New Rug Designs 2010

RIMO Volume 1 Collection design 120-01

Although Britain is primarily a carpet-loving country, there is a growing trend for laminate and engineered wood floors. Many of Britain’s listed buildings also have exposed solid wood floors. The coolness and minimalism of a wood or laminate floor means that rugs have come into play to offer both a touch of warmth and comfort underfoot and acting as the focal point in a room. Rugs boast many advantages from a design point of view. If they are small, they can be moved around easily when you feel like rearranging furniture or you need to empty a room to clean the floor. A strong coloured rug can highlight details in curtains or a painting lending an air of harmony to a living or bedroom space. Rugs can hide stains, chips or markings on a wood floor and can help to bring a luxurious feel to a room even if you have a small budget. Splashing out on a special rug as your one big spend can lighten up a space and there’s nothing like sinking your toes into a soft rug as you lie on the couch or when you get out of bed in the morning. Other advantages, for people who have small children, or work from home, is that a rug can cushion a slip or trip and a really plush rug is a great place to lie down and do work on your laptop if you don’t want to feel tied to your desk. In recent years, interior design trends have seen a resurgence of natural fibre rugs such as jute, sisal, coir and hemp that add a clean, organic feel to a room and have sound ecological properties, being made as they are of natural and biodegradable materials.


Sisal Rug 'Mahale Weave' by Natural Rug Company

Sisal in particular is flame-retardant, very durable and has good sound absorbing qualities. Made by twisting and weaving the fibres of the Agave sisilana plant, a native species from Mexico, sisal now comes to us primarily from Brazil and China. It is low-maintenance and resists wear and tear. Because the fibres absorb dye so easily, it can offer the largest range of colour options for homeowners and designers. Coir mats and rugs make effective doormats or entrance matting as they are great for cleaning dirt and grit off shoes. Made from coconut fibres, coir is one of the most durable fabrics around. Natural fibre rugs look great in rooms with modern design complementing a natural-themed design or homes with a marine or seaside theme. Natural fibre rugs are also making an appearance outside the house, on patios and decking and in garden outdoor dining areas. Wool, of course, is the most popular of all rug fabrics and Britain has an immense variety of wools and wool manufacturers.



Left: Grading British Wool

We also import wools from New Zealand which produces many sought after varieties such as prized Merino. Wool rugs are great insulators, providing real warmth in winter and helping to cut down on heating bills. They are luxurious underfoot and help absorb humidity, ideal in our rainy climate. Again, families with young children will appreciate the anti-static and dust-retaining properties of wool fibres, making it easy to vacuum, and the fact that a wool stain can be generally be cleaned using soap and water, rather than harsh chemicals. The U.S has a vast tradition of independent rug designers and small artisanal workshops, a trend which is picking up over in the UK too. Homestead Weavers is a small artisanal rug weavers located in idyllic Brown County, Indiana where there is a strong artisan community. Chris Gustin holds workshops and produces colourful and quirky designs using recycled, reclaimed materials such as old sock and clothing yarns and plastic shopping bags. Artisans and new designers bring ecological concerns into their work, helping further highlight the concerns of consumers and focus our attention on the origins of our products. Speaking of her work, Chris says, “Recycling was a relatively new concept in the 1970s when I started weaving rugs. Looking for inexpensive sources of material, I used old clothing, sock toe-clips, denim and fabric roll cuts and anything else that would provide an affordable supply of fabric for my rugs. Reusing satisfied the environmentalist in me and helped me spread the concept of recycling. The idea to use plastic grocery bags (HDPE #2 in the U.S.) came from the disgust of seeing bags hanging in trees along the highways near where we lived. I was challenged to find a way to recycle the used bags to put them on the floor and get them out of the trees. I am still finding new sources of material for my "Recycled Rugs" from industry waste, although some of the sources have left the U.S. I feel that recycling is phenomenally important for the world. We need to reuse what we can and save something for the next generations.”

Left and Below: Rusts home with Chris Gustin's designed recycled rugs.














Jane Exley is The Woolly Rug Co.'s designer-maker of bespoke and commission hand-tufted Herdwick floor rugs. Jane is based in Ambleside, the English Lake District where she creates unique pieces from her living/work premises located by the river Stock. Inspiration is drawn from the immediate and uniquely beautiful landscape from the slate strata, colourful flora to the ever-changing colours and immutable forms of the skies then finally being translated into exclusive semi-abstract artworks for the floor. Her work recently featured at a Royal College of Arts exhibition, the rugs were commissioned by Littoral Arts to reproduce two of Kurt Schwitters' sketchbook ideas for his Merz barn in Elterwater, Ambleside. Moorland Rugs offers a bespoke service for the contract market although interior designers will also find everything here to suit all their client’s requirements. You can visit their combined retail shop and studio in Stanhope, Co Durham or make an appointment with their designer, Brian Sales, for a more detailed discussion on your requirements. Alternatively visit their website at www.moorland-rugs.co.uk which features many of their exciting ranges. The Moorland Rug Company offer stock and bespoke ranges to suit all budgets. Many stock items can be custom sized to your requirements. They offer 2 hand knotted qualities, featuring handspun Tibetan Highland Sheep yarn, that are both soft and durable. Alternatively they can supply handtufted wool qualities with your bespoke design incorporated into the overall effect. Existing designs can be recoloured or your own design can be adapted by their in-house designer to suit your scheme – almost any shape and size can be created. Brian has designed carpets and rugs for over 30 years and is well respected within the industry. Brian has an extensive design library containing 1000s of designs that can be used as a starting point for your rug and over 5000 colours in tuft form to match to. Working closely with your client, Brian will first produce printouts to show the design effect and where necessary he can then supply small trials showing how colours work together. Only when you and your client are completely happy will we then go into production. If you have ever hankered after a unique designer rug, or can rarely find quite what you are looking for off-the-peg, or simply prefer to express your own creativity …look no further than FLOR by heuga. With the exciting new Tonal Trends concept from the experts in stylish, versatile and ultra-practical soft flooring, you can design - and create - the rug that’s ideal for you.



Left: FLOR by Heuga 'Inspiration'

By selecting tile by tile from a carefully researched collection of on-trend colours and in either a neat cut pile texture (Puzzle Pieces/2) or a comfy high pile (Lazy Lounge/2), the possibilities are almost limitless. What’s more, it’s as easy to put together as it is to imagine using nothing more than our TacTile connectors, a sharp knife and a straight metal edge. And if you decide to change your mind you can just as easily change the design. Destined to be a well-loved creation that can be adapted to any home, your one-of-a-kind, bespoke FLOR by heuga rug could become the talking point of the room. When it comes to harmonising colours, the hard work has already been done for you. FLOR by heuga have worked closely with designer and colour expert Cenk to devise the Tonal Trends palette of warms, bolds, darks and neutrals that work beautifully with each other. The system is also great for solving tricky design challenges, especially when it comes to awkward shapes and sizes, as the dimensions and configuration of your rug are entirely up to you.

Interview with Rugmark UK

Emma Jamieson interviews Susan Towle, Director of Rugmark UK.
Rugs are an item of comfort, luxury, design and warmth. They are the result of talented weavers, creative designers and, in too many cases, child labour. For many countries in South Asia, rug manufacturing is an important and major industry. One such country is Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, a fact few people are aware of as it is featured in exotic tourism brochures and is renowned for its stunning beauty and rich culture. The rug trade is vital to the Nepalese economy and many factories “employ” children, some of them as young as five, in the making of these stunning creations.

Rugmark is a not-for-profit organisation which began in India in 1992 to tackle the problem of child labour in the rug industry, educate consumers and retailers and take steps to give independent appraisal and certification for the ethical qualities of rugs being exported to foreign markets.

Since 2001 it has had a UK branch, which is currently headed by Director Samantha Towle. Under her direction, Rugmark is relaunching its brand and label as GoodWeave, to reflect increasing standards within the organisation and changing consumer expectations and values. She took time out to talk to Retail Floors about the GoodWeave brand, the aims and activities of the organisation and explains how rug importers, retailers and interior designers can get involved.

EJ: Rugmark started in India, when did it open in the UK?

ST: The UK branch opened in 2001; there are also well established branches in Germany and the USA, which is a very big market. I’ve been the Director here for almost three years now and I hold regular discussions with the other branches. We host a telephone conference once a week to stay up to date with each other’s activities and brainstorm ideas. With the GoodWeave label about to be launched it’s important we all talk regularly.

RF: What are RugMark’s key objectives?

ST: There is a large child labour problem in many South Asian countries. Sometimes it is a case of children reaching the age of ten and then the families, already working on a rug-making factory, will then ask the factory director if their child can start work too. Unfortunately, in some cases children are separated from their families and sold into slave labour. Neither of these situations is positive as children who start work that young miss out on education, remain illiterate and devoid of many chances in later life. The key aim of Rugmark is to remove children from the work cycle and place them in education, in so doing increasing their opportunities in the future. An education provides them with work opportunities as an adult, informs them about their rights and how to negotiate a proper wage and contract; and helps them in the raising of their own children, when the time comes.

RF: Since its inception, what improvements have you seen in terms of reducing child labour and improving awareness of the issue?

ST: Well, broadly speaking, about a million children used to be employed in the rug industry in Southern Asia; this number is now around 300,000. There’s still a long way to go, but this is a big improvement. We have taken many children out of the work cycle and put them into education, which we subsidise, and we’ve reunited many children with their families. Where possible, we try and reunite a child with its family; we can also house them in a rehabilitation centre and we give them educational support. For those that show real promise we arrange for them to enter high school. Those who are not geared towards that can enter vocational schemes. The important thing is that they do not work as children and that they receive care and education.

The incidence of child labour has drastically reduced. This is due to a combination of increased awareness through the Rugmark programme and cultural shifts, as well as local government, in India, Nepal and Pakistan, coming under more and more pressure from markets, such as the UK, to bring about change.

RT: Tell us more about GoodWeave and what it means as a brand.

ST: For a long time, consumers were only aware of the child labour problem. However, with time, concerns have also emerged about the adults working in the industry, whether they too receive fair treatment and wages and the environmental impact of the industry. The environment is a bigger issue nowadays - people want to know about the ecological impact of their product, its origin etc. This is why we are introducing the GoodWeave label.

The GoodWeave label therefore reflects the broadening of the organisation’s outlook, our increasing standards, and is creating a fresh, new impetus.

We have already set up a pilot programme in Nepal for adults working in rug manufacture, providing adult literacy courses, free health checks and nurseries for mothers with children, to avoid having children growing up in a factory environment.

The GoodWeave brand will also allow us to broaden our labelling scheme to cover other woven floor textiles, such as coir/jute products and doormats. Rugmark as a brand was very rug oriented, whereas GoodWeave is a name which can encompass other products.


RF: You recently held a rug design competition for design students (see News section) to raise awareness amongst young people. Is this something you intend to do more of as an organisation in the UK?

ST: I would love to do more, absolutely. The design competition garnered a lot of interest, got students involved and really brought the issue into the realm of young designers.

As an organisation, we target individual rug importers and manufacturers and then inform retailers and consumers which brand names and products bear our label. In the high street we work with retailers such as Laura Ashley, B&Q plus many independents but I would like to increasingly target interior designers too as they are trend-setters with wide ranging contacts and have an enormous influence over a key sector of the market.

In the USA Rugmark attends trade shows and many designers, operating at the top end of the market, are very supportive and active [on the Rugmark International website www.rugmark.org.com you can view stunning images of installations of Rugmark rugs in high-end locations such as the set of The Apprentice TV show in New York]. The market in the USA is different and much bigger, but the interior design sector is one I’d like to encourage to become more involved, here in the UK. I therefore feel it’s important to communicate with the designers of tomorrow, and the competition is an excellent way to do that.

The USA also organizes a travelling photo exhibition, which takes a look at the rug weaving industry: the designs, the children who have been helped by Rugmark, where they go to school and the improved environment in which they now live. That’s a fantastic way to get a message across to the general public. We’d love to do it in the UK in due course.


RF: how does a manufacturer or retailer get involved with Rugmark, what is the application process?

ST: We license rug importers. To get a license, you simply contact me and apply. Each company pays a license fee, which then goes to fund our initiatives in South Asia including inspections, education, and welfare and rehabilitation projects. Rugs bearing the GoodWeave label are individually numbered, to avoid counterfeiting, and to enable easy tracing of the loom’s origin.

Through our organisation retailers can find out which importers and export manufacturers are licensed and where they can buy GoodWeave labelled rugs – importers are listed on our website or they can speak to me. We encourage retailers to become one of our Marketing Partners; this gives them excellent promotional opportunities, including a comprehensive profile on our website, which is visited by thousands of consumers each month looking for a GoodWeave retailer in their area or on-line.

So far 6 million rugs have been exported from South Asia bearing our label. To read more about our initiatives and how you can help, check out the UK website
www.rugmark.org.uk/.

Left: Florence Broadhurst Floral Trail from Knots Rugs