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ROBERT CURREY AND CECIL ADAMS DISCUSS RUGS IN CURREY'S ONE-STOP STRATEGY
For 2016, Currey & Company's Deco Luxe trend is shown in a vignette featuring coordinated Currey products including a Persian-inspired rug reworked in pale updated colors.
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HIGH POINT, N.C. -- In its quest to become a one-stop lighting and home accents source for designers, Currey & Company has significantly expanded its IHFC showroom with an additional 4,000 square feet of space, which was celebrated with a grand reopening party on April 16, during High Point Market.
At the jam-packed event, Robert Currey, co-founder, Cecil Adams, vice president creative direction, and Jackie Paulsen, director of marketing spoke with RugNews.com about the role of rugs in Currey's one-stop strategy.
Robert Currey and Cecil Adams pose in front of the company's collection of tribal- and Persian-inspired rugs at the grand reopening of Currey & Company's High Point showroom.
"I would say this is a model of making sure that when designers come to us, we have what they need. It doesn't just stop at lighting. After they spec the floor and cabinetry -- the main pieces -- that's where Currey comes into the fold with designers and their mindset. With lighting and accessories, we're the icing on the cake. Rugs are a perfect complement; they bring the space together," explains Paulsen.
Credited with championing the addition of rugs to the mix, Adams stresses: "Designers are busy. We want to make sure that we're really easy to do business with. They can come in and get a chandelier or find a great rug or accessory piece, and we can save them time and energy. We want designers to be able to come in and find the lighting, chandelier, rug, whatever they need with an eye to saving time and energy in sourcing."
Currey's Ladylike trend for 2016 with the new wool hand-knotted Sava rug in Ocean.
Adds Currey, "It's a good way to do business."
Both men have an affinity for rugs. "I have a background in rugs, and in his Storehouse [retail] days, Mr. Robert Currey, the founder of our company, loved rugs. He has a huge collection of antique kilim rugs," Adams say.
"I have a lot of collections. I have good collections," interjects Currey, who received the Academy of Achievement Award from ART and Dallas Market Center at the 27th annual ARTS Awards in January, 2016.
In 1969, Currey started his own retail home furnishings company, Storehouse, which had grown to 28 stores when he left in 1982 after achieving his dreams and vision for the business. He spent the 1980s consulting within the furniture industry and running the U.S. sales organization of an Italian garden furniture manufacturer. A product development job and a retail venture led to his current business, Currey & Company, which he co-founded with his wife Suzanne Currey in 1988.
At the present time, there are 20 rugs in the Currey line. "We want to get all the logistical kinks out before adding SKUs. We're working with Obeetee, our supplier in India, which has a wonderful design team translating our designs into rugs. We've done pretty much all the same construction, hand-knotted wool," Adams continues.
International style is exemplified by this Currey & Company set with this new Sahara rug in gold.
"I would call the look updated traditional," Adams says. We usually take Persian designs, open them up, and recolor to complement everything we're doing in the showroom with lighting and upholstery."
Asked whether designers come in specifically looking for rugs or if sales people show the collection in the course of a showroom tour, he says, "both, actually. All of our sales people have samples. It's all photographed and on our website and in the catalog.
"We do have our designer clients who come to us specifically for rugs. There are a lot of designers who don't have access. If you're a lighting store, for example, you might not have access to a lot of rug people."
Currey launched its first collection of rugs at the April 2012 High Point Market with eight designs offered in three standard sizes. Now sizes range from 6x9 to 10x14. The new additions, all hand knotted in India of a New Zealand wool blend, are inspired by historical and tribal motifs featuring subtle colorations achieved through Swiss dyes.
"Traditional designs have been interpreted in new color palettes to appeal to 21st century sensibilities," Adams says. "Rugs have been processed to achieve an antique patina and a well-loved appearance.
"Finally, we can say that we give our customers a true floor-to-ceiling shopping experience."
The Mid-Century Moment trend from Currey & Company with updated traditional hand-knotted rug.