HIGH POINT PEOPLE & PARTIES - THE RUG SCENE, PART 2
 |
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Area rugs are on a roll at High Point Market, and this spring showrooms in the category were a magnet for retailers and designers on the hunt for hot parties and the next big trend.
Loloi outdid all competition for market shoppers' attention on Saturday with its new 30,000 square foot showroom and blockbuster
15th anniversary party headlined by saxophonist Kenny G. At the Kaleen showroom, heads turned when market shoppers spied the rug maker's
new licensing partner, Hilary Farr, star of the HGTV hit series
Love It or Leave It. And Momeni's showroom was abuzz with its meet-and-greet book signing with celeb designer Erin Gates.
In addition to Loloi's ribbon cutting, new showrooms were by Orientalist Home and first-time exhibitor Mod-Arte, both in the Suites at Market Square. Surya had lots to celebrate, including
Surya and Satya Tiwari's recognition by City of Hope with a Spirit of Life award at ceremonies held during spring market. Surya held a whopping total of six events at High Point Market, from its annual spring buyers' party to an ASID members' breakfast and showroom tour.
In Part 2 of our exclusive coverage of the Rug Scene in High Point, RugNews.com covers Kaleen through Tamarian. Don't miss Part 1, where we cover companies from
Amer through Kalaty
KALEEN
Blake Dennard of Kaleen with Al Boychuk and Larissa Boychuk of Furniture Weekend Plus in Queensbury, New York, with Kaleen's Jeff Forwood in front of the Boho Patio collection, which is machine woven of polyester.
Blake Dennard and Prachi Gupta of Kaleen meet with new licensing partner Hilary Farr (star of HGTV's Love It or Leave It) and Monty Rathi of Kaleen to work on rug designs for their upcoming collection to be released this fall.
KARASTAN
Katie Drake and Walter Smithe of Walter E. Smithe in Chicago, flank Mark Dilling of Karastan, all in front of designs from the debuting indoor-outdoor Pergola collection.
KABEL CARPET EXPORT CENTER
Rob Leahy, project director, for the Kabul Carpet Export Center, takes a booth at Suites at Market Square, and Carol Tisch of RugNews.com and Barak Rutledge of Southwest Looms stop by to review the latest carpets made in Afghanistan.
LOLOI
Tracy Zimmer and Tamara Exsted of La-Z-Boy Monroe, Michigan, with Amer Loloi in Loloi's new gallery of framed textile art at the company's newly expanded High Point Market IHFC showroom.
Zooming in on the ribbon cutting for Loloi's new High Point showroom, this detail of Loloi and IMC execs includes (left to right) Julie Messner of IMC and Loloi's Jose Ramos, Cyrus Loloi, Cameron Bagheri, Steven Loloi, Austin Craley, Amir Loloi, Kevin Westerhouse, Michael Castell, and John Thompson.
LR RESOURCES
Brady Seehorn of Highland Rugs in Woodlawn, Virginia, with Mike Thompson of LR Resources in front of a debuting Imagine collection rug machine woven of polyester with cotton warps.
MOD-ARTE
Ercan Yildirim and Sachin Grover of Mod-Arte in front of a new shag line introduced for the first time at the company's High Point Market debut in the Suites at Market Square.
MOMENI
Reza Momeni and Rachel Fasciani of Momeni Rugs flank designer Erin Gates during her Elements of Family Style book signing in the Momeni High Point showroom.
Aria Momeni of Momeni shows a new machine-made Genevieve collection rug to Denise Clay of Distinctive Accents in Cornelius, North Carolina.
NOURISON
From left, Luanza Maitland and Selva A., of Norris Furniture and Interiors in Fort Meyers, Florida; Heather Jones of Nourison, and Renee Norris of Norris Furniture and Interiors.
ORIENTALIST HOME
Gady Yesilcay of Orientalist Home took two booth at Suites at Market Square for the spring High Point show -- one for new transitional designs including the Moroccan-inspired rug above, and the other for vintage area rugs.
RIZZY HOME
Jeannine Northrup of Canada-based Leon's Furniture, St. John, New Brunswick, with Connie Post of Connie Post Affordable Design Solutions and her area rug designs for Rizzy Home.
Steve Roan of Rizzy Home poses with Jacy Bartlet, Michaela Seehorn and John Seehorn of Highland Rugs in Woodlawn, VA, with Molly Mays of Rizzy.
RUG & KILIM
At Rug & Kilim's Suites at Market Square showroom, Cyrus Nazmyial poses with clients from The Pfaffenbach Collection, an interior design firm in Westfield, New Jersey.
S&H RUGS
S&H's Avi Erlich, Maria Vasquez and Ori Wilbush in front of a Tabriz design in wool and silk from the company's Tribal and Geometric collection.
Natalie Clayman of Natalie Clayman Interior Design in Knoxville, Tennessee, works with pom colors at the S&H Rugs Suites at Market Square exhibit stand.
SAMAD
At the Samad showroom in Market Square, Bryon Hamilton and Nicole Samad pose in front of one of the company's abstract design rugs introduced at High Point Market in popular blue and grey tones.
STARK STUDIO RUGS
Louis Tarantino of Carpet Source in Winter Park, Florida, (center) shops the Stark Studio Rugs line with Stark's Steve Codella and Taylor van der Mandele.
SURYA
Three of the panelists for Surya's design seminar on growing interior design businesses pose with Satya Tiwari, right, for RugNews.com following the event. From left: Christopher Grubb, president of Arch-Interiors Design Group, LuAnn Nigara, founder and owner, A Well-Designed Business podcast, and Laura Umansky, president and creative director, Laura U Interior Design.
Leslie Martin, left, and Kelly Mullins, both of Railway Freight Furniture in Albany, Georgia, flank John Haste of Surya.
At the City of Hope Spirit of Life Awards dinner during High Point Market are Larry Klaben of Morris Furniture, Ron Blumkin, Steve Blumkin and Irv Blumkin of Nebraska Furniture Mart, Satya Tiwari of Surya, and Robert Stone, City of Hope president/CEO.
TAMARIAN
Chris Saliga and Ned Baker of Tamarian flank Brett Mougalian of Mougalian Rugs in Portland, Maine, with a framed Topiary PW Jade rug behind them.