RugNews.com tours High Point Market rug showrooms. Top row, from left: Del Morales and Ted Evans of
Macy's Fine Rug Gallery at Amer; Art Resources' new Anatolian designs; designer Shay Geyer of IBB Design
at Feizy; Creative Touch's new Van design. Middle row, HGTV star Tamara Day at Kaleen; Karastan's new
Tryst creel; Stephen and Jan Lynch of Rustic Elegance at Kalaty; Designer Kate Lester at Jaipur. Bottom row,
from left, LR Home's Veranda; NY designer Alfredo Paredes at HRI; Loloi's hand-knotted Emilia.
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Spring 2022 High Point Market area rug showrooms recorded increased traffic as retailers and designers returned to the event -- some for the first time in three years.
Attendees had plenty of ground to cover as several area rug vendors updated their showrooms, rolling out new rug programs geared toward both retail buyers and designers. In addition, rug exhibitors introduced hundreds of trending designs ranging from fine hand-knots to performance styles -- so there certainly was no shortage of freshness for market-goers to browse.
Finally, High Point returned to a semblance of its former glory days with many rug showrooms offering refreshments and food, cocktail parties and special events. Among the most popular stops at market were meet and greets with designers and celebrity TV hosts including Bargain Mansions' Tamara Day, whose rugs were featured in the Kaleen showroom, and Rehab Addict star Nicole Curtis, who offered photo ops with visitors at Nourison's showroom where her new area rugs were on display. New York designer Stacy Garcia hosted events at both Karastan and LR Home, and SoCal designer Kate Lester was on site at the Jaipur Living showroom to introduce her new rugs. In addition, Harounian Rugs International (HRI) debuted its new program with prominent NY designer Alfredo Paredes, who served as EVP and chief creative officer at fashion house Ralph Lauren.
As if those events weren't enough to fill the calendars of area rug shoppers, there were ribbon cuttings at Kaleen and Rugs America, plus buyers were able to meet with rug vendors, such as Amer, which returned to market for the first time since the pandemic kicked off.
In this two part series, RugNews.com tours 20+ area rug showrooms to deliver spring market's most comprehensive review of the industry's top people, places and products during High Point Market. Make sure not to miss Part 2, where the action continues.
AMER RUGS
Amer's Raj Choudhoury shows the latest designs to Del Morales and Ted Evans of Macy's Fine Rug Gallery.
Hanging rug, Quartz-5.
Amer's Vintage collection of timeless designs, hand-knotted of 100 percent virgin New Zealand wool.
ART RESOURCES
Art Resources' latest Anatolian wool hand-knotted designs resonated with spring market-goers.
Textural tonal designs in browns, creams and beiges were trending at Art Resources High Point space.
CHANDRA
Chandra puts the spotlight on hand-crafted texture with the woven Argos collection on view at its InterHall space at IHFC.
A newly expanded InterHall space gives Chandra an opportunity to showcase its handmade shuffleboard and custom
sizable plush designer shag rug -- a client favorite.
CREATIVE TOUCH
Creative Touch expands its hand-knotted textural Van collection (hanging), debuting several new styles for spring.
Creative Touch showcased its Sandy collection, of modern geometric hand-knotted designs, at its SAMS booth.
FEIZY
Designer Shay Geyer of IBB Design in Frisco, Texas takes a break for a photo op with Feizy's Cameron Feizy.
Shown, Leyla collection
Feizy debuted its new fine rug designer program at spring market. Shown, top, Merril and bottom, Conley
HAROUNIAN RUGS INTERNATIONAL (HRI)
David Grasse, left, and Lee Harounian, right, flank designer Alfredo Paredes, who launched his first rugs for HRI at
High Point Market.
HRI introduced its new area rug program by designer Alfredo Paredes, left, and debuts its new loomed indoor-
outdoor Band collection, hanging, right.
JAIPUR LIVING
Jaipur Living's Asha Choudhary introduces the company's newest licensing partner, SoCal designer Kate Lester,
and her first rugs. Shown, the printed Harman collection
Jaipur Living's Manchaha rug collection gives its artisan weavers free range in creating their oeuvre.
KALATY RUG CORP.
Ramin Kalaty (right) walks Stephen and Jan Lynch of Rustic Elegance, Kerrville, Texas, through Kalaty Rugs' latest debuts.
Kalaty's hand-knotted Solano collection, crafted of wool and Silkette, was a top-seller for its high-low textural abstract
designs.
KALEEN RUGS & BROADLOOM
Kelli Mills of Tiffin Furniture, Eastpoint, Florida, and Kaleen's Florida rep Keith Eichenblatt take time to meet Bargain
Mansions' star Tamara Day and review Day's new area rugs at Kaleen's expanded Showplace showroom.
Kaleen introduces the new Sterling Impressions collection to its popular Hilary Farr licensing program at spring market.
KARASTAN
Stacy Garcia meets with Elizabeth Yeager Cross and Glen Yeager, of Yeager Design and Interiors, following
a special designer discussion led by Garcia in the Karastan High Point showroom during market.
Karastan's popular Tryst collection's latest designs and new creel proved a popular choice for rug shoppers.
Shown, Bari, r1074
LR HOME
Celebrating at the High Point Market launch of Stacy Garcia for LR Home, are from left: Vaibhav, Megha, and Krishna
Laddha of LR Home; Nora Gomez and Tony Boldt of Nebraska Furniture Mart, designer Stacy Garcia; Shane Pohlman
and chairman Irv Blumkin of NFM and Vinamra Laddha, LR Home.
LR Home amps up the wow factor with several debuts including Veranda, a new textural indoor-outdoor rug assortment.
LOLOI
Easy to decorate with palettes and traditional rug styles were a hit at the Loloi showroom, which showcased its hand-
knotted Emilia collection at High Point.
Loloi grows its recently introduced Carrier and Company collaboration, showcasing the geometric designs in the hand-
knotted Harrison collection.
-- Continue reading High Point Market: People & Product Roundup, Part 2