HANNOVER, Germany -- The world's finest designer carpets and rugs have been awarded prizes at the 2017 Carpet Design Awards, held at Domotex in Hannover. The award ceremony took place Jan. 15, with winners announced in eight categories.
The winners were picked from a list of 24 finalists, selected from an initial 386 entries from 21 countries. This marks the 12th successive year that Domotex has hosted the top international award for modern hand-made carpets and rugs.
Under the chairmanship of multi-award-winning carpet designer Stephanie Odegard from New York, the international jury selected carpets and rugs of outstanding design, quality and craftsmanship. Entries were judged in terms of design and design concept, materials, execution, texture, structure and quality, as well as sustainability and branding.
The winning entry in the category Best Studio Artist Design: Vlisco Recycled by Simone Post; in the category Best Modern Design Superior: Super Moon by Sterling Rugs; in the category Best Modern Design Deluxe: Summit by Wool & Silk Rugs; in the category Best Traditional Design: Vase Green by Ayka Design; in the category Best Transitional Design: Shiraz Sabz by Hossein Rezvani; in the category Best Flat Weave Design: Scandinavian Flatweave 2 by Rug & Kilim; in the category Best Modern Collection: Unstring by Kavi by Jaipur Rugs; and in the category Best Transitional Collection: Alasht Collection by Edelgrund.
CARPET DESIGN AWARDS 2017 WINNERS
01 Best Studio Artist Design
"Vlisco Recycled" by Simone Post
Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of the managing board of Deutsche Messe, and Ben Evans of Hali magazine, co-sponsor of the Carpet Design Awards, flank Menno Post, accepting the award for his sister Simone Post.
The Carpet Design Awards jury was impressed with Dutch designer Simone Post's deep colors and innovative approach to texture. They noted a clear story and a fresh perspective on recycling in rugs. For her winning design Simone Post, who is currently researching a project in India, used waste fabric from a factory that prints brightly colored cloth for African clothes. She glued the fabric into a ring supported with a rubber backing.
The Best Studio Design award-winning rug by dutch designer Simone Post.
02 Best Modern Design Superior
"Super Moon" by Sterling Rugs
Nauman Waziri of Sterling Rugs accepted the Best Modern Design Superior Award at Domotex 2017.
The judges appreciated the vision of Silver Moon's design, its simple coloring and fine technique. They noted that the rug could be used in both a modern and a traditional setting and will stand the test of time. Winning designer Nauman Waziri supplies ideas for Sterling Rugs, which is owned by his family in Bhadohi, India.
Nauman Waziri poses with Sterling Rugs' Carpet Design Award for Super Moon at the Innovations@Domotex display area.
Super Moon by Sterling Rugs was honored with a Carpet Design Award in the Best Modern Design Superior category.
03 Best Modern Design Deluxe
"Summit" by Wool & Silk Rugs
New Jersey-based designer Erbil Tezcan of Wool & Silk Rugs accepts the award for Best Modern Design Deluxe.
Designer Erbil Tezcan beat out the competition in the jury's eyes in the Modern Deluxe category with Summit, which the jury dubbed an "evocative design with subtle coloring." Though titled to suggest mountain peaks, the carpet began as a photo of boats in a marina, with all prows facing in one direction. Tezcan reimagined the lines of the photo into an almost 3-D rug design.
Summit, a new design by Erbil Tezcan, was awarded Best Modern Design Deluxe at the 2017 Carpet Design Awards.
04 Best Traditional Design
"Vase Green" by Ayka Design
Designer Michelle Evans, founder of Ayka Design, wins the award for Best Traditional Design at the 2017 Carpet Design Awards in Hannover.
Jurors selected Ayka Design's modern interpretation of traditional motifs for its organic and fun design that plays with form and focus. They were impressed with the tactile nature, the richness of material and unique palette chosen by designer Michelle Evans for Green Vase, winner of the Best Traditional Design at the 2017 Carpet Design Awards.
The intricately textured Vase Green design was named Best Traditional Design at the annual Carpet Design Awards.
A detail of the tactile Vase Green design by Michelle Evans for Ayka Design.
05 Best Transitional Design
"Shiraz Sabz" by Hossein Rezvani
Hossein Rezvani of the eponymous high-end carpet house accepts the 2017 Carpet Design Award for Best Transitional Design.
Chosen as Best Transitional Design in the 2017 Carpet Design Awards for its vision and dynamic colors, the jury also was impressed with the fine weave and rich materials of Hossein Rezvani's Shiraz Sabz collection.
The glamorous Shiraz Sabz design by Hossein Rezvani on display at Domotex, where it won the Carpet Design Award for Best Transitional Design.
06 Best Flatweave Design
"Scandinavian Flatweave 2" by Rug & Kilim
Rug & Kilim's Josh Nazmiyal, principal, and designer Zubair Bhutto accept the 2017 Carpet Design Award for Best Flatweave Design.
The elaborately textured Scandinavian Flatweave 2 by Rug & Kilim took the first Carpet Design Award ever offered in the flatweave category.
According to the Awards jurors, the New York City-based Rug & Kilim's Scandinavian Flatweave 2 collection highlights material and technique beautifully, and displays 'a lot of design, thought and texture.' This carpet was cited by competition judge Stephanie Odegard as one that particularly caught her eye.
Exhibiting at Domotex for the second consecutive year, Rug & Kilim has won Carpet Design Awards in 2016 and 2017 for its innovative Scandinavian collections.
07 Best Modern Collection
"Unstring by Kavi" by Jaipur Rugs
Yogesh Chaudhary and his sister Kavita Chaudhary of Jaipur Rugs received the 2017 Best Modern Collection award for "Unstring by Kavi"
The Carpet Design Awards jury remarked that the contemporary color combinations and well-conceived designs of the 'Unstring by Kavi' collection were "suitable for simply any interior." During the awards ceremony the designs were a big crowd-pleaser as well, judging the resounding cheers of Jaipur Rugs' supporters. The collection captures the human experience within the design and weaving processes with "no strings attached," according to designer Kavita Chaudhary.
Unstring by Kavi, a new collection designed by Kavita Chaudhary of Jaipur Rugs, allows artisan weavers their own freedom of expression with no strings attached.
A design from Jaipur Rugs' new Unstring by Kavi collection premiering at Domotex features 200,000 asymmetric knots per square meter.
08 Best Transitional Collection
"Alasht Collection" by Edelgrund
Designers of the Alasht Collection by Edelgrund, Ali and Reza Lotfi, accept the 2017 Carpet Design Award at Domotex.
The awards jury praised the Alasht collection for its scale, texture and timeless color combinations, which they said are simultaneously classic and modern. Brothers Ali and Reza Lotfi's winning design for the Hamburg-based Edelgrund utilize natural vegetable dyes and the techniques of the Alasht village in the Mazandaran region of Iran.
Edelgrund was singled out for the deftly colored contemporary Iranian kelims in the award-winning Alasht Collection.
STEPHANIE ODEGARD'S PERSPECTIVE
"This year the Carpet Design Awards panel consisted of five judges with very different points of view, drawn from a number of sectors and locations. The result of our wide-ranging professional experience and expertise is a set of winners we believe will make an impact in the world of carpets and beyond", Odegard said. She told RugNews.com that this was a difficult group of winners to select since the quality of work submitted was so high this year.
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"We believe these winners will make an impact on the world of carpet and beyond," Stephanie Odegard, CDA judge
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The presentation of the Carpet Design Awards at a ceremony attended by numerous guests from the international carpet industry is one of the highlights of the annual Domotex show. The award is highly regarded around the world, not least because its featured entries serve as a rich source of inspiration for carpet dealers, owners of carpet and rug galleries, as well as interior designers as they put together their collections for the new season.
All 24 carpets that made it to the final round will be on display in the Innovations@Domotex area of Hall 17 throughout the event. The display gives the visiting public the opportunity to pick their personal favorites, and the entry that wins the most popular votes will be honored with a special trophy at the end of the show.
--Reporting & photography by Stephen Landrigan