application sheets, or on its website. If they do not, you can always request this information.
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Yes – all of our paint is within SD Class 1 - less than 0.14.
Our True Matt Emulsion is measured at 0.004, our Steadfast Matt Emulsion is 0.0615, and our Wood & Metal finishes are 0.1.
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Yes. You can use our True Matt Emulsion and our Steadfast Matt Emulsion on all lime and gypsum freshly plastered, or previously painted surfaces.
As they are PH neutral paints, no primers or specialty preparatory products are needed.
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Yes. As our paint is PH neutral, you can paint over all lime and water based previously painted surfaces.
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VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are chemicals that easily evaporate into the air at room temperature. In paint, VOCs are gases released into the air as the coating dries and are associated with certain ingredients that help keep the coating workable during application.
They evaporate during and after application, and can affect indoor and outdoor air quality.
Choosing a low-VOC or VOC-free paint helps keep the air in your home cleaner and safer to breathe.
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No paint can be completely VOC free, as VOCs are carried in water. Our finishes carry only trace or virtually no VOCs, from 0.07g/l in our True Matt Emulsion to 6g/l in our Wood & Metal paint, both well below standard paint VOC levels. Our pigments are all VOC free.