Winter Rug Market - March 2010

By Brian Hamilton

Traffic appeared to be down at the Winter Rug Market in Atlanta in January, but manufacturers said that while there were fewer visitors, there wasn’t much of a drop-off among serious buyers. The folks who stayed away were generally the “window shoppers” who are there more for design inspiration than to spend money. Early attendance could also have been affected by a winter storm that moved into the area on the afternoon of the first day.

Manufacturers have placed their bets this year on products aimed at lower price points, ranging from polypropylene to wool blends and 100% wool. They believe that cash-strapped consumers who want to update their homes are more likely to turn to stylish, affordable rugs, which are less expensive than new carpet or hard surface flooring, and manufacturers are providing a wide array of options.

Design appeared to be moving more toward contemporary and transitional patterns, along with more neutral, earth tone colors, with a few exceptions here and there.

High end manufacturer Karastan, which predominately sells wool rugs, has come out with what it calls a Lifestyle Collection, with a retail price point of $499 for a 5x8. These rugs, largely designed by parent company Mohawk, and made of space dyed nylon using Mohawk looms, are aimed at consumers aged roughly 20 to 30. They feature bold designs, using up to 30 colors in which panels with completely different designs are placed next to each other.

Karastan also decided to retool its vivid red color and has combined it with neutrals in its Bella Rosa, an addition to its Original Karastan Collection. Persian Garden, a second addition to the collection, looks hand knotted. These come in three core sizes and are at a retail price point of $1,299 for a standard 5x8.

Woven Impressions is a new transitional line from Karastan, featuring New Zealand wool, at a retail price point of $899. The designs are formed by neutral colors on bolder background colors.

Nourison, which is marking its 30th anniversary, is introducing ten to 15 new collections this year, many at price points under $500. These run the gamut from traditional to modern designs.

Skyland, a new collection of wool rugs hand tufted in India, has a retail price point of $399. It features two tone, overscaled, high-low pile designs—florals, skins and leaf patterns. Fantasy is a polyacrylic collection hand hooked in China in five sizes. It features overscale floral designs, and one design featuring a bright sunflower was particularly fun. Symphony, a collection of 90% wool, 10% Luxcelle viscose, is handmade in India. This collection has the look of antique washed rugs with a lot of silver-grey and rust colors.

Nourison has also come out with three new Calvin Klein collections: Masai, a leather shag; Urban, a collection of five graphic abstracts in an 80-20 wool/polyester blend; and Lunar, hand-loomed, velvet texture rugs with a silky sheen in four colorways.

Two other collections have price points starting at $249. Elements features textured designs in florals, leaves, vines and circles, while Splendor, a blended shag, is a collection of animal skins.

Dalyn also focused on value price points. Melrose, with ribbed patterns in 12 colors and four sizes, is a blend of 50% wool and 50% viscose starting at $229 retail. Galleria includes 22 hand-tufted, polyacrylic designs starting at $249. They feature 17 plush background colors with a loop motif, creating a high-low effect. The designs include florals with a French feel. The firm’s casual Studio Collection, last year’s biggest introduction, gets 16 new additions this year, from skins to wide stripes to floral designs, starting at $199.

Dalyn also has three new kids’ programs: All-Star, a nylon, sports-themed collection; My Style, a polyester shag; and 4 Ever Young, a nylon collection aimed at older teens.

Dalyn also continues to heavily promote its custom rug program, which it says is the largest in the world. Rugs can be designed in-store. The program features 150 designs and 450 colors, and rugs can be made in a variety of fibers. Dayln says they’ll be shipped in two weeks, and prices start at $399.

Oriental Weavers was promoting what it says are the first truly reversible rugs. Options, made of 100% wool, and Options Sylk, a wool and viscose blend, feature two distinct designs on either side of the rug but done in the same color scheme. Designs run from traditional to casual contemporary. Retail price points are $599 for Options and $799 for Options Sylk.

Also new this year is an Axminster collection, made of 100% New Zealand wool. It’s a new category for the company. With a retail price point of $599, it has 117 color variations (lots of blue, brown, and spice) in casual to traditional designs.

The Windsor Collection is a 100%, double-washed wool collection, with a $199 price point. It also features casual to traditional designs. Amelia is a new machine-made polyester earth tone collection starting at $99 for a 5x8. This is another new category for OW.

Shaw Living had numerous introductions this year, including additions to its designer names. The firm added ten rugs to its Kathy Ireland International First Lady collection. These are mostly traditional designs with an antique feel and a color palette of bright reds, deep corals and warm greens, along with a glowing brown and turquoise. They’re constructed using Shaw’s EverTouch recyclable nylon. Shaw also added 14 rugs to the Kathy Ireland Young Attitudes collection. The designs depict everything from roses to dinosaurs to tropical plants to polka dots. Many of them coordinate with Ireland’s bedding products.

Shaw has also added four new rugs to its Angela Adams Maine collection, all in earth tones. Kenga and Ninna are geometrics. Kenga designs are more circular and two-tone, while Ninna features rows of concentric rectangles in earth tones. Nasturtium features a minimal floral pattern, and Hazel has the feel of the lines on a topographic map. Also new is a line of Angela Adams machine printed rugs in vibrant colors. Max looks like brickwork, Raindrop has the look of circles formed by raindrops on water, Bonnie is reminiscent of snowflakes as they might have been designed in the 60s, and Freddy has the stylized look of sets of eyeglasses joined together.

Garden Party and Seaside are two new collections of indoor/outdoor rugs. Garden Party includes four designs made of 50% PET fiber. They include Savannah Square, Iron Gate, Black Tie and Carriage House, and their names are fairly descriptive of the designs. Seaside features classic patterns made to look like sisal without the added upkeep of a natural fiber rug.

Shaw’s Inspired Design collection was also expanded with eight new rugs. These new machine woven olefin rugs incorporate contemporary designs such as Cubist, Jazz Age (a patchwork design), Soraya (a combination of rectangles and vines), and Lauren, a floral pattern with a subtle stripe overlay.

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