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WHAT'S HOT: MUST-SEE AREA RUG FASHIONS AT NY NOW
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NEW YORK -- Despite opening on Super Bowl Sunday, home furnishings fair NY Now, held from Feb. 4-7, proved a success for area rug vendors, many of whom use the event as an opportunity to show New York area interior designers and specialty retailers their latest looks.
The aisles of Jacob K. Javits Convention Center's third level were busy ushering NY Now attendees to the latest designs for the home, floor -- and self. Things continued to be slightly different at the winter 2018 edition of the bi-annual event, which featured a revamped exhibitor floorplan after relocating certain Handmade booths from the closed Javits North to Level 3 alongside the Home and Lifestyle collections of NY Now. Javits North, currently under construction, was also closed for the summer 2017 installment.
Some exhibitors are happy with where they landed for the winter market, others, not so thrilled. Still many of the area rug vendors surveyed by RugNews.com said they were pleased with business and foot traffic at the winter installment.
Among NY Now designers, there seemed to be a renewed interest in neutrals and naturals. Tone-on-tone designs, in both updated traditional looks and contemporary abstract ones, were on the shopping lists of attendees as well, several vendors reported. Still hints of pinks and lavender (the Pantone Color of the Year 2018) managed to stop buyers and retailers in their tracks at some booths.
Traditional looks were present, however many of the area rug designs popular among designers browsing NY Now were one of a kind and vintage rugs. Still colors of those reworked classics or originals needed to reflect contemporary color palettes and tastes. In addition, while abstract and painterly designs were still evidenced, so too was a growing assortment of modern geometric looks, ranging from simple stripes to elaborately carved designs.
More than 20 vendors featured area rugs in their assortment and several of those were first-time NY Now participants. Below, join RugNews.com on a shopping tour to find out what were the most popular fashion looks for the floor at the winter 2018 NY Now.
AUSKIN
Paige Geer, Erin Dowd and Mandy Coughlin introduce NY Now to its new woven wool area rugs and patterned cow hides.
Auskin USA, best known for its sheepskin product base, continues to expand its assortment, adding new designs to its patterned cowhide range and also introduces its first textural woven undyed wool area rug collection called Kia Ora (crafted in India and featuring a Maori type design).
Paige Geer told RugNews.com that Auskin USA will continue to experiment with new styles so long as they are special and fit with the company's contemporary style. Still the company continues to do what is known best for, adding new natural, undyed Icelandic sheepskins with varying pile heights.
Auskin continues to grow its contemporary patterned cowhide designs.
BOKARA RUG COMPANY
David Lew, Jonathan Soleimani and Suzy Soleimani, Bokara Rug Company, pose in front of popular tone-on-tone designs, including the subtle wool and viscose Himalayan Art Wisdom collection design in silver and gray (left center).
Bokara's Jonathan Soleimani said that designers at NY Now were looking for abstract and modern styles. The New Jersey company featured a selection of tone on tone abstract designs -- which designers were really liking, he said. In addition, Bokara brought some traditional designs amped up in modern color combinations and a selection of its Moroccan inspired designs as well. The latest designs from the company's Himalayan Art Windsom, Himalayan Art and Windsom Select were on display.
Bokara Rug Company presents this Windsom Select rug, hand woven in India with a mixture of cut and loop piles together with a blend of wools and viscose accents.
CHILEWICH
Sascha Lafleur, right, principal senior designer West of Main design studio in Canada, with Chilewich's Amy Cooper, review the high-tech textile maker's new fringed area rugs called Market Fringe -- produced at a Los Angeles mill.
New York's innovative textiles maker Chilewich continues to grow its floor mat selection, offering NY Now shoppers its first fringed collection. Market Fringe, available in three color combinations (quartz, pacific and sangria), was a hit according to Chilewich's Amy Cooper. The new domestically made collection is crafted at a Los Angeles mill of four twisted yarns for a thick texture. The product is cut and finished in Chilewich's Georgia facility.
Cooper also said that shoppers continued to be attracted to Chilewich's new patterned collection Mosaic, which has been "wildly successful" so the company added a new black and white colorway at the February NY Now market.
Chilewich's "wildly successful" first patterned collection, Mosaic, adds a new black and white color combo for NY Now.
CREATIVE TOUCH
Designer Heidi Woodman with Haus Love, Indianapolis, catches up with Baki Ildiz of Creative Touch.
Creative Touch brings a range of new rugs to the February edition of NY Now, including the latest additions to the best-selling Carol Benson-Cobb collection called Enigma. Based on the original paintings of Benson-Cobb, the range also includes coordinating pillows and textiles with wool and silk blends. New designs from the growing line of the geometric Bosphorous collection, which features cool colors and fine bamboo silk, were also on show, alongside the company's colorful assortment of decorative pillows and poufs.
"The show has been good ... much better this year, in rugs and our accessories, which are growing" said Creative Touch's Baki Ildiz.
Creative Touch presents its latest addition to the modern geometric Bosphorus collection.
ELIKO RUGS
Cousins and third-generation Eliko leadership, Ariel and Celia Basalely, turn the spotlight at NY Now on the company's one-of-a-kind assortment, including this emerald green Moroccan.
"We are trying something new," said Eliko's Ariel Basalely. "People still know us as a source for custom rugs but we brought some of our vintage and one of a kind designs." The company offered a range of distressed 1930s vintage re-colorized carpets, as well as some one of a kind area rugs. "Traffic at this show has been better than it was last summer," Basalely added of the bi-annual event.
Eliko, which historically showcases its custom collections at NY Now, instead brings a selection of distressed, re-colorized vintage area rugs.
FILLING SPACES
Deepali Kalia creator of Portland, Oregon-based home textiles brand Filling Spaces returns to NY Now with her latest rugs.
The Portland, Oregon-based Filling Spaces continues to grow its two-year-old area rug assortment adding fresh hand-made printed designs for NY Now shoppers. "We see a lot of repeat customers -- both retailers and designers here," Keepali Kalia said at the show. Filling Spaces, known for its artisan crafted block-printed home textiles and pillows, also carries a line of fashion and lifestyle items, such as bags and apparel.
Filling Spaces introduces Meghna, a pink block printed cotton area rug that captured the eye of NY Now shoppers.
F.J. KASHANIAN
Jonathan Kashanian was happy to report that many tri-state store buyers stopped by to shop the booth.
F.J. Kashanian's booth was busy despite the fact that it was Super Bowl Sunday on opening day of NY Now, Jonathan Kashanian told RugNews.com. "It was very busy. But I was surprised -- it was a lot of tri-state area stores."
Shoppers still liked the company's vintage overdyes but Kashanian's latest modern geometric, Arianna, garnered the spotlight as well. Available in two color combinations, Arianna, from the Modern Luxury collection is made of bamboo silk and wool.
Kashanian's carved geometric Arianna design from the Modern Luxury collection caught the attention of designers shopping the New York event.
GUPTA RUGS & CARPET
Rajesh Tayal, managing director, of Gupta Rugs, introduces NY Now shoppers to the rug brand's assortment.
Gupta Rugs & Carpets, distributed in the U.S. via Indian Rugs USA, debuts at NY Now with the anticipation of increasing its customer base, said Rajesh Tayal, managing director of the Panipat, India-based manufacturer. Tayal told RugNews.com that while nearly 90 percent of the company's business is from the states, the decision to premier at the New York show was designed to introduce Gupta to buyers that don't typically travel to India to source area rugs.
Gupta, which offers a selection of handmade cotton and jute woven and braided rugs, hand-tufted carpets, Jacquard rugs, kilims, and cotton bath rugs, blankets and throws, introduced a new embossed collection of tribal designs made of wool at the event.
Gupta Rugs introduces domestic buyers to its new embossed collection of tribal designs.
JAIPUR RUGHAUZ
Brothers Bhavya Goyal, left, and Yash Goyal of Jaipur RugHauz flank their mother, Sangeeta Goyal, at their first NY Now show.
"This is our first experience in New York and we are meeting a lot of designers and small stores -- people who can't come to India to source rugs," said Bhavya Goyal, the great-grand son of Tara Chand Goel, known for his extensive dhurrie collection. RugHauz, a new brand created under the family rug-making umbrella, is targeting international buyers for its hand-woven dhurries and hand-printed area rugs. Goyal said the company already has made sales and plans to return to the show in the summer.
Jaipur RugHauz, a maker of hand-woven dhurries and woven block-print rugs, introduces New York audiences to its hand-crafted Haveli Stripes collection.
LOCUS VIE + HIDRAULIK
Karene Dumoulin, a principal with Toronto-based distributer Locus Vie, brings the Spanish label Hidraulik to the U.S. via NY Now.
Locas Vie, a new company focused on bringing upcoming European labels to North America, introduces its new collaboration with Hidraulik, a young Spanish maker of high-quality PVC floor and table mats. "The reception has been really positive -- buyers really liked the design and functionality of Hidraulik," said Karene Dumoulin, principal of the Toronto-based distributor, noting that the company is currently shopping around for a U.S. warehouse space.