Broadloom introductions offered a broad sweep in weaves, qualities and styling and were well received by flooring shoppers.
LAS VEGAS -- Broadloom retailers had three events to choose from to shop the latest introductions, including major flooring exposition, The International Surface Event (TISE), which hosted boutique rug trade show COVER Connect Las Vegas (CCLV), as well as at Las Vegas Market's winter edition.
Many attendees of the Jan. 24-26 TISE, which included the Surfaces' Wool and CCLV pavilions, also headed to the World Market Center to browse the offering of broadloom and area rugs on show there. What’s more, several rug showrooms reported that they hosted buyers attending TISE in advance of Las Vegas Market's official start date of Jan. 28, 2024, and throughout that event.
In fact, in the past few years, executives in the broadloom category have been gearing up their custom area rug and broadloom programs as retailer and trade showroom demand for such options has risen dramatically.
Industry players have decreased turnaround times for cut and sew rugs, making them an even more appealing option to in-stock or custom area rugs. Flooring retailers also appreciate broadloom and custom POS displays that minimize showroom footprints – and help store owners enter or remain in the rug business. Finally, the vast selection of broadloom designs and qualities suitable for custom rug fabrications for both indoor and outdoor applications are another major draw to the category.
Broadloom exhibitors in the Wool Pavilion at Surfaces rolled out hundreds of new collections in a range of styles, weaves and qualities, which ranged from affordable pet-friendly or indoor-outdoor machine-made options to ultra sumptuous designs. All surveyed executives say that attendees -- and the category, in general -- have high expectations for custom rug fabrication and broadloom looking ahead. So while foot traffic at Surfaces was reported to be comparable to last year's event, the outlook for the category is bright.
Below RugNews.com editors tour the Surfaces and the Wool Pavilion, COVER Connect, and Las Vegas Market to uncover the top trends and market hits at the winter shows.
COURISTAN
A best-seller at Surfaces 2024 for Couristan was its hand-loomed Caymus collection, on the floor and on display rack.
"Traffic was steady," said Georgia Couri, associate director of business development, adding that almost half of Couristan's broadloom business is in the custom fabrication category. "Broadloom continues to pick up more business as people realize that all-over hard flooring is not that great."
At Couristan's TISE booth 60 new broadloom hand-crafted designs, debuting in wool or wool blends, were among the most popular choices with winter buyers. Caymus, hand-loomed of wool with a loop pile, earned a big thumbs up for its updated chevron design, available in blue, green, slate, beige and gray.
"Our textured tufted wool collections were also a big hit," Couri said. C0-0032 was a standout among the hand-tufted 100 percent wool debuts. These rugs feature a raised abstract marble-like motif, available in a high contrast palette or tonal hues, lending them an active solid styling. Another favorite is CO-0039, hand-tufted of wool offering an overlapping circular motif.
Couristan's wool debuts were a favorite of buyers and this hand-tufted abstract motif (C0-0032) was a winner.
Couristan design 0039, hand-tufted of wool, received a thumbs up from show shoppers.
KALEEN
Radhe Rathi, far left, Jeff Forwood and Monti Rathi, center right, with Teri and Andy LaPlante, LK2 Kaim Kisner Studio Saint Louis.
At the Surfaces' Wools Pavilion, which showcases wool-focused brands, Monty Rathi, Kaleen COO, said, "We had a good market." He noted that in the past several months Kaleen has cut its lead times to seven to 10 business days for custom area rugs from broadloom. Kaleen launched its broadloom business eight years ago and has continually enhanced its infrastructure to expand its offering and improve related services – including its custom-cut area rugs.
"Attendees loved our Hook & Beam debuts that are hand- and machine-woven wool. Our Home & Porch, which is a performance indoor-outdoor series crafted of PET yarns, was also popular."
Kaleen gave its Hook & Beam broadloom brand a major expansion for Surfaces 2024. Shown on floor, left, High Style,
with Sonora Sands, right.
Sonora Sands from the Hook & Beam label, which had an extensive expansion for winter 2024, was a big Surfaces hit. It features an antelope-inspired pattern crafted of 100 percent premium New Zealand wool. Another favorite was Wind River, a range of neutral-toned flatweaves with a texture story: it’s constructed in a hand-loomed and jacquard mix. Kaleen launched its Hook & Beam lineup in spring 2021.
Kaleen's new hand-tufted Sonora Sands from the Hook & Beam label is crafted of New Zealand wool and was a favorite.
That brand was followed two years later by the introduction of Home & Porch, which also saw a major 2024 expansion. For winter market-goers, Kaleen scored big with the new Southern Soal collection, which features a ticking style stripe motif with chevron and offers a wool-like hand crafted of PET polyester. From the Kaleen Broadloom program, Corsair and Hendo's Hideout proved the top introductions. Both are hand-loomed of wool in soft colorways including blue, gray, silver, spice and green. Corsair offers an organic striated-styling; Hendo's Hideouta, an understated all-over arrow motif.
Kaleen's new Southern Soal collection, shown on floor, from its indoor-outdoor Home & Porch collection was a major hit.
MOHAWK HOME
Mohawk Home introduced its new PETPremier carpets, an affordable pet-friendly lineup crafted from recycled plastic bottles.
Mohawk Home showcased its brand-new PETPremier carpets, as well as its SmartStrand and Karastan broadloom labels, which all proved showstoppers for buyers at TISE. PetPremier, which launched with 10 styles, is a solution-dyed PET carpet made from consumer recycled plastic bottles domestically. “Over the last three years, affordable pet-friendly solutions have become increasingly important," said Denise Silbert, Mohawk’s vice president of marketing, soft surface. "The buying power of the millennial generation is greater than any other generation, so they are an important target audience to win over. Knowing this, we engineered a completely new yarn system for PETPremier to perform at a higher level than other PETs.”
Mohawk's luxury flooring division, Karastan, introduced dozens of new hard and soft surfaces collections. In the soft surface category, Karastan released 12 new products across its fiber portfolios, including wool, SmartStrand and XTRA collection. Their high-impact wool offerings refresh timeless styles with soft, modern multicolors and a mix of classic and bold patterns. And the new Kashmere XTRA collection utilizes exclusive fibers to provide endless design possibilities for next-level fashion and performance.
Karastan's SmartStrand featured its color refreshments for timeless styling that redefines the multicolor aesthetic.
“Launched in 2023, XTRA collection allows us to offer something completely exclusive to retailers,” said Jamie Welborn, senior vice president of product management, soft surface. “For example, this year’s Methodology strategically uses bright colors in a subtle, modern take by putting the accent color in the background.”
Graphic designs from Karastan's Kashmere XTRA collection was a favorite with Surfaces attendees.
MOMENI
Reza and Kian Momeni flank James Metrick of Toronto's ELTE as they show him the newest additions to the broadloom lineup.
Momeni returned to Surfaces, its first time since the Covid pandemic shuttered the fair in 2021, and participated in the 2024 event as part of the COVER Connect Pavilion, which was located next to TISE's Wool Pavilion. The booth was shoulder-to-shoulder much of the time as long-time West Coast and Surfaces attendees stopped in to check out Momeni's latest introductions.
There was plenty of newness to browse with Momeni introducing 13 fashion-forward broadloom collections in a range of qualities and weaves. Two completely new constructions are hand-loomed or hand-tufted in nylon. The solid-color hand-loomed Harrison, made of 100 percent nylon, in blue was an instant sensation for its dense pile and subtle shimmer. Arlo, hand-loomed of sustainable PET yarn, received a warm welcome for its simple linear motif, neutral palettes and performance qualities. Unique, one of Momeni's best-selling broadloom collections, added a fresh charcoal palette. The handmade Unique collection is crafted of pure wool and features striations running across the width.
Show shoppers also learned about Momeni's improved cut-and-sew area rug program, which delivers custom orders more quickly (read more).
Momeni's POS display featured its debuts including the solid-colored hand-tufted Harrison, a novel Momeni construction
crafted of nylon.
"With the move to our new warehouse in Georgia, it makes it much easier to service cut program orders, being minutes away from fabricators and en route to all shipping/trucking lines," Reza Momeni said. The new facility allows Momeni to inventory more rolls for immediate shipping and extra space has allowed the company to add a second cutting machine for speedier service.
Momeni's top selling Unique collection, handmade of wool, adds new Charcoal colorway for winter shoppers in Vegas.
NOURISON
Prominent in its Las Vegas showroom was Nourison’s Craftworks display fixture showcasing custom size options
from exclusively hand-made broadloom in top-of-the-line raw materials.
Nourison, which traditionally shows at both Surfaces and Las Vegas Markets, optioned out of TISE for the second year, and successfully chaperoned Surfaces retailers to its LVMKT showroom, for a strong kickoff to 2024. “We opened our World Market Center showroom early to coincide with Surfaces,” explained Giovanni Mara, VP of marketing and creative, Nourison Home. “And we worked really hard to nail down appointments with our major customers well in advance – telling them we’d provide transportation between shows.”
That work paid off, Mara said, with positive sales in Nourison's broadloom and custom rug categories. A section of the showroom was devoted to Surfaces shoppers, with prominently displayed Craftworks and Hagaman designer broadloom display racks a big draw. While the Nourison’s Craftworks spotlights custom size options from exclusively hand-made broadloom in top of the line raw materials, Hagaman by Nourison offers designer styling and luxurious constructions in wool, wool blends and synthetics at affordable price points.
At Nourison’s LVMKT showroom, Surfaces shoppers browsed the mid-priced Hagaman display fixture for decorative
broadloom and custom rug options in wool, wool blends and synthetic.
“We have put a strong emphasis on the hand-loom, hand-crafted segment of our broadloom business in 2024,” Mara explained. New broadloom styles emphasized soft color and subtle textures, many are hand loomed of wool and wool blends (read more). Debuts on show were the new Odyssey lineup featuring an organic, casual take on the classic Greek Key motif. The range is hand loomed in naturally striated high-performance wool and nylon.
Nourison's new Desert Contour and Desert Links are decorative flatweaves that combine multiple fibers to create unique pile textures. Transitional and modern patterns are intricately woven with specially dyed yarns. Baja features a multi-tone flatweave construction with a decorative low-profile texture for a natural fiber look. Nourison’s new Laguna, a collection of decorative, textured stripes with a hint of luster, is crafted of fine wool, lustrous nylon and natural cotton in a multi-level loop pile.
Also a must see for Surfaces shoppers was Reserve, the company’s highest-quality brand. Vegas buyers were the first to see Reserve debut Plush Cloud, a hand-tufted series of neutral solids crafted from a sumptuous blend of cashmere and the highest quality New Zealand wool for a plush, dense texture. The just-released Whispers collection of high-quality hand-knotted rugs, also part of its Reserve lineup, is crafted 100 percent wool offering classic Persian motifs in contemporary neutrals, with subtly raised accents for textural appeal.
Many of Nourison Home’s current and new broadloom styles are loomed in 15 foot widths, which make them suitable for both broadloom installs and custom sized rugs. Custom sized rugs are fabricated in Nourison Home’s facility in Georgia and are crafted and shipped in two weeks or less.
Plush Cloud, a luxurious Reserve collection debut, is hand-tufted in neutral solids in a blend of cashmere and the
highest quality New Zealand wool for a plush, dense texture.
REBEL CARPETS
Jacqueline Cox, Jessica Young and Marco Rebollar of Tapis Décor in Minneapolis shopped the latest neutral luxe designs
from Rebel Carpets.
Luxury broadloom atelier Rebel Carpets returned to Surfaces, and its busy booth featured its latest high-end custom carpet designs, which are created by Jakub Staron, co-owner and designer of boutique area rug showroom JD Staron. For winter 2024 the Rebel Carpets booth debuted new textures and fashion-driven styles. Among the hits are Sahara, hand loomed of PET yarn, with raised contemporary wavy linear motif. Sahara is offered in easy to decorate with colorways such as camel and ostrich (a soft gray shade), or more graphic options of black and white (zebra colorway) or vibrant pink (hyena). Another star was the hand-loomed Arctic collection of tonal high-low styles, crafted of alpaca and wool, for a super soft feel underfoot.
For those looking for a plusher hand, the Nordic collection, available in five classic colors, was a favorite for its ribbed-effect and subtle shimmer. Nordic is a dense quality cut and loop pile, hand loomed for a plush luxurious feel, crafted from wool and nylon fiber.
Rebel Carpet's new high-low Sahara collection is hand loomed of PET yarn in both bold combinations, such as Hyena, left,
and more subdued options, ostrich, right.
STANTON
Jonathan Cohen and Taylor Smith of Stanton Carpet, Woodbury, New York, with Bjan Djahanbani, Artifacts, Salt Lake City,
and Adam Feldberg, Stanton.
Stanton's big hits in its spacious booth were the latest luxury introductions to its Crescent and Rosecore labels, continuing its focus on innovative styling and yarn combinations.
The Crescent label’s Chalet collection was a winner, said Adam Feldman, Stanton’s senior director of product and innovation. “Crescent is super high-end, and the big debut is Cavalier, our first collection of indoor-outdoor handwoven flatweaves.” Cavalier’s windowpane designs are made from solution dyed UV-stabilized polypropylene. Other Chalet collection debuts for 2024 include Dunbar in premium wool and leather; Fort William in cable knit New Zealand wool, and Old Town also in New Zealand wool.
Crescent collection from Stanton rolled out Cavalier, its first collection of indoor-outdoor handwoven flatweaves.
Rosecore’s themed Mediterranean Oasis collection was unveiled with nine new designs in palettes from saturated tones to muted pastels, among them Bellamar in New Zealand wool and nylon. Another “big push,” according to Feldman was Stanton's Hollywood collection of Wiltons in wool and polyester, with five lines named after leading ladies Marilyn, Brigitte, Dorothy, Jaqueline and Audrey.
In the high-end performance category, Rosecore expanded its Habitat Luxe range, which features a yarn system called L.I.O.N. and uses a solution-dyed UV-stabilized super soft nylon. Debuting Habitat Luxe designs include San Giorgio, a plush textured stripe look, and San Vito in abstract textural motifs – both in neutral palettes. The carpets are bleachable with a silk hand, Feldberg explained.
Finally, the Stanton branded Chiverny collection of traditional Oriental carpet motifs got a thumbs up from buyers for its classic looks in updated colors in nylon.
Rosecore expanded its Habitat Luxe range, a solution-dyed UV-stabilized super soft nylon lineup, with the plush San Giorgio.