Area rug buyers shopped Las Vegas Market to keep abreast of what's new in the category, refresh inventory
and prep for 2024.
LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas Market area rug exhibitors experienced summer shopping levels, and while foot traffic was slower, some major buyers and designers turned out to shop the 2023 event. Among the big retail names to stop by area rug showrooms were Home Goods, Fred Meyer, Sam's Club and TJX Canada. Buyers from online e-commerce ventures Overstock and Wayfair were also visiting rug showrooms, as were merchandisers from furniture stores like RC Willey and Living Spaces. Interior designers and rug specialty stores -- such as Outrageous Rugs, Sergenian's and The Carpet Shoppe -- turned out to see new hand-knotted introductions and to review the growing offering of custom rug and carpet options.
Some buyers were looking to refresh inventory for the area rug business' busiest season -- fall -- or gear up for 2024. Furthermore, several told RugNews.com that they are also walking showrooms to take the pulse of the retail and wholesale communities and to remain current on trends.
That mix of buyers resulted in area rug sales at the lower end of the machine-made category as well as orders at the middle and higher ends, including both hand-tufted, handcrafted and hand-knotted designs. In fact, within the hand-knotted category shoppers were actively scooping up entry-level to top-tier designs.
"Furniture stores are prepping for next year and most buyers remain relatively optimistic," said Mike Riley, president of Feizy, which found tremendous success with its finely hand-knotted Killian rugs, as well as its entry level lineup and machine-made rugs.
Likewise, Nourison had a similar experience: "Our high-end -- Christopher Guy, Silk Shadows and Prismatic -- are doing well, as is our lineup of lower-end rugs including our new washables. We are seeing e-commerce, big box and national accounts here looking to find out what's new and who want to update their lines," reported Giovanni Marra, VP marketing and creative. "It's the smaller stores that seem to be struggling, but big box is doing great."
Sergenian's rug buyer Niko Papadopoulos noted, "I am having a productive show -- It is important to see what's new and hear what other retailers and wholesalers have to say about the market."
In the industry's only online showroom tour of area rug exhibitors, RugNews.com walked Buildings A, B and C to survey the field and bring you rug hits of the summer 2023 Las Vegas Market.
BALTA
Balta Home's Hans Fossez, president, cuts the ribbon for the rug manufacturer's first West Coast showroom in Vegas.
Belgium-based rug maker Balta Home, the U.S. division of Balta Group, made its World Market Center debut with a 4,500 square foot showroom opening in Building C for summer Las Vegas Market. With an eye on growing its furniture store channel, Balta showcased more than 200 new products. The company, which is targeting furniture stores, designs and manufactures its own rugs, uses proprietary US color banks and designs. Among the best-sellers include a growing assortment of kids’ rugs, with playful new Jacky designs crafted of cotton. One features a high-low sheep motif with high pile accents and another offers an alligator pile.
The company is also pushing into the sustainability category with a line of recycled PET patterns. The new Chloe collection includes geometric and traditional patterns; and Charly, which offers a similar construction but graphic modern geometric designs, was a runaway hit at High Point and sold out instantly. These rugs are constructed with polyester-chenille yarn.
Balta Home introduces Chloe, which offers a similar construction to the company's popular Charly series
. Shown, 3039-470
CHANDRA
Chandra Tiwari, founder of Chandra, cuts the ribbon alongside his sons and partners Ravi, left, and Shashi.
Chandra cut the ribbon on a new permanent showroom in Building B and featured its top-selling handmade collections. Among the hits are its Nelly collection hand-crafted using ultra fine jute, for soft texture. These solid color rugs offer subtle tonal striations for an earthy, casual styling. Similarly, Petra collection's latest hand-crafted high-low abstract motif gets a thumbs up for its natural look in rich earthy colorations. Another popular choice at the showroom from handmade specialist is the hand-knotted Eden collection. This low-profile all-wool collection updates traditional Persian motifs in tonal colorations.
Textural designs in earthy colors remain popular at Chandra, including this abstracted-style from the handmade Petra collection.
COURISTAN
Couristan grows its indoor-outdoor Dolce collection focusing the latest designs on using unexplored color combinations
from lineup's creel. Shown, W7517
Couristan introduced a range of fashion-forward designs in its top-selling collections, including Easton, Dolce and Velvet. Dolce is crafted in Belgium of 100 percent Courtron polypropylene with durable polyester. This collection features a structured tapestry construction and is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. The company is re-examining top-selling constructions and collections and refreshing some by exploring less used colors for fashion-forward looks. For example, Easton's latest designs re-examine the collection's color creel, playing up colors, such as black or pale lavender, that hadn't been explored in earlier designs. Easton's Charles design, a contemporary pattern that flirts with Japanese Shibori tie dye techniques, which initially debuted in a range of blue tones on a bone ground, gets reworked with warmer hues. These designs are face-to-face Wilton woven of 100 percent heat-set Courtron ultra-fine polypropylene and are created using a multi-point and loomed-carved technique for a soft finish in excess of a million point.
Also in the spotlight are machine-made collections that offer the look of handmade rugs. In that genre, the company's successful Velvet collection of printed designs that mimic the look and feel of vintage rugs, adds more designs for summer market too.
The popular Charles design from Couristan's Easton collection gets recast in fresh colors for summer shoppers.
DALYN
Brian Vander Werf takes a break in front of one of Dalyn's best-selling 2023 introductions from the Kars collection
of synthetic printed area rugs
Dalyn's recently introduced Kars collection of synthetic prismatic printed rugs is doing so well that Dalyn showcased the vintage-inspired rug lineup in its showroom entry. These rugs include a heavy non-skid back. In addition, the success of the recently introduced Yarra collection prompted Dalyn to roll out two related collections, Vienna and Cyprus, both MAP collections, featuring the same construction but different color creels.
Yarra, made of space-dyed fine polyester is a one million point lineup with super tight construction and cotton foundation featuring a mix of cool and warm tones. Vienna and Cyprus add several subtle traditional motifs in earthy colorways with vintage styling. Some colors in the Cyprus collection include beige, linen, sage and silver; Vienna includes designs in chocolate, spice and paprika.
Dalyn debuts two new collections, which feature the same construction as its popular Yarra lineup but with fresh creels.
Shown, Cyprus collection
DYNAMIC RUGS
Dynamic Rugs' Hudson collection of textural motifs was a top choice with Las Vegas summer market buyers.
Dynamic Rugs brought several new area rug collections to the summer edition of Vegas Market and reports a "great" market. Among the popular collections is Hudson, crafted of polypropylene and shrink poly with the look of handmade rugs, introduced earlier this year. Also getting a lot of traction are the company's new tufted collections, which offer a looped pile. In that category Forever, made of PET, offers a wool look and includes a modern floral all-over repeating pattern. As a counterpoint, modern and abstract designs from the debuting Monroe collection, machine-made with a mixture of frieze polypropylene and polyester, also were a top choice for their neutral tones. Rori earned a thumbs up as well for its eco-friendly recycled polyester fiber offering abstract and traditional patterns. And buyers looking for contemporary styles gave a thumbs up to the textural polyester machine-made Roma collection.
Dynamic Rugs' new machine-made Roma collection features the texture and softness buyers are shopping for.
FEIZY
Introduced at the spring High Point Market to instant success, the luxurious Killian collection of hand-knotted designs
earned a thumbs up from summer buyers.
Feizy found success at both the upper-tier of the area rug segment and in its latest machine-woven pieces. A runaway hit is its hand-knotted Killian collection, which features color-drenched Art Deco inspired floral motifs in a sumptuous high-knot-count quality product. Killian rugs are part of Feizy's Revolution program geared toward designers. "We have sold every piece we have gotten our hands on," Mike Riley, president, told RugNews.com. As a counterpoint, and also performing well is the more entry-level hand-knotted category, which often is crafted of a thicker yarn and/or lower knot-count. Feizy's recently introduced Filmore collection, which added fresh designs for Las Vegas shoppers, is reasonably priced and doing well.
On the machine-made side, the debuting Pasha lineup earned a thumbs up. It is side-woven of imported fibers with an ultra-soft hand and raised traditional motifs in soft colorations. The textural Gilmore, crafted in a thicker, denser construction, is also resonating with market-goers.
Feizy's machine-made Pasha offers a raised motif and subtle colorations, making it a top choice with summer buyers.
HAROUNIAN RUGS INTERNATIONAL (HRI)
HRI's Greg Jordt, left, and Michael Campa, flank The Carpet Shoppe's Pam Pierce, center right, and Sally Wise,
center left. Shown, the Splendid collection
HRI is finding success with both its transitional introductions that update classic looks in contemporary palettes as well as its modern designs. Top choices include HRI's more affordably priced hand-knots including the Chelsea collection, a hand-knotted traditional motif assortment, crafted with a thicker wool yarn for a nubby texture. Trending colorways include rust-camel, gray-ivory, light blue-silver, and ivory-light gray. Summer shoppers also gave a thumbs up to Viceroy, a zero-pile rug hand-knotted of 100 percent PET fiber. These rugs offer subtle traditional floral patterns and come in a range of neutral color palettes.
Finally, the brand-new Coco collection captured attention. Coco offers modernist geometric patterns in a palette of black, ivory and grays. Coco rugs are hand-knotted of wool and viscose for a lustrous finish.
The hand-knotted Viceroy collection from HRI is crafted of PET yarn, earning a thumbs up from eco-minded buyers.
KALATY
Renowned rug buyer Steve Blumkin of Outrageous Rugs and colleague Jorge Garcia get a tour of Kalaty's latest Amalfi
collection designs with Ramin Kalaty.
Kalaty's hand-knotted Amalfi collection is shaping up to be a star, and for summer market the company added fresh styles. The recently introduced assortment features a zero-pile and is crafted of premium hand-spun wool. The high-end Amalfi includes subtle, vintage-like Oushak motifs and other timeless patterns.
For West Coast shoppers, Kalaty's Soumak Chroma collection's Southwest-inspired motifs remain a top choice and the company continues to add fresh colors. These reversible premium wool flatweave rugs feature a herringbone texture, a characteristic of the Soumak weave. On the machine-made side, the company's high-quality Celeste collection rolls out new colors. Offering lustrous textural patterns, Celeste is available in numerous sizes, up to 12x15, and includes two round sizes, a square option and runner as well.
Kalaty's popular power-loomed Celeste lineup of luminous designs offers a broad and deep range of sizes and shapes.
KALEEN
Blake Dennard walks Niko Papadopoulos, with Sergenian's, through the latest hand-crafted LUXE debuts. Shown, Maris
Kaleen continues its focus on its high-end handmade area rug lineup for summer shoppers, showcasing the latest designs in its hit LUXE series. Vegas debuts include Maris and Regalia, both neutral colored hand-knotted designs featuring diamond patterns crafted of wool and viscose. A major success from the Luxe lineup is Darya, an ivory hand-knotted rug with a raised diamond pattern. Buyers appreciate LUXE's custom-size and broadloom look applications for custom rugs.
Finally, Kaleen's hand-tufted collections, Marble, which offers contemporary organic styles, and Chancellor, featuring updated classic motifs, continue to be best-sellers as well.
S
Kaleen's hand-knotted Sikri collection, with its geometric motifs and sun-washed coloration, is a best-seller.
KARASTAN
LA design studio Designworthy's Claire, left, and Linda Parkinson stop to admire Karastan's new hand-knotted Coventry rug.
Karastan headed to Vegas introducing three hand-knotted wool collections all offering traditional motifs. Balboa, an entry level product, includes four designs in three sizes, and offers more fashion forward colors, among them sage green and teal. The Mystique collection is a step up range, hand-knotted of wool from Pakistan, and has four designs. And the Coventry assortment is hand-knotted of Afghan wool that is unevenly spun and carded for a unique texture lending it a casual feel, which made it a favorite. All three area available in 6x9, 8x10 and 9x12.
Also on show was Karastan's Momento collection, launched last fall but rapidly becoming one of its most successful introductions. Finally the Zulu collection, printed on a woven chenille polyester base and with a secondary backing, continues to gain ground as well. These rugs feature vintage-like global geometric rug motifs.
Karastan's new Coventry collection of hand-knotted wool rugs was a favorite for its textural, nubby styling.
KAS
Kas introduces West Coast shoppers to Adele (design 8800 shown) which is cross-woven of space-dyed polyester.
Kas debuted its rich Avani collection of updated traditional looks in Las Vegas after a successful launch in High Point. Also showcased were Adele, Woodland and the new colorations in Kas' best-selling Generations assortment, made of polypropylene and shrink polyester with lustrous accents. Avani designs feature earth-inspired palettes and are made with space-dyed polypropylene that is cross- woven. The new Adele program, cross-woven of space-dyed polyester with a flexible backing, features traditional designs in neutral tones. And Woodland, which offers textural, vintage-inspired traditional and transitional looks, is machine-woven of polyester and polypropylene. Finally, Kas continues to find success with its tropical-inspired designs adding plenty of new rugs for summer shoppers, including a line extension in its top-selling Cove collection of hand-tufted wool rugs. A new over-size multi-leaf design and large scale contemporary palm leaf motif, both offering a neutral beige ground with leaves in myriad of blue tones, round out the lineup.
The space-dyed Avani collection by Kas was a Vegas favorite for its earthy palettes and inviting hand.
LOLOI
Loloi focused summer market on new hand-crafted introductions including Raven, hand-woven of wool and cotton.
Summer shoppers were the first to preview Loloi's expanded World Market Center Building B showroom, which added approximately 3,000 square feet. The company decided to expand its display area again so that it could showcase its growing offering -- not just of area rugs, but pillows, artwork and a selection of one-of-a-kind rugs as well. Loloi focused on handmade debuts, following several major machine-made introductions earlier this year. to round out its offering, Austin Craley, VP sales said, noting that Loloi had a busy Vegas market. "For flooring and furniture retailers, the best time for rug sales is coming up."
Among the introductions are Varena, part of the Loloi 2 series of non-MAP products. Varena offers a geometric diamond motif with a 100 percent wool pile. These rugs have a looped construction and earthy colorations. Other intros include Stiles, hand-tufted of wool, and another new collection, Raven, also offers geometric motifs, this time hand-woven of wool and cotton. Both Stiles and Raven are from the Loloi lineup and are MAP protected.
Loloi's soft pastel-hued hand-knotted one-of-a-kind designs were a favorite with summer market-goers
NATCO HOME
Melanie Gassaway, buyer for Kroger's Fred Meyer brand, reviews Natco's Bouclay collection, an indoor-outdoor offering
of soft polyester.
Natco's faux rabbit fur designs continue to be top sellers and its latest longer pile introductions proved no exception. Two new styles that were hits include solid color "pebble" design and a wide-channel style, both offered in several colors, such as ivory and gray, and with carved patterns. The company's textural indoor-outdoor Bouclay collection, crafted of soft polyester and made in Turkey, was a hit for its easy-care qualities.
Other hit debuts include a traditional pattern in contemporary colorations for the Landscape collection, power-loomed in a 700,000 points construction, and made of soft, heat-set yarn. The successful Stonington lineup, domestically made, sees a line extension with several new tonal designs with high-low effect that were an instant hit with show shoppers.
Natco's popular Stonington collection added fresh styles for summer shoppers including a classic floral motif in neutral tones.
NOURISON
Nourison salesmen Teo Roman with Janet Kent Wechter and Hannah Plecant from J Wechter Designs. Shown, Prismatic
As Nourison expected, the latest designs from its high-end collections including Christopher Guy, Prismatic and Silk Shadows, were well-received at the Summer Las Vegas Market. In addition two abstract custom designs immediately grabbed attention as well. At the luxury level, Nourison added four styles to its Christopher Guy collection in warm tones and those were a popular choice. The company added fresh abstract styles to its successful hand-knotted Silk Shadows lineup, woven of premium wool and bamboo silk, which also piqued the interest of designers and high-end retailers. Silk Shadows is part of Noursions' Reserve Custom Studio offering.
Finally, e-commerce and big box business continues to be brisk, and for those buyers, Nourison added to its machine-washables program with its first Inspire Me! Home machine-washable rugs from the Daydream collection. Two other new releases on the machine-made side include the high-low Modern Comfort collection, which offers a medium-thick cozy polyester pile that's low maintenance and easy to clean. In the machine-made category,
Nourison's top-selling Silk Shadows lineup, part of its Reserve collection, added warmed up abstract styles. Shown, SHA24
ORIAN
Orian introduces the wool like Bespoke collection of tonal motifs, crafted of polypropylene, at summer market. Shown, Lonsdale
Orian brings two new constructions to summer Las Vegas market, including the new Bespoke collection of area rugs. These rugs are domestically crafted of polypropylene and offer the hand of a wool rug. Bespoke includes 30 raised patterns in solid colors including linen, blue and gray and all-over designs in a range of geometric styles. Another major introduction is the Eminence collection, circular knit of space-dyed yarns. The series offers 26 high-low multi-color patterns.
Another Orian debut is the Eminence collection, circular knit of space-dyed yarns in a range of styles. Shown, Yew
ORIENTAL WEAVERS
Overstock buyers Chris Smart, far left, and Rasheeda Bell, center right, get ready for their OW rug tour
with Jonathan Witt, president, and Monica Battles, e-comm VP. Shown, Lucca collection
Oriental Weavers found success with its new Hastings collection, side-woven of space-dyed polyester and shrink poly. This range offers a dense 1.4-million-point construction with textural details in trending colorations from soft pastels to earthy hues and saturated jewel-tones. The styles in this lineup include updated classic rug motifs. Also offering traditional patterns, however in more classic yet-updated colors of Prussian blue, brick red and vibrant gold is the Vivian collection. These super soft rugs are power-loomed of space-dyed microfiber polyester in a 1.5-million-point construction. Another popular debut is Chamberlain, which features the same creel and construction as OW's successful Nebulous lineup of abstract patterns, but now combines its proven construction and proven colors with global styles.
The washable Sumter collection, which rolled out with traditional patterns, has added fresh abstract motifs for summer in response to OW client requests. This soft printed polyester collection is machine-washable with non-slip backing. Lastly, at the opposite end of the rug spectrum, OW's Palace collection, the company's highest retail collection, sees a summer line extension with four additional hand-knotted designs in fresh colorations that received a thumbs up.
A much-anticipated debut at the OW showroom was its line extensions to its long-running hand-knotted Palace collection.
SAFAVIEH
Safavieh's hand-knotted Oushak collection, crafted of hand-spun wool, sees a line extension for summer shoppers,
who gave a thumbs up to these textural designs in beige, hanging, and soft blue, on the ground.
Safavieh showcased its broad range of fashion-forward area rugs across constructions, from textural tonal machine-mades to updated traditional hand-knotted looks. Among the standouts was the power-loomed Neptune collection. This assortment features textured transitional patterns in tonal colors made of polyester and polypropylene. Likewise, the Revive collection of high-low patterns features tonal neutral colorways, but with bolder, dynamic designs.
Other debuts that immediately grabbed attention were the newest additions to the Lauren by Ralph Lauren collection, with several new hand-tufted designs featuring all-over tile-inspired motifs in ivory and soft blue, and ivory and sage. These rugs feature a loop pile and are made of 80 percent wool and 20 precent cotton. Also a hit with buyers was its new Sisal All-Weather collection of seagrass-inspired rugs with easy-care construction. These designs are power-loomed of polypropylene and polyester and offer natural looks without the worry.
Safavieh's hand-knotted assortment also sees additions with its popular Samarkand collection introducing several fresh designs including a Mamluk pattern with an ivory ground and warm, playful colors. In addition, the hand-knotted Sultanabad, crafted of 100 percent lustrous wool, sees a line extension with multiple designs added for summer shoppers. Finally, the company's popular Oushak collection of textural classic floral motifs adds new beige and soft blue patterns.
Safavieh debuts the Revive collection, power-loomed of soft polyester, which proved an instant hit for its neutral textural,
tonal designs. Shown, REV110F
TRANS-OCEAN
Wayfair's Devin Zandonella, center, and Deep Singh stop by Trans-Ocean to check out the latest Trans-Ocean rugs
by designer Liora Manne, left. Shown, Tivoli's Nom de Plume
Following successful Casual Market and Atlanta Market in early January, Trans-Ocean rolled out several new indoor and outdoor rugs for Vegas shoppers. New York designer Liora Manne’s newest additions to the company’s lineup include the debuting Tulum collection of all jute rugs, with one hit design featuring a boho-inspired scalloped edge. Another well-received introduction includes Horizon's Ribbons design, hand-tufted with a high-low loop pattern with ivory ground and colorful ribbons of soft colors. Napoli, a power-loomed polypropylene collection offers multiple textures in neutral colors,
In addition, some of Trans-Ocean's most popular assortments added fresh designs including Tivoli with Nom De Plume, an abstract motif in trending green colorations. The Ariana collection of wool tufted rugs adds fresh designs including a checker-board inspired motif and updated traditional styles and abstracts. Finally, the company's perennially favorite Carmel collection of indoor-outdoor flat-weave rugs is grown with new geometric patterns, including Pyramid.
Liora Manne introduces the pure wool Horizons collection, hand-tufted in a high-low loop construction. Shown, Ribbons