Donegal Ardmore in the Legacy Collection
ATLANTA -- Donegal Carpets of Killybegs, Donegal, Ireland and Northfield Carpets International of Northfield, MN have entered into a licensing agreement whereby Northfield will market and distribute a line of rugs based on Donegal custom designs.
The Legacy Collection will be shown in Atlanta at the National Oriental Rug Show, Space 1309 on the second floor of AmericasMart.
The rugs are hand made in Nepal using Tibetan-knot techniques. Suggested retail price is $2,900 for 6x9 size.
The new association allows the century-old Irish custom carpet company to bring its hand-knotted rug designs to a broader audience, according to Donegal. The collection is being offered to retailers and interior designers.
This is the first time Donegal Carpets has authorized production of its designs outside of Ireland, where the original 40 foot loom is still in use today by the weavers of Killybegs.
Initially, Northfield Carpets will market the "Legacy Collection€VbCrLf in five sizes, ranging from 5'x 8' to 10'x14.' The collection will include nearly a dozen historical designs, taken from patterns in the Donegal archives dating back to 1898.
The Armagh rug, for example, was originally created for Armagh Cathedral in Ireland. It features a trellis bordered by flowers and leaves in reds and greens. Downing is a floral design in reds, blues and greens, originally commissioned for the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street in London. Ardmore made for the Chicago Athletic Club, was inspired by a drawing from a page in the Book of Kells.
"In our effort to preserve the historic Donegal name, we have decided to offer Donegal designs at a more affordable price. We think this will allow a much broader audience to appreciate the skills that made Donegal so famous,€VbCrLf noted Michael McDaid, general manager of Donegal.
McDaid saidNorthfield Carpets was chosen as a marketing partner because of its understanding of the market, its appreciation of the Donegal brand name and its ability to produce quality rugs. McDaid worked closely with Northfield Carpets co-founders Tracy Davis and Danielle Freudenthal to launch the new line of ready-made rugs.