Domotex Carpet Design Awards 2018

Last weekend (12th-15th) over in Germany the world’s leading trade fair for flooring took place - Domotex, held at the Hannover Fairground, which played host to the World’s Fair back in 2000.

There are many amazing things that happen every year at this event - talks, workshops and exhibitions - and with a motto this year of ‘Unique Youniverse’, there was a clear agenda for creativity and individuality.

But the most interesting event of the fair - from our point of view - is the 13th Annual Carpet Design Awards - where the most innovative textiles artists, working both as individuals and in design studios, are given the opportunity to showcase their unique approach to flooring.

Here we have some of the winners - and runners up - of this year’s competition - we picked out our favourite four of the eight categories here, as any more would just have been too much!

Category 1: Best Studio Artist Design

This is awarded for a small scale designs from individual producers.

Winner

'Golden Fade' by Salem van der Swaagh

Salem van der Swaagh is a textile designer living in Berlin, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (which also can claim James Franco and Seth MacFarlane as alumni) - he now has his own studio for his beautiful hand-woven pieces, and describes the art of hand-weaving as ‘at once practical and poetic, ancient and sustainable.’

His ‘Golden Fade’ rug, like many of his other pieces, is made from repurposed wool with a lovely thick pile - it’s also beautifully subtle, with copper-red colouring a one end and pure gold at the other - it’s easy to see why it was the judges’ favourite!

His other works include blankets, vestments for priests and even a burial cloth - plus he does have a rather fun Instagram account.

Runner Up

'Poudre' by Atelier Février

Atelier Février (literally ‘Studio February’) specialise in luxury bespoke rugs -a bit like us, but unlike us they make their amazing pieces from scratch. They pride themselves on using natural fabrics and dyes, making their rugs eco friendly and original.

Designed painstakingly in France by textile artist and fashion-industry veteran Florian Pretet, they are actually woven in the Nepal and Tibet using traditional techniques and fine local wool.

Their piece ‘Poudre’ (meaning ‘powder’) is a start black-and-white design, the small dark designs looking like the shadows of windswept sand-dunes in some bleak ivory desert - but look closer and you’ll see the apparently random streaks are made up of precise arrangements of black and white dots - a very worthy entry.

Runner Up

'Animal Mask' by Christoph Hefti

Swiss textile designer Christoph Hefti began his career designing for Jean-Paul Gaultier, and his flair and creativity definitely come through in his entry ‘Animal Mask’, a crazy mix of textures, colours and patterns.

Made with wool and silk, it has an irregular, tribal, almost shamanistic style - eyes, teeth and tusks are visible along with fur,skin and scales - certainly a talking piece, whether in a gallery or the front room of a rich art-lover!

This eclectic piece is representative of Hefti’s body of work - he is not just a textile artist, but also creates music, video installations and performance art, and has both won and presented Swiss Design Awards.

Category 2: Best Modern Design Superior

The first of two categories awarded from best use of materials for contemporary designs...

Winner

'Chaos' by Lila Valadan

‘Chaos’ by Lila Valadan is part of their ‘Hidden’ collection - it uses a traditional colour palette and simple geometric shapes to create a design which echoes but never repeats.

True to its name, the apparently simple patterns in the piece begin to break down upon closer study, showing a beautiful complexity. A flatweave rug made with highland wool and coloured using traditional dyes, it really typifies what this category is all about.

The studio itself, based in Hamburg, seems to have a very philosophical approach to textiles - the ‘about’ section of their website describes them thus:

“Our artisans are never pressured for time, because creativity and passion require room and freedom. We avoid manufactured looking structures because they remove the artistic soul.” All of our employees believe in what they do. They know they are a part of a national tradition, part of an artwork.”

Lofty goals, indeed - well, they certainly impressed the jury!

Runner Up

'Pattern Mix No 10' by Galleria Battilossi

Run by Italian siblings and business partners Mariana and Maurizo Battilossi, the Galleria Battilossi take inspiration from textiles all over the world, focussing on quality, originality and beauty.

They work closely with weaving workshops in Asia, creating new collections and restoring antique rugs from their own extensive collection.

Their piece ‘Pattern Mix’ is one of a range of 18, a collaboration between Maurizo Battilossi and Draga Obradovic, a painter and textile designer, all of which display a fusion of different styles - number 10 is a monochrome piece which combines soft vertical lines with bold, intricate zig-zags and ragged white space inspired by torn paper.

Runner Up

'Snakeskin 1' by Zollanvari

Zollanvari has the best claim to being ‘authentic’ of all the entrants - perhaps of all the carpet manufacturers in the world!

Founded in 1947 by Gholamreza Zollanvari, it is still being run by the same family today, and the company works closely with the nomadic peoples of Iran, such as the Lurs and Qashqai, who have been making traditional ‘Gabbeh’ rugs for over 2,000 years.

They use only natural vegetable dyes and hand-spun wool - often from sheep herds kept in the rolling Zagros mountains. You cannot get a more authentic Persian carpet than that!

Their entry, however, is very clearly a modern one, no matter how ancient the technique that made it - irregular squares in frantic chess-board patterns look in some ways like a stream of data, a computer model, yet evocative of scales - hence where it gets the name ‘Snakeskin’.

It is from their ‘Flora and Fauna’ collection, which contains blends both contemporary and traditional designs together. In their own words:

“What sets us apart is the active encouragement our weavers are given to allow their own aesthetic sense to shine through the designs. Individual, expressive and unique carpets are the result.”

Category 3: Best Modern Design Deluxe

Winner

'Galmous Atlas Mountain' by Soufiane Zarib

Soufiane Zarib is well known in the Medina of Marrakech for his amazing collection of vintage Berber Rugs and original Kilims (find out more about these traditional creations on this blog) - he has two showrooms, but viewings are by private appointment, so you know it’s fancy!

His entry to this category is a flatweave piece which depicts and almost abstract landscape of crystalline mountains, dwarfed by an icy sky, the whole thing rendered in an incredibly intricate fish-scale pattern.

Runner Up

'Gatsby Gold' by Hossein Rezvani Design

Hossein Rezvani has been heavily influenced throughout his life by Iranian (Persian) rug culture - from a family in which both parents and grandparents were involved in the rug industry, he brings years of experience to his company.

They create new and unique rugs by, in their words ‘reinterpreting classic craftsmanship and combining this with design that is contemporary and elegant.’

Their rugs can have up to 1,000,000 knots per square meter and are made with persian cork, highland wool and pure natural silk, treated with natural dyes. ‘Gatsby Gold’ is a glorious art-deco inspired rug, intense and vibrant - truly eye catching!

Runner Up

'Blocks No 3, Silvergrey' by Rug Star GmbH

Rug Star was set up in the early 2000s by former architect Jürgen Dahlmanns, with the idea of fusing Tibetan rugs and contemporary design. They are spoken of throughout the rug trade, known for their bold and evocative products, and have won numerous awards.

Dahlmanns himself says that ‘a rug is the most liberal form of creating a space within a space without erecting obstacles’.

‘Blocks 3 Silver-Grey’ seems to reflect this philosophy, its subtle colours flowing into one another, the effect more like a painting than a carpet - it seems it would be at home anywhere - gallery, museum, stately home or just the front room!

Category 6: Best Collection

Winner

'Chand LC Collection' by Choudhary Exports

For over 30 years Choudhary Exports have been known for their hand knotted and hand tufted rugs. Taking advantage of Indian craftsmanship, they focus on creating a luxury aesthetic using only the finest quality yarn, working in modern, transitional and traditional styles.

Based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, their goal is to ‘push the boundaries of design, while adopting and adapting timeless methods and techniques’.

The Chand LC Collection provides an excellent showcase of their skills,with fascinating isometric shapes and contrasting patterns like maps of strange cities - a very intriguing and worthy winner!

Runner Up

'Alasht Collection' by Edelgrund GmbH

Edelgrund are a joint German-Persian company - quite a combination! - and have been producing high-quality carpets for three generations.

Using traditional weaving and knotting techniques, they aim to create ‘modern and timeless pieces that fit into any environment.’

Matching German reliability with Persian craftsmanship, they design carpets and kilims using diverse materials, and fascinating colors to give each product a distinctive character.

Runner Up

'Mooving Landscapes' by Mariantonia Urru SRL

Working from the textile sector of Samugheo in Sardinia, Italy, Mariantonia Urru draws on a huge variety of traditional motifs and weaving methods, such as the traditional Sardinian ‘pibione’ or ‘grain’ technique to make a bobbled texture, something not found in rugs from other cultures.

This can be seen clearly in their ‘Mooving Landscapes’ collection, which is bright but serene, and beautifully tactile.

Well, that was the most innovative carpet you’ll see all year!

Sadly we’re not selling any of these one-of-a-kind pieces, but we are still working away with some excellent manufacturers like Brintons, Westex and Crucial Trading to bring you amazing craftsmanship and design at a price that won’t break the bank.

We’re not short on great colours, high-quality wool and creative materials either and we’re always very happy to share them with you.

Until next time!

Find out more about Domotex and the Carpet Design Awards on their website.