Mary Katrantzou's Fantastical Florals for The Rug Company

A new collection of seven rug designs from The Rug Company show off fantastical magnified florals as well as elegant motifs of sunray shades, organic shapes and contemporary graphics. The rugs are by London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou and have all the hallmarks of the bold and imaginative patterns of her eponymous brand.

Mary Katrantzou's rugs for The Rug Company were launched at Decorex in London, held at Kensington Olympia in October 2019.  Left design above is Bluebell Daydream featuring amplified florals in a spectrum of blues and purples; and right is Botanical Paradise featuring a hyper-real floral scene of blown-up flowers combined with a palette of deep and powder pinks and amaranth.  

The rugs shown above and below have been finely knotted 

by expert craftsmen in Tibetan wool and silk.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

The rugs, inspired by Katrantzou's past collections and reimagined for this collaborative collection with The Rug Company, represent the designer's first foray into the world of interiors.  It is a natural progression for Katrantzou as she is the daughter of an interior designer mother and a textile engineer father so she was exposed to the world of interiors from a very early age.

Design left is Sunray Pink depicting a dramatic sun motif with metallic rays radiating from the centre; 

and right is Garden of Eden with dramatic soft blue and white flowers.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Commenting on the new rug collection, Katrantzou says:  "We are an image-led brand and print is so transferable across different disciplines.  I chose to collaborate with The Rug Company as there was an authentic synergy between the two brands - a genuine appreciation for craftsmanship and a passion for bold patterns and unique beauty, values which we share at Mary Katrantzou."

A graduate in textile design at Central Saint Martins specialising in interiors, she followed her bachelor's degree with a Masters in fashion.  Having attained wide acclaim in the world of fashion and acquired an established following for her artistic digital prints and feminine silhouettes over the past 10 years, Katrantzou's work has been featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum, The Barbican and many others.

The rugs were showcased at Decorex trade fair held 6 - 9 October 2019 at Olympia in Kensington, London and also available for viewing in The Rug Company showrooms.

The Rug Company has a long tradition of collaborating with world renowned designers.

The Rug Company launching new collaboration with fashion designer Elie Saab

Recognised globally for his sense of elegance and quality, fashion designer Elie Saab drew on his personal passion for architecture and interiors to create three modern rug designs inspired by signature elements of the house style of The Rug Company: a fusion of femininity, luxury and modernity.

The epitome of restrained elegance, In Bloom, pictured here, features oversized florals in a pared-back palette - shimmering silk tones of teal, gun metal and green.  Challenging the traditional format of a rug, the blooms burst from both ends of the rug and reach for its centre, creating an elegant mirror pattern.
The other two designs are Brushstrokes and Lace Leaves.

All three rugs have been expertly woven by hand by The Rug Company’s weavers in Nepal, using age old weaving techniques and the finest wool and silk available.
The full collection is now available online or from The Rug Company’s showrooms worldwide.

Never-seen-before rugs of the Beni Quarain tribe, now at Bazaar Velvet

Still on the subject of sheep, recently while doing some research into wool for the purpose of rugs, I’ve come across a selection of Benniz Berber hand-knotted rugs now just arrived at Bazaar Velvet.

They have been selected personally by Christopher Mould, the owner of Bazaar Velvet on his trip to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco earlier this year.

It is thought that the Beni Quarain tribe have been making Berbers almost since the time they settled in the Middle Atlas of Morocco over twelve hundred years ago.

They were, and to some extent still are, Nomadic people, roaming the mountains with their tents and flocks of sheep.  The Beni Quarain tribe handmade the rugs from lush wool trimmed from the sheep they raise.  These were originally used as blankets to protect them against the freezing conditions of the Atlas Mountains.   Therefore unlike most Moroccan rugs one can find in the market square (Jemaa el Fna) of Marrakech, Beni Quarain rugs are not colourful, yet their geometric patterns on harmonious shades lend them a contemporary air. 

Beniz rugs are created from the wool of an ancient breed of small sheep. This is then carded, spun and dyed in small pots. This contributes to the colour varieties, the individuality and charm of each piece. Their patterns are simple, often composed of converging lines of unmatched irregularity. They are constructed using the technique of hand knotting and their pile is left long and loose. This is what gives the rugs their shaggy appearance, which is undoubtedly one of their greatest attractions, making them gorgeously soft underfoot and no doubt giving any room an air of comfort. A particular feature of the Beni Quaran Berber is the way it’s finished. The ends are flat and free of pile. The loose strands are then twisted together to create a fabulous rope like fringe which really sets off the rug.

While in recent years Beni Quarain rugs have been featured in design magazines for tastefully designed homes, the Benniz Berbers at Bazaar Velvet are rich in character and heritage, made in the traditional way by traditional people with modern interiors in mind.