"The Carpet Design Awards presented at Domotex and the Innovations@Domotex program celebrate high-end carpet designers and flooring manufacturers who are creating floor coverings that will be sought after on a global level," said Larry Turner, chief executive officer of Hannover Fairs USA. "For smaller U.S. carpet designers and flooring manufacturers, exhibiting at Domotex is the perfect way to break into the European, Asian and South American markets. Furthermore, winning a Carpet Design Award or submitting a product to Innovations@Domotex brings greater international visibility, trade media attention and notoriety before, during and after the show."
Art
Resources, a Los Angeles-based designer of 13,000 unique and programmed high-end rugs, won the Best
Traditional Design category
award for its Classic Revival collection. The owner of Art Resources,
Jack Simantob, said, "After many years of producing rugs in the U.S., we
knew Art Resources was well represented by most of the high-end retail
distributors in North America and Mexico and if we wanted to grow, we
needed to reach a broader global audience. Because Domotex is the
world's gathering place for floor covering industry professionals, we
decided to exhibit to connect with retailers in Europe, South America
and the Middle East. We had a terrific show and received the attention
we sought from prospective clients based on our award winning design
achievements. We are excited about the new business opportunities we
secured this year and expect to increase our footprint at Domotex 2016."
Wool & Silk, a New Jersey
based designer of high-end, hand-made rugs, won the Best
Modern Collection award
category for its Steppe collection. Exhibiting at Domotex since 2012,
Wool & Silk has won this category three years in a row and has won a
total of five Carpet Design Awards.
"We were a small company in
2012 when we first exhibited at Domotex," said Erbil Tezcan, Wool &
Silk's designer. "We have made it a point to expand our booth space at
Domotex every year since then. As a result, Wool & Silk is now
internationally recognized, tripling our business through consistent
increased global sales. HFUSA has been very supportive working closely
with us to help expand our business through marketing initiatives that
ensure we receive a full return on our booth space investment."
HFUSA exhibitor, Mannington
Commercial, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of a full range of
residential and commercial flooring solutions, was chosen to display two
innovative floor covering products at Innovations@Domotex 2015. The firm
showcased its LVT flooring in the resilient floor covering category, as
well as submitted a special carpet collection inspired by three cities -
Nashville, Philadelphia and Seattle called Design
Local in
the textile floor coverings, fibers and yarns category.
Commenting on the firm's
experience at Domotex 2015, Alex Jauregui, senior vice president of
carpet business for Mannington Commercial, said, "We have been attending
Domotex for several years now and have successfully grown our sales
across Asia and core countries in Europe. By consistently exhibiting at
the show, Mannington Commercial has successfully fostered long-term
relationships and created new business leads. Being chosen to be a part
of the Innovations@Domotex program helped us expand our visibility at
the show this year, and we plan to submit new products again next year."
Exhibitors who are chosen to
display their latest innovations at the Innovations@Domotex program
generate face-to-face contact with interested retailers, craftspeople
and architects, stimulating new business and valuable networking. The
Innovations@Domotex program is a juried product showcase conceived to
focus on floor covering innovations where Domotex attendees can discover
modern, imaginatively designed floor coverings that are technologically
innovative and of the highest quality.
For the first year, the
Carpet Design Awards were held as part of the Innovations@Domotex
program. Judged by a panel of carpet and design industry experts, the
Carpet Design Awards cover eight categories. Attendees were able to gain
optimal exposure of rug and floor coverings displayed in a special area
of Hall 17, the showcase hall for high-end handmade rugs. More than 250
designer pieces from 23 countries were submitted for the Carpet Design
Awards. Rugs were judged with regard to design and design concept,
material, finish, texture and quality, as well as sustainability and
branding.
Domotex 2016 is set to take
place January 16 to 19.