MIAMI - It was a rendezvous to remember: a melting pot of exhibitors, designers, architects and retail buyers from around the world at the first-ever Maison & Objet Americas, held May 12 to 15, 2015 at the Miami Convention Center.  The rug category was well represented, with seven U.S.-based rug companies exhibiting, and another 10-plus from Italy, France, Finland, Turkey, Belgium and more.  Rugs were also prominently featured in a majority of furniture booths - which happened to be European and inclined to present lifestyle room sets rather than stacks of products.

Indeed, the ambiance was luxurious, with lots of richly appointed exhibits decorated with elaborate architectural moldings and dramatic mood lighting rarely seen at U.S. shows.  While exhibitors at the competitive International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) showed more modern designs and technologically innovative products in New York later in the week, the feeling at Maison was one of master craftsmanship, guild-worthy artistry and European opulence in styling and color palettes. 

Although American exhibitors signed up with an eye toward building business in Latin and South America, Europeans told us they were surprised by the heavy proportion of visitors from south of the U.S. border.  Still, long-time Maison & Objet Paris exhibitors appear to be an unusually loyal crew, several telling us they sign up for every Maison venue, and trust that the organization will be successful in growing its new Asian and American shows.

Plush velvety cut-pile rug rugs were everywhere in silk, bamboo silk or viscose.  So were distressed and erased patterned looks. Unique weaves and textures and hand-painted rugs will have an impact on rug trends in coming seasons. Following are news highlights from rug companies at the inaugural Miami fair. 

WARP & WEFT

"For me, Maison & Objet Americas is all about the branding.  We want to be in front of the clients the show  is bringing to Miami - to present our new designs and meet designers that are new to us," said Warp & Weft founder Michael Mandapati, who was happy with the strong showing from South America.  Business operations and product development manager Julia Semikina said Warp & Weft brought samples to illustrate four of its newest design concepts, including the Kia Sar flatweave collection inspired by early 19th century antique Mazandaran kilims, a modern hand-knotted rug called Sky Two and the colorful abstract design, Fresno.  "Why are we here? The name of this show is Maison & Objet, and that says it all," Semikina declared.

SAHRAI MILANO

Couture rug house Sahrai Milano, a nearly 200-year-old family business run by siblings Rana and Ramine Sahrai, extended its reach to the Miami design community beyond the halls of Maison & Objet when its rugs debuted on May 13 at the grand opening of Ligné Atelier, a new multi-line showroom in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. West coast designers already have access to Sahrai through the showroom of Janet Yanaty, Inc. in Hollywood, CA. 

"We have the exclusive license for Gianfranco Ferré rugs in addition to our own custom collections designed in Italy," explained Rana Sahrai, noting that the bespoke brand's Sparkles collection of silk rugs with Swarovski Elements (crystals) was a big attraction for fair attendees. Also popular was the wool and silk Noor collection, including the Quake, Scraped and Leopard designs.

ARIANA RUGS

Displaying their signature creamy white rugs made to look centuries old, Alex and Ahmad Ahmadi drew attention to the Ariana booth with a natural wood focal wall designed by an architect friend from Afghanistan. "We're here for the experience of being at Maison & Objet with our Luxury Collection rugs, and showing them to the South American market. We are introducing a new collection that actually has holes and tears in the carpets to make them look even more antique," Ahmad Ahmadi said.  The Luxury line features classic 16th century designs in an extremely thin pile and flatweave combination. The rugs are left out in the sun, snow and rain for three to five years to get the distinctive faded cream and pastel colors favored by the younger generation, Ahmadi explained.

STEPEVI

Cem Sengor of Istanbul-based Stepevi said the new Dérangé collection was the hit of the show for the company. "The rugs are hand-tufted and set up on a special loom with fabric in back and pile viscose surface.  There is no cutting to create what look like cutouts with fabric showing through," she said. The rugs retail at $1,975 in 6x8 and follow an earlier collection called Dégradé, with an oversized loop effect. 

Stepevi, which has its own boutiques in London, Paris, Milan, Istanbul, Dubai and Geneva, set up a showroom in New York City's SoHo design district three years ago, Sengor said. "We are an international company and came to Maison in Miami to get into the South American market. Our clients are a mix of retailers and designers, plus business to business," she explained.

FRENCH ACCENTS

Danny Shafiian of French Accents Rugs and Tapestries introduced Maison attendees to two new collections, Retro Classic and Aubusson Revisited. "Retro Classic blends old with new in a mix of traditional weaving techniques and classical Persian designs in modern colors. Our new Aubussons also update classical patterns: but instead of using traditional colors, we combine linen, cotton, silk and wool in three or four shades of a color to create a skeleton design with depth and definition coming from the luster and tone of the yarns," Shafiian explained.  He told RugNews.com he had established contacts and is building bridges for future business.  "We have not been exposed to the South American market at other shows, and that is why we are here.  Miami is a shopping destination for them, and they are here to gauge what exhibitors have and who to follow up with."

EDITION BOUGAINVILLE

"We're showing two collections in Miami: Renaissance and Inspirations," said Oliver Charles, grandson of the founder of Edition Bougainville of Le Connet, France. Taking the erased weave look to new levels of opulence, the Renaissance collection features French 18th century designs updated with new weaving techniques and colors. "The designs are inspired by damasks, marquetry and even foliage from a Mazarin desk. The second collection is Inspiration, which includes modern, trendy designs with great shadow effects," Charles explained.

NALBANDIAN

Exhibitors at Maison & Objet in Paris for five years prior to the 2015 show, Sue and Gabriel Nalbandian were located in the Miami fair's "red carpet" section for Paris show alumnae. "I'm glad we participated. We are very impressed with the quality of attendees and the traffic. The halls are packed," Sue Nalbandian said. Nalbandian reported positive response to the company's over dyed vintage rugs. "We've met with designers from Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela and Chile. Their taste is more European than American. The South American market is looking for color," she said.

SERGE LESAGE

"Response to our hand-painted limited edition rugs has been really excellent," said Romain Lepers, president of Serge Lesage. Based in Chereng, France, the company showed a selection of painted corner samples and a full rug wholesaling at $25 per foot.  "We mainly sell to Roche Bobois in the U.S. and at the Miami show we are well located. We are meeting new clients from Venezuela, Brazil, California, Florida and New York. The new Abyss rug is already a success," said Lepers of the heavily textured wool and viscose hand-tufted design. The company, a long-time Maison & Objet exhibitor in Paris, also offers a custom program with 505 colors available.

NULOOM

A first-timer at Maison & Objet, Nuloom has already signed up for the September, 2015 edition in Paris.  Co-owner Nicole Yaraghi reported brisk traffic at her company's booth (which, like those of several other rug companies) was relatively small; therefore limiting what could be displayed in Miami. "We had space for only 50 rugs, so our selection is designed to give an idea of our fashion approach to every prince point.  Over-dyes are important and our printed tile rugs are a great success, so we are going to try them in an outdoor quality," Yaraghi said.

DITOZZI DESIGN

Diana Tozzi, founder and CEO of Ditozzi Design, says she made her first sale at Maison & Objet Americas before she actually arrived at her booth on opening day.  "I was late because there was heavy traffic from the hotel.  When I got here, a customer was waiting for me for 30 minutes.  She bought the Lilies of the Valley round rug and ordered a stair runner custom-designed to match," Tozzi said. The rug, which retails for $18,000, was inspired by the motif of a fan owned by Russian Empress Maria, who Tozzi says loved lilies. "The fan is in the Hermitage museum, and I have the rights to reproduce rugs using art from the museum's collection. We also do commission projects for the Russian government, including a carpet for the Kremlin with Swarovski crystals in the border," she explained. In addition to custom residential and commercial projects, Tozzi says she is finalizing a license for rugs with Faberge.

ANADOL RUG

Constantly packed with designers and buyers attracted to its metallic vintage rugs, the team from Anadol Rug Co, said the show was mainly used to make new connections.  "It's not like a retail show; it is an interior design show and we think we've been successful in opening the South American markets," explained Emre Serezli, sales manager for the U.S. and Latin America. "People like the metallic patchwork collection, our Vintage over-dyed rugs, and the patchwork Vestige squares.  We want to diversify, to let the market know we are not just Oushaks," Serezli said.

AUSKIN USA

"We are showing a new alpaca rug, and a new hand-tufted wool collection," said Paige Bigelow, sales executive for Auskin USA.  "Auskin has been in Australia for 30 years; we opened in the U.S. seven years ago to handle North and South America, and have been exhibiting at NY Now and Las Vegas. The company started exclusively with Australian sheepskin, but is now expanding to other natural fibers. We also recently started showing Tibetan lamb and Icelandic sheepskin which is very popular in fashion, and we are turning to hand-tufted natural fiber rugs," she said. Marketed under the Fibre by Auskin label, the collection now includes accessories in alpaca, wool, camel hair and hair on cowhide, and sells at retailers such as Room & Board and Arhaus.

Mandy Coughlin and Paige Bigelow of Auskin USA in the Maison & Objet Back Loading...