The finalists for the 14th Carpet Design Awards have been chosen. Here we reveal the shortlisted entries that will be on show and compete at Domotex in January 2019.
In the world of contemporary handmade carpets, there is no finer recognition of your work than a Carpet Design Award. Organised by COVER and HALI magazines in partnership with Domotex, the awards celebrate original design and excellence in craft. Hundreds of entries are received, but only three rugs are shortlisted for each of the eight categories. After successful debuts in 2018, the two categories ‘Best Interior’ and ‘Best Communication’ return, reflecting the importance of high-end custom work in the interiors market and the need for companies to have a wider branding strategy.
The 2019 jury is led by Michael Mandapati, Founder and President of Warp & Weft. He is joined by Milan-based avant-garde artist and designer Nuala Goodman, innovative Dutch designer Roos Soetekouw, Stefan Amstad, responsible for purchasing carpets for furniture giant Möbel Pfister AG, and London interiors blogger and designer Martyn White.
The winners of the 14th Carpet Design Awards will be announced on 12 January 2019 in a ceremony held in Hall 9 of Domotex Hannover, where the shortlisted rugs will be on display in a dedicated showcase for the duration of the fair. This year the CDA presentation will have a new and exciting format, a full update on this will be released shortly!
Category 01: Best Studio Artist Design
Create and Connect – Beate von Harten
Shortlisted for Category 1: Best Studio Artist Design: Create & Connect: The Chameleon Carpet (detail), Beate von Harten
‘Create, connect, share, extend the chameleon carpet!’ This innovative rug features 15 double-sided pieces which can be creatively combined or opened with loops. The result is a rug that has many shape, size and design possibilities.
ICarpet – ICarpet
Shortlisted for Category 1: Best Studio Artist Design: iCarpet (detail), iCarpet
As a carpet, the human iris is turned into a visual and tactile experience. Enlarged, the design looks like a landscape, an abstract work of art. The effect is underscored by the relief structure with differing pile heights.
Pompon-Tiger – MYK
Shortlisted for Category 1: Best Studio Artist Design: Pompon Tiger (detail), MYK
This life-size animal carpet is made of 1,300 pompons, requiring 45kg of merino wool. The pompons are attached to a wool felt base. With the tiger being endangered, this is the best way to feature one in your interior space.
Category 02: Best Modern Design Superior
Magia in Fog – Battilossi
Shortlisted for Category 2: Best Modern Design Superior: Linea Magia Fog (detail), Battilossi
This fresh minimal design delivers warmth, colour and true character. Accented by roughly drawn lines, the 100% wool rug is a tonal field of colour featuring a coarse weave that reflects the Berber weaving aesthetic.
Greha – Jaipur
Shortlisted for Category 2: Best Modern Design Superior: Greha (detail), Jaipur Rugs
Greha is inspired by a celestial phenomenon where multiple planetary bodies come together, forming an eclipse or an impression of superimposing identities. This atmospheric design is hand-knotted in naturally dyed silk and hand-carded wool.
Spartan Plummage – Zollanvari
Shortlisted for Category 2: Best Modern Design Superior: Spartan Plummage (detail), Zollanvari
In this gabbeh rug, the designer has pared down peacock feathers to minimal geometric lines hidden in the vertical bands of the design. The ‘eyes’ on the tail feathers symbolise the vault of heaven and the eyes of the stars in ancient mythology.
Category 03: Best Modern Design Deluxe
Reflections – Art Resources
Shortlisted for Category 3: Best Modern Design Deluxe: Reflections (detail), Art Resources
With its complex design of verticals and its artistic aesthetic created in a subtle palette, this hand-knotted wool and silk rug could be used either as a neutral foundation for a more busy room or as a featured artwork for the floor.
Raasta – Jaipur
Shortlisted for Category 3: Best Modern Design Deluxe: Raasta (detail), Jaipur
A misfit of shapes, the design is an amalgamation of multiple identities and decisions. Decisions stack up and create a puzzle which remains to be solved. Wool and silk design Raasta is inspired by the puzzle of everyday decisions.
Reggae – Wool & Silk Rugs
Shortlisted for Category 3: Best Modern Design Deluxe: Reggae (detail), Wool & Silk Rugs
Orderly yet haphazard, peaceful yet powerful, this simple but sophisticated design evokes an emotional response. The effortless sweep of lines is deceptively difficult to execute, requiring the weaver to switch colours with every knot.
Category 04: Best Transitional Design
Jewel – Choudhary
Shortlisted for Category 4: Best Transitional Design: Jewel (detail), Choudhary
Inspired by Persian Tabriz rugs and their signature sickle leaf pattern, this design is an interpretation of a by-gone era. It features fresh colours and a beautiful texture, which is created by a wool and silk blend and a wash that erodes the wool.
Ghom Copper – Hossein Rezvani
Shortlisted for Category 4: Best Transitional Design: Ghom Copper (detail), Hossein Rezvani
The Iranian city of Ghom is world-renowned for its fine silk carpets, which are reflected here in this design made by Iranian carpet weavers. Depicting a traditional Persian design, the 65% silk makes the intricate pattern shimmer in the light.
Balouch LightPink – Rug Star
Shortlisted for Category 4: Best Transitional Design: Balouch LightPink (detail), Rug Star
Balouch LightPink is produced in the finest Persian weave and finished with oxidisation to create a patina and the effect of high and low pile heights across the rug. The pink background is silk while the main pattern is knotted in wool.
Category 05: Best Flatweave Design
Bijar – Edelgrund
Shortlisted for Category 5: Best Flatweave Design: Bijar (detail), Edelgrund
Bijar is a mountainous region of Iran and the design of this flatweave is inspired by this landscape, where wheat and rapeseed is grown in the hills and valleys. Narrow panels are woven on horizontal looms and then combined.
Tribal Jute Embroidered Rug – Manglam
Shortlisted for Category 5: Best Flatweave Design: Tribal Jute Embroidered Rug (detail), Manglam
Inspired by tribal African designs from Mali, such as bogolan mud cloths, this flatweave design is made from 80% undyed jute with cotton and undyed wool. Unusually, the design is embroidered onto the jute ground to give form and pattern.
Zagros Songlines – Zollanvari
Shortlisted for Category 5: Best Flatweave Design: Zagros Songlines (detail), Zollanvari
Inspired by ‘minimalist’ Mazandaran kilims and made of wool from the Zagros Mountains of Iran, this kilim is quintessentially Persian but the design features the emotive vigour and intense colour of Aboriginal paintings.
Category 06: Best Collection
Impressions Collection – Art Resources
Shortlisted for Category 6: Best Collection: Classic Revival Collection (detail), Art Resources
Painterly rugs have become big news in interior design. With its free-spirited aesthetic, this collection aims to bring art into any room. The intriguing and luxurious shimmery texture is created with a blend of wool and silk.
New Tribal – Rug Star
Shortlisted for Category 6: Best Collection: New Tribal (detail), Rug Star
Adopting patterns from different cultures, the designs of this antique-inspired collection originate from the areas between the borders of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The pile is naturally dyed wool with occasional pops of brighter colours.
Happiness – Wool & Silk
Shortlisted for Category 6: Best Collection: Happiness (detail), Wool & Silk
These clever wool and silk designs are translated from a series of three-dimensional artworks made of fabric, metal and bamboo. Named Joy, Happy Life and Cheer, these designs embody the artist’s love of designing rugs.
Category 07: Best Interior
Anndore House – Creative Matters
Shortlisted for Category 7: Best Interior: Anndore House Reception (detail), Creative Matters
The hand-tufted rug for this hotel reception area features a carefully composed gradient with a soft curve, which contrasts with the rectilinear inlays in the marble flooring. The combination of loop and cut pile adds a textural element.
Portland House – Rug Star
Shortlisted for Category 7: Best Interior: Portland House (detail), Rug Star
The magnificent De Wolf House is in the traditional Old-Portland style. Here, classic, well-preserved interiors combine perfectly with high-quality contemporary handmade rugs, this design being from the new Waterlily collection.
Autumn Fun – Wool & Silk
Shortlisted for Category 7: Best Interior: Autumn Fun (detail), Wool & Silk
From the award-winning Manhattan collection, the Noho rug design was recoloured and resized to 22 x 31 feet for this New York apartment. A warm haven was created in autumn colours with the help of this hand-knotted wall to wall installation.
Category 08: Best Communication
Edelgrund ad campaign
Shortlisted for Category 8: Best Communication: Edelgrund ad campaign (detail)
For this ad campaign the company focuses on communicating that the products are organic, handmade and environmentally responsible. The imagery represents the roads that are travelled for every beautiful carpet and the inspiration behind them.
Rug Star magazine
Shortlisted for Category 8: Best Communication: Rug Star magazine (detail)
This is the third in a series of Intimacy magazines, which aim to show how the brand connects the beauty of its rugs with the diversity of the homes and locations in which they are to be placed. This time the focus is on Portland, Oregon.
Rug Star photo campaign
Shortlisted for Category 8: Best Communication: Rug Star photo campaign (detail)
‘Kingsrobe’ started with the idea ‘Hey, let’s try our rugs on!’ It was a beautiful summer day so the brand headed to a lake outside Berlin, where photographer Carolin Saage turned the idea into a full campaign, celebrating the beauty of rugs.
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