Color Reform at ABC –

ABC Carpet & Home’s “Color Reform” carpet collection has been widely referenced and advertised this year. What may be new, however, is that the whole collection is currently on sale. Each carpet within the collection has its own unique design, handmade in original / traditional coloring and later redyed by ABC in bright single hues. It’s a bit sad that the original colors have been sapped out and replaced by something more modern, but as ABC puts it they’re saving “vintage, imperfect carpets”.

Textiles In The News –

Here’s a pretty eye-opening story about the economic realities of traditional carpet weaving in Morocco.

– It seems like there must be some importer out there who would be interested in working in a beneficial way with the collective of female weavers featured in the article…

Barber & Osgerby -

The New York Times blog “The Moment” has a post on new carpets by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for The Rug Company. Fun and happy, but sophisticated too.

John Lewis –

A “William Morris-inspired” wool / viscose carpet by Sanderson, sold through the British company John Lewis.

Ninxia Rug at Sandra Whitman –

I find decorative arts of all kinds can have amazing power to re-shape, dislodge, and entirely shock my sense of time as an historical progression of the “old” leading to the “new”. The carpet above (shown in close-up) is a case in point. According to dealer Sandra Whitman it was made in China between 1723 and 1735. That means this very “new” looking carpet (replete with a simplified color palette, abstracted open field and streamlined border) was sitting in China decades before the U.S. Declaration of Independence or the French Revolution. That unwires my brain a bit.

Lapchi –

I just spent too much time looking through almost every thumbnail, close-up and alternate view on Lapchi’s website, a company specializing in “handwoven carpets in silk and wool”. It’s almost impossible to get a real sense of the character, quality, or even the pattern of carpets through the computer screen but I do like Lapchi’s Palampore design, above. In the carmelian color shown it’s rich and romantic without being too traditional. In lighter colorways it has an almost Arts and Crafts feel, as if adapted from a William Morris pattern book.

Alicia Keshishian –

Alicia Keshishian describes herself as “fearless” when it comes to color and I think her “geology” rug (above) proves the point! It’s pretty hard to be timid in the face of something so bold. For more about Alicia’s carpet company click here.

Kasthall –

120 years old and still looking fresh, Kasthall is a Swedish company that produces carpet for both wall-to-wall  for area carpets. They have some great textures and colors, like the woven Greta in “multi-dark” above. Plus, they’re working hard to be eco-friendly!

Farmhouse Pallette -

A lovely carpet in a lovely house, via “An Artful Clutter” in The New York Times. Carpet is from Antik.

Photograph by Tony Cenicola.

Jane Doyle –

Recent print references to Sol LeWitt (The New York Times Style Magazine / The World of Interiors), Betty Draper’s post-Rome house-dress (last night’s episode) and The September Issue’s exposition on color block (still in theaters) make Jane Doyle’s contemporary rag rugs feel all the more “of the moment”. Available for purchase directly from her website.