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ICFF EXCLUSIVE: AREA RUGS STEAL THE SHOW, PART 1
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NEW YORK -- A staggering nearly 40 area rug exhibitors -- the largest presentation of the category yet -- turned out for the 30th installment of ICFF.
That had many exhibitors somewhat dismayed to find such competition at this popular contemporary furnishings fair, at which just three years ago RugNews.com visited a meager 22 ICFF rug vendors. For the 2018 show, more than a dozen newcomers signed up to test the contemporary high-end waters and included several young emerging labels both domestic and from overseas, international players new to the U.S. market, and even American rug companies looking to grow their franchise and introduce audiences to their brand and latest collections.
Scoping out design trends across all categories at ICFF, Tamarian's Ryan Higgins and Steve Cibor had a lot of ground to cover.
With such a massive outpouring of the latest designs for the floor there was a comprehensive presentation of the major directions that the upper reaches of the market are moving toward: a return to earthy neutrals, continued infatuation with flatweaves and updated tribals, modern art inspired designs and statement makers.
Follow RugNews.com on the area rug industry's most comprehensive -- and exhaustive -- tour of ICFF 2018 to check out the people and designs that made the show. Below we tour stands from new Spanish brand Abbatte to renowned flatweave maker Nasiri Carpets. Make sure not to miss
Part 2 of our comprehensive tour of area rugs at ICFF 2018, where the action continues with luxe rug maker New Moon to award-winning Woven Concepts.
ABBATTE
Co-owners Miguel Cerezales Rotaeche and Camila Lanzas Goded introduce audiences to their hand-crafted Spanish line Abbatte.
Spanish home textiles and area rug workshop Abbatte, housed in a 12th century monastery just north of Madrid, debuted its elegant line of handmade blankets, throws, ceramics and area rugs -- all crafted in a space located within the ancient building. Owned by Camila Lanzas Goded and Miguel Cerezales Rotaeche, all pieces are made of natural materials. In addition, the grounds boast a specialized botanical garden where natural dyeing plants are harvested.
Housed in a 12th century monastery in Spain, Abbate's all-natural hand-woven rugs, shown hanging, are dyed using plants harvested from an on-site garden.
AMADI CARPETS
Brothers Zubair, left, and Jawid Ahmadi, co-owners of Amadi Carpets, return to ICFF to showcase their latest Afghan-crafted Tuareg rugs.
Amadi Carpets returns to ICFF to acquaint show shoppers with its latest Tuareg area rug designs recast for contemporary audiences, Zubair Ahmadi told RugNews.com. The Tuareg rugs are hand woven by women trained in Amadi's own workshops in Afghanistan, set up with the intention of providing hope and change for those less fortunate than the Ahmadi brothers, who sit at the helm of the successful West Hollywood-based rug company.
For the 30th installment of this popular home furnishings fair, which offers show attendees a chance to see the latest interior design trends across a broad swath of products, Amadi shared a space with furniture brand Verellen, offering market-goers the opportunity to experience the designs in room-like settings
LA-based Amadi Carpets showcases its latest Tuareg area rugs, including several in contemporary blue and ivory combos.
APADANA FINE RUGS
Apadana Fine Rugs' owner Mike Alidadi, right, and Zachary Laug bring popular styles in solids, stripes and vintage-looks to ICFF.
Apadana Fine Rugs, based in Connecticut, showcases its latest customizable looks at ICFF. A long-time ICFF exhibitor, the showroom debuted a new striated-type design made of a blend wool, linen and silk. Also on show were new colors of the studios tweed-look Boho rug collection, made of wool and bamboo silk. Finally, another hit among shoppers was the company's reworked vintage area rug featuring a distressed-looking.
Apadana Fine Rugs debuts a striated design of wool, linen and silk in popular color combinations at ICFF.
ARMADILLO & CO.
Armadillo & Co. co-founder Jodie Fried welcomes guests to the Aussie brand's ICFF premier.
With its sights set on the U.S. and beyond, Armadillo & Co., an area rug studio based in Australia, introduces market-goers to its sophisticated but relaxed eco-friendly area rugs, all of which are 100 percent handmade of natural and sustainable fibers using fair trade practices.
The company debuts its new Paragon range from the Heirloom collection. Paragon, crafted in neutral shades belying their complex patterns, features an abrash dyed wool that is hand spun and knotted using traditional techniques.
Armadillo & Co. introduce its sophisticated, but casual, sustainably crafted area rugs to American designers and architects. From left, Nala in natural and slate, Agra in duchess, Seirra weave in chalk and Kalahari weave in natural and pumice.
ARONSON'S FLOOR COVERING
Aronson's Floor Covering premiers the NY studio's Empire collection at ICFF and wins the 2018 NYCxDesign Award for commercial flooring plus the ICFF Editor's Award for Carpet/Flooring.
New York flooring showroom Aronson's Floor Covering premiers at ICFF with its inaugural bespoke collection of handmade area rugs portfolio called Empire. At the same time, the 150 year old company introduced its first designer collaboration with New York-based interior designer Ghislaine Viñas. Part of the Empire range, Viñas' In The Hood collection is inspired by the Empire state's namesake city of New York and incorporates neighborhood elements, architecture and local spots into each of the four abstract, geometric designs (Vestry, West Side, TriBeCa, and Freeman Alley).
Each rug provides a playful complement to the basic Empire collection, standing together as a cohesive line with an unmistakably modern color palette and unique, design-forward shapes. In fact, the Empire Collection x Ghislaine Viñas' In the Hood won a 2018 NYCxDesign Award in the Commercial Flooring category.
Aronson's Floor Covering premiers at ICFF with its inaugural designer collaboration called In the Hood by Ghislaine Viñas.
BESPOKE TIBETAN CARPETS
The young Bespoke Tibetan Carpets focused the show on its finely crafted, luxe contemporary take on Tibetan area rugs.
Tsewang Lama, founder of two-year-old Bespoke Tibetan Carpets, introduced ICFF shoppers to his expertly crafted Tibetan carpets. "Traffic has been very good," Lama said, adding that "everyone likes the quality of my rugs; that is the thing we focus on." Bespoke Tibetan's contemporary rugs are all handmade in Tibet. Lama added that he tried ICFF because he felt it takes a holistic approach to interior trends, offering shoppers a cross-category presentation of major design directions.
Innovative textures in neutral colorways grabbed the attention of designers visiting the Bespoke Tibetan Carpets stand.
BOKARA RUG COMPANY
Bokara Rug Company takes two adjoining separate stands at ICFF 2018 to spotlight its range of hand-crafted contemporary and transitional designs.
New Jersey-based Bokara Rug Company returns to ICFF with a selection of new contemporary designs and also highlights its Moroccans. On display were contemporary designs from the company's Canvas Art Select collection of Himalayan 5000 area rugs, which are hand-woven in India of viscose.
Bokara debuted at ICFF in 2016 and continues to participate in the show to introduce shoppers to its brand.
Bokara Rug Company highlights its Canvas Art Select Himalayan 5000 abstract designs at its third exhibition at ICFF.
CC-Tapis' Patrizio Chiarparini and Daniele Lora, creative director, pose in front of the Milan studio's Rotazioni rug designed by Patricia Urquiola.
CC-Tapis, which debuted at ICFF in 2015 and took a short break from the fair, returns with a booth shared with furnishings maker 3x3x3. The Italian company, which produces contemporary hand-knotted rugs in Nepal, showcased its cutting-edge Bliss design by Dutch designer Mae Engelgeer. Bliss, inspired by the '80s design movement known as Memphis, toys with both shape and color. The area rug studio also featured Patricia Urquiola's Rotazioni, another design with an unexpected shape.
Cutting-edge area rug maker CC-Tapis showcases the '80s inspired, Memphis-styled Bliss area rug at ICFF.
CREATIVE TOUCH
Ozgur Celikel, commercial attache consulate general of Turkey in New York, stops by the Creative Touch stand to chat with Baki Ildiz.
Creative Touch showcased its growing range of collaborative designs including its just-launched designer series by Los Angeles-based designer Erinn Valencich. The new Erinn V collection rugs, crafted of wool and silk, feature modernist-styled geometric patterns. Also on show were the abstract painterly designs from artist Carol Benson-Cobb, now a Creative Touch best-selling line.
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Creative Touch debuts its new Erinn V collection of modern rugs at ICFF by Los Angeles-based designer Erinn Valencich (hanging right).
ELIKO RUGS