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07262016 Best of Atlanta Market: Rug Executives Share Summer's Hot Products

By Carol Tisch
7/26/2016

In this comprehensive survey, industry executives share their biggest hits in Atlanta -- designs which will likely make a splash for many in the upcoming Vegas event.

ATLANTA -- The kickoff to the summer selling season with the Atlanta International Area Rug Market earlier this month underscored the rug industry's hottest trends, as several categories emerged hitting the ground running. 

Among the common threads were better-quality machine-made offerings, which continue to ramp up the quality and value buyers seek in this category across price points. From improving the caliber of designs and colors available to retailers, to showcasing new innovations that cater to the demand for a soft feel, stain resistance or increased durability, machine mades across the entire price spectrum were a market hit. 

Even the blends of fibers being employed by rug manufacturers continues to present an area ripe for innovation and exploration, with some top sellers of the summer featuring novel, innovative combinations.

But that doesn't mean that buyers have given up on classic materials, such as New Zealand wool, iconic looks, such as Gabbehs and Oushaks, or hand-knotted collections that cater to everything from entry level to high end. The market is seeing a resurgence of interest in this category, according to buyers and vendors.

In this comprehensive two-part survey by RugNews.com, industry executives share their picks for the products that proved to be their biggest hits at Atlanta and that will likely make a splash for many of them at the up-coming Las Vegas Market.

AMER RUGS

"Customers are really reacting to our Piazza collection introductions, especially the watermelon rug. It's a multipurpose rug so it can be used outdoors, and it's very summery and fresh. Another success is our Vintage collection, It's a very high end hand-knotted rug made of blended New Zealand wool. It is oxidized, which makes the rug look faded and antique. It's $6,000 for an 8-by-10-foot, but the sky's the limit right now for high-end rugs." --Monika Gupta, chief operating officer


Amer Rugs takes a fresh approach to distressed antique motifs with its Vintage collection, made of pure New Zealand wool. Shown, F0-17 in soft camel.

CAPEL

"We knew the Simply Gabbeh collection would be a big hit. It's a hand-loomed product that looks like a hand knot. It's all wool and sells for $249. It's inspired by the original Gabbeh rugs, and the little motifs in the pattern tell a story. 

"Retailers also are loving our Gravity collection for a more affordable price point, -a 5- by 8-foot rug is $448. Gravity is 70 percent polyester and 30 percent olefin. The two different yarns give a nice contrast of texture: it has a high pile and a great plush feel. " --Cameron Capel, vice pesident-national accounts

A hit with buyers, Capel's new Simpley Gabbeh collection in fashion color adobe.

COURISTAN

"One of the collections we introduced at the July market was Covington Accents with sets of hand-hooked mats, and we've already sold through them all! They come in 14 styles in a 2- by 3-foot size, and they retail for $49. We have seasonal designs so that people can switch the mats out. " --Ron Couri, president and chief executive officer


From the new Covington Accents collection by Couristan, a best-selling debut of themed, hand-hooked indoor-outdoor mats.
 
DYNAMIC RUGS

"We really like our Quartz collection. It's a whole new yarn that feels like a wool blend but it's polyester and viscose. It's machine made and has a vintage look. I think machine made is growing across all the looks. There are more techniques, more types of yarn being used, and more experimenting. The value you are getting is really growing." --Matthew Rouhanian, owner and president


A rug from Dynamic Rugs' Quartz collection is machine made in a new blend of polyester and viscose. 

HAROUNIAN INTERNATIONAL (HRI)

"Our bestselling collection was the Avalon collection and the bestselling color and design within Avalon was a light blue abstract. The collection is knotted in India in a very thick, dense pile, all knotted in a very thick dense pile of finely spun New Zealand wool with art silk highlights.  We showed four abstracts and three transitional designs, all in soft colorways of blues and grays. The designs capture the look and feel of the sea washing up on a beach. All of our transitional collections did very well with all of our accounts across the board." --Greg Jordt, vice president of marketing and sales
 
 
An abstract rug designed for a sophisticated coastal look was a best-seller from HRI's Avalon collection.

JAIPUR LIVING

"Our indoor/outdoor rugs are doing great, especially our Rebecca and Lush lines. They're designs you wouldn't think of as being outside. We are also seeing a lot of opportunity in machine made rugs. We're finding some great new vendors and are developing products with a broad spectrum of price points. Our Zane collection, for instance, is inspired by vintage flatweaves from Turkey." --David Wise, Director of Design


Jaipur Living's emphasis on indoor-outdoor rug introductions paid off with best-sellers in running line and new collections.

KALATY

"The Equinox collection is our big hit. It's a special blend of wool and Silkette (a viscose fiber from bamboo), and is heavily textured with a hi-lo weave It's made with an Indo-Nepal weave, hand-knotted weve in nine color combinations." --Mike Kalaty

 
An artfully textured design from Kalaty's hand-knotted Equinox collection.

KALEEN

"Our two big hits are Cord and Textura. Cord is a felted, space dyed wool that's twisted with chenille. Textura is an extension of our Montage collection. To create it, the rug is tufted, then hand-tufted diagonally, which gives a neat three-dimensional look." --Blake Dennard, senior vice president


The surface interest and on-trend grey colorways made Kaleen's Cord rug  and Textura (shown) collection hits with Atlanta buyers.

KARASTAN

"Our best sellers were the new designs in Spice Market, which were very well received, and Touchstone, which is our collection that mirrors our Euphoria line). Enigma and Cosmopolitan also both did well.  Enigma features contemporary abstract designs in a monochromatic palette woven of our exclusive triexta Smartstand Silk yarn with viscose highlights. Cosmopolitan combines a more contemporary design aesthetic with textural surface patterns, and Touchstone is transitional." --Karastan spokesperson 

On display at Karastan's Atlanta showroom, the Enigma collection's abstract designs were among the company's best sellers.

 KAS

"Our biggest new introduction at the show was our brand new sample rack program. It's turnkey in that it includes freight in the price and comes in two different options: three-tier or one-tier. There's also a rebate program. We sold quite a number of them and are excited to do the same in Vegas! 

"As far as new product, it hits on two new things: first, our Retreat collection, which is an easy care construction with a special process built into the fibers that repels liquids and makes spills easy to clean. And second, was our Farmhouse indoor outdoor product, which got great reviews. It will officially launch at Fall High Point; it has very simple, classic patterns with a wool touch in an indoor outdoor construction." --Wendy Reiss, vice president of sales and national accounts


Kas reports that its easy to clean, stain repellent Retreat collection was an Atlanta market best seller.

LINON HOME

"Our Vintage collection in microfiber polyester with a low pile and cotton warp is being very well received. It's power-loomed and retails for around $99. What's more, it can ship folded, which means cheaper freight. Our Serape collection is also getting attention. It has a look of a hand-knotted serape rug, with bright colors and a distressed look." --Steve Mazarikis, vice president

 
Steve Mazarikis in front of a rug from Linon Home's Serape collection, a hit at Atlanta Rug Market.
 
LOLOI

"Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines is the hottest introduction we've ever seen in the history of our company. It's bringing in a customer we've never seen. Everyone loves Joanna Gaines. They want to see what she is doing." --Amir Loloi, president


Loloi's extensive Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines collection features this Lotus rug power-loomed of plush, high contrast polyester..

L.R. RESOURCES

"I would say our New Naturals line continues to be popular. Overall we have 28 designs and color combinations, and we've introduced seven new designs, including some that are jute and cotton chenille interwoven. We are also excited about the Kareena collection of hand-knotted Oushaks. They are 100 percent wool, and the quality for the price is excellent. This gives a hand-knot dealer an entry-level option." --Mike Thompson,  sales vice president and general manager


L.R. Resources' Naturals collection has been a consistent best seller, and this new design proved popular with Atlanta buyers. 

MOMENI

"Outdoor is major: it is a huge growing category for us. We're getting a great response to our indoor-outdoor collections, including Veranda and the Baja collection, with transitional two-color patterns of interlocking geometric designs, stripes, and other patterns." --Ali Momeni, principal


Indoor-outdoor collections,, including the innovative Baja range, drew buyers to Momeni's Atlanta showroom .

NOURISON

"We are expecting to do really well with our Nourison 2020 line. It is a high end machine made rug but is value priced at $799. It's made of polyester and corn fiber, which is biodegradable and very easy to clean. We are starting with 12 designs in traditional patterns and 12 standard sizes. 

The name is a take on the 2000 series that was one of the industry's bestsellers for many years. Initial feedback has been very good on our Divine collection, as well. This is a herringbone Nourmak flat-weave ground, with a raised cut pile design. It's made of New Zealand wool with the cut pile design in Luxcelle, which has a sheen. The designs have an abstract landscape look." --Giovanni Marra, director of marketing and digital strategy


Rich textural contrast and abstract designs contributed to the success of Nourison's popular Divine collection.

ORIENTAL WEAVERS

"The Empire Collection is a group of more traditional designs with a $299 retail. It has 17 colors; some are made of polypropylene while others are polyester, which gives the sheen of silk. We're getting a really distressed look, plus shine and soft fiber." --Jonathan Witt, senior vice president


Oriental Weavers' Empire Collection rugs feature machine woven traditional designs with soft hand and 17 colors.

SAFAVIEH

"Atlanta Market was successful for us this year in that we had winning collections across a broad section of rug categories. Reps from department stores were enthusiastic about our soft texture, knotted collections while the online market continues to be all about vivid color.  For instance, the nuanced use of brilliant watercolors with classic motifs in our new Vintage Persian rugs was a big hit, and one of the reasons why this particular collection was so well-received." --Arash Yaraghi, principal


Watercolors are juxtaposed with classic motifs in Safavieh's Vintage Persian collection rugs.

SURYA

"We are excited about our machine made rugs, which have the right price point and the right look. They've got the look of a handmade rug. Kansai, for instance, is a rug that's beautiful; it looks handmade. And it would be close to double in price if it were handmade instead of machine made." --Seth King, vice president of sales


Rugs from Surya's Kansai machine-made rug collection have the look of a handmade carpets, but a lower price point. 

TRANS-OCEAN

"Our customers really love the hand-dyed feeling of the Watercolors designs from the Piazza collection: The color blending and subtle color transparencies achieved by the technique we use to make the rug.  The extra wash gives a very soft and silky touch." --Liora Manne for Trans-Ocean

Trrans-Oceans Piazza Watercolors in green (#7283/06) takes a softer approach to the abstract painterly style.
 
UNITED WEAVERS

"Our two new collections, Antiquities and Studio, are both going to be huge. Antiquities is 100 percent polyester but with a very soft hand, made with heatset yarn on a cotton back. It is available in traditional designs, and very sharp price points -- around $199. Studio, meanwhile, is a heatset olefin, and has a hand-carved design.  The most popular patterns mimic the look of wood flooring - a trend that began in the designer market." --Diane Carleo, director of sales and marketing

A new design from United Weavers' Studio collection evokes the grain texture and plank patterning of stylish wood floors. 

trans-ocean ad spot hri rugs