Detail of an Etson denim blue oxidized wool rug from the new Essence Collection by SHIIR.

 

 

The Essence range reflects a trend to texture, simplicity and cleanness, a departure from the curves, tassels, gold brocades and damask that denoted luxury in the past, explains Rojanasumaphong. "I think our lives are gold brocade now, there's so much busy-ness ....there's an Apple watch on your wrist, a phone in your pocket, e-mails flooding your inbox. What we want in our interiors now is a kind of Zen-like simplicity and calm."

The collection focuses on the "essence" of the materials and textures in six designs: 

-Batik, of wool and silk, echoes ancient Egyptian artistry of 4th-century BC in four colorways; 

-Compendio, in wool and silk, evokes a geometric, linear look reminiscent of parquet or marquetry in five colorways, using an oxidation process;  

-Etson features pattern created in wool through an oxidation process to yield a patina-rich illusion of age in six colorways;

-Pezzato, of cashmere and silk, uses sophisticated color variations for a dappled and flecked look in two colorways;

-Symmetria, designed of soft cashmere, serves up lush simplicity in six dense colorways;

-Tableau, in soft cashmere, achieves opulent refinement in five colorways.

SHIIR Rugs sells through 11 designer showrooms including five run by Holly Hunt. The showrooms are located in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, and Houston, with two in New York and two in London.

 Although standard sizes are 3x5, 5x7, 8x10, 9x12 and 10x14, many SHIIR rugs are custom orders. Prices range from approximately $90 to $190 a square foot, and designers may add approximately 35 percent to the consumer price. A 9x12 can run up to about $25,000. 

Rugs for Affluent Clientele

The SHIIR collaboration grew out of Soucie Horner's quest for unusual and exciting rugs to meet the desires of an affluent, well-traveled clientele, says Rojanasumaphong, "and they weren't finding what they wanted. Shea looked at me and said: 'Brian, I have been buying rugs for 20 years; I've been bored for 15 of them.' She wasn't playing games; there is not enough innovation."

The company evolved from personal relationships: Soucie Horner was a good client of Oscar Isberian Rugs; Brian Rojanasumaphong, mentored by Sarkis and Oscar Isberian, joined the rug company 11 years ago and became a store manager, where he met Martin Horner and then Shea Soucie. As his clients sought out new and exciting rugs, they traveled with Rojanasumaphong and the Isberians and met weavers in India and Nepal who produced luxurious, high-quality artisanal rugs. Many of the weaving groups in India had worked with Oscar and Sark's grandfather, Oscar Isberian.

Design Innovations 

SHIIR made its debut at the 2012 Architectural Digest Home Design show in New York, previewing its first designs to more than 300 people a day. Today it is an LLC composed of the five partners, "but Shea and Martin are the primary drivers of design," says Rojanasumaphong. "It is not a misnomer to say it is a 'collection by Martin Horner and Shea Soucie.'" 

SHIIR's first three collections--Origin, Heritage and Adaptations--offer an array of weaves, textures and materials.  The Origin collection features more primitive, more geometric, larger scale designs--more akin to village carpets as opposed to antique Persian city carpets. Heritage patterns are derived from more traditional forms and fabrics, like one called Narcissus, which is taken from an antique paneled mirror. It feels contemporary, but also traditional. Adaptations is based on forms found in nature, such as feathers, stones, even the mottled patina on a brass door. 

Last fall's launch, the Embroidery Collection, marries the ancient embroidery art of chikankari with rug-making. The process takes a wool or silk flatweave carpet and applies silk or wool needlework embroidery to the rug. "Think of those extravagant silk-on-silk Indian wedding saris that are hand-embroidered in gold thread," says Rojanasumaphong.

The 'arranged marriage' came about during a trip to northern India, where the art of rug-making and the art of chikankari had existed in neighboring states for more than 500 years, but the two industries hadn't worked together. By serendipity, a friend in India knew of a woman working with chikankari artisans in the north, and one thing led to another. 

 

 

"Shea and Martin love materials and get excited about texture, weave, patina, material. And they in our travels we were finding rugs with Pashmina, with cashmere, silks. And most times, they aren't even being used in rug construction," he explains.

"Some people think silk is terribly delicate, and they'll ask: 'How long is this going to last?' And we say, 'It will longer than your interest will,'" Rojanasumaphong laughs. "They'll be passing the rug on to their favorite nephew at some point before the rug wears out."