Spring Market at Highpoint

We finished setting up our exhibit at Highpoint market today in the Modern History furniture showroom at 430 N. Wrenn.  We will also have several rugs on the floor in the furniture vignettes. Hope you will stop by if you are coming to market!  Lunch is served daily on the patio...hoping for beautiful weather!!

OUR DEBUT AT HIGHPOINT MARKET

Just finished our debut at Highpoint market.  It was a wonderful week of sharing our design aesthetic and products with interior designers from around the world who attended market.  All 50 of our press kits at the Media Center were taken which was totally unexpected!

Networking opportunities were amazing...met Gary Inman of Glave and Holmes who is creating some beautiful furniture designs and has become a "style spotter" extraordinaire.  Visited with Jamie Schactel who created COUEF.  They had a divine space at Inter Hall and a new globally-sourced line of ottomans, tables and chairs that are chic and modern.  Met Sarah Stroh, editor of Rug News and Design, who organized a lovely breakfast billed as the Women's Rug Roundtable...I was with my "tribe" as we chatted about global issues surrounding the rug industry.  Most of my time was spent "manning" the booth and meeting interior designers who were on the hunt for the latest and greatest resources for their projects.

It was so exciting and fun to be at the center of the home furnishings industry.  I can't thank my husband, Thom, enough for all of his support and hard work in making this happen.  I couldn't have done it without him!  xxxoooo

Recycling Turkish Treasures for Contemporary Interiors

On a recent trip to Turkey, I spent time visiting bazaars, halis and old palaces and everywhere you turned was an overdyed rug.  No overdyed rugs in the Sultans' palaces of course but rather old Hereke rugs worn down to the nubs.

Particularly popular in Turkey are the overdyed patchwork rugs in a number of varieties.   One of the most intriguing techniques to me are the antique wool rugs, shaved down almost to the warp and weft strands and then overdyed in pieces which are patched together...like a quilt.  The pieces are assembled and then the craftspeople hand sew a blanket stitch around each patched piece.  It's a fun way to add a vintage look in an updated colorway and at the same time, take advantage of a process that is using recycled materials.  This technique appealed to my sensibilities as a lifelong quilter as I have often added a blanket stitch on my sewing machine to an applique on one of my quilts.

If you'd like to see the patchwork samples, we have them in our showroom in 20 beautiful colors!  Suite 542 at International Market Square in Minneapolis.

Showroom in Turkey Featuring Overdyed Rugs

Turkish Overdyed Patchwork Rug at a showroom in Turkey
Color: Citron

Turkish Overdyed Patchwork Rug at a Showroom in Turkey
Color: Jean Blue

Suite 542 at International Market Square in Minneapolis

Merry Rugs!

This is the display in our showroom in Suite 542 at International Market Square in Minneapolis.

Flat weave rugs on the stretcher in Nepal

Have you ever wondered how the weavers get the rugs into a perfect rectangle after removing them from the loom?  Well, being a lifelong quilter, I wondered if the rug workshops blocked the rugs when damp and then let them dry to a perfect shape.  In fact, my supplier in Nepal uses a stretcher to create the perfect rectangle.  Here are pictures of 2 flat weave rugs on the stretcher in Nepal.