|
BEHIND THE SCENE: ERIN GATES & REZA MOMENI DISH AT HIGH POINT MARKET
Designer and Elements of Style blogger Erin Gates's new collection of rugs by Momeni feature her signature style of classics with a twist.
|
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Designer Erin Gates, the face and founder of the popular blog Elements of Style, unveiled her inaugural area rug collection in collaboration with Momeni to enthusiastic buyers.
The new range of nine collections, debuted at High Point Market, feature the NY Times bestselling author's signature tradition-with-a-twist style in a variety of constructions.
"I'm all about classics ... Traditional good design that has legs," said Gates, the founder and a principal of Boston-based Erin Gates Design, who added that many of her customers are women who read her blog and book. "I love vintage India dhurries, beautiful wools, and jutes. And, in my rug collection I just wanted to do things that stood the test of time. Nothing super-duper trendy -- classic designs."
In the foreground is the textural Langdon, with the tribal flatweave-styled Thompson from the new Erin Gates by Momeni collaboration.
Gates noted that she already has an accessories line licensed through Secret Celebrity in New York sold through Wayfair and all TJX companies. And for the designer, area rugs were a logical next step.
"I was always frustrated looking for a certain type of rug," she noted, while giving RugNews.com a tour of her designs. "You always want to fill the market with what you're looking for and that you can't seem to find. My approach is affordability but high design without the cost."
Erin Gates reworks the classic gabbeh in this playful rug from her Thompson collection.
Coincidentally, at the time Gates launched her home accessories program, Momeni reached out to her not knowing that she was looking to create a rug program, she said.
"Our designers and I searched the market for a licensing partner with a niche we wanted to fill, and Erin was ideal for the classic customer, which spans Millennials to Baby Boomers," Reza Momeni told RugNews.com. "Erin herself had a lot to do with the design of the collection because she is in tune with what's going in the world of furniture, fabric and, of course, color. The texture everyone is responding to was our part -- our goal was to match her concept with our quality and capabilities. The collection has some very innovative textures."
Adds, Gates, "I definitely design with my target audience in mind, which seems to be women in their 30s and 40s who have small children and are super busy. They want a good product and they like classics."
Reza Momeni was looking for a designer with a classic touch and Erin Gates fit the bill with her modern renditions of traditional design.
The new line covers a broad swathe of looks from the animal-hide designs of Acadia to the fun welcome mats of Park to the graphic flat-woven style of River. A showstopper was the new textural Langdon range, a handmade product woven with a wool base and viscose motifs on top.
Above and below, the new Langdon collection by Erin Gates features an innovative handmade construction with a wool base and viscose motifs on top.
"I love a good flatweave, but I also love a good texture that doesn't shed too much," she said. "People love fluffy textured rugs, but they get frustrated about having to vacuum all the time."
In her Thompson collection of wool flatweaves, one design that grabbed attention was inspired by the figural motifs in classic Gabbehs. "I took the animal motif and blew it up and did it in fun funky colors and then a neutral version. It's not something you've seen out there; it's cute without being cutsy."
Designer Erin Gates targets busy moms who want quality and tradition at an accessible price.
Ali Rejaee and Amy Foster of The Showroom at Furniture Row in Denver pose in front of the debuting Erin Gates by Momeni collection with Reza Momeni and Hannah Levine of Momeni at the area rug collection's High Point Market launch party.