LAS VEGAS--Undaunted by a fierce snow storm along the Eastern seaboard, the winter 2016 Las Vegas Market experienced an all-time high in attendance and the busiest opening day of its 10-year history. Rug exhibitors confirmed positive pronouncements by show organizers, reporting excellent showroom traffic and strong order writing throughout the week.
Darioush Yaraghi, VP of Safavieh Home Furnishings, said the January Las Vegas edition was the company's best ever. "We had appointments in Vegas before the show even opened because buyers changed their flights to avoid snow-related delays. In both sales and attendance, this show outpaced every market in Safavieh's history," he said.
Parties and showroom events also reflected an upbeat vibe. In addition to stronger than usual sales, Kim Vance, VP of marketing at Feizy said an unprecedented 300-plus retailers and designers turned out for a champagne brunch held in honor of the company's Haute Trends designers, whose rugs will debut in April at High Point Market.
KAS, celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2016, continued the festive mood in Vegas with several new product launches, including a stain repellent polyester chenille collection called Retreat. And record numbers of buyers and designers queued up for a book signing event hosted by Loloi for its licensing partner, author and designer Justina Blakeney, the arbiter of New Bohemian style.
Ribbon cuttings for rug suppliers included one for the grand opening of Tayse's first permanent Las Vegas showroom at World Market Center, and an expansion of the Classic Home space to 40,000 square feet, double its previous size.
Following is a RugNews.com inside look at the showrooms at Las Vegas Market.
AMER
Posing with Amer Rugs' winning America's Magnificent Carpet Awards outdoor rug are Cindy Johnson, left, Rockdale Rug and Braid Outlet, Northbridge, Mass.; Joe Barkley and John McCaul, both of Amer. The indoor-outdoor collection is called Piazza.
CAPEL
Capel's national sales manager Jake Sweeters, left; Todd Brundrett and Stacey Lorton, Norwood Furniture, Gilbert, AZ; Gil Flores, west coast regional manager, and Cameron Capel, vice president, both of Capel Rugs. Rugs shown are from the Genevieve Gorder collection for Capel.
DYNAMIC RUGS
Dynamic Rugs' Jon Morrison and Nicki Crumine presented several new collections at Las Vegas Market, including Artisan, Venice, Prism and Heirloom, after a successful launch in Atlanta.
FEIZY
John Feizy (center) with the company's newly announced Haute Trends Designers, (left to right): Julia Buckingham of Buckingham Interiors + Design in Chicago. Kerrie Kelly of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab of Sacramento, Calif., Jackie Von Tobel of Las Vegas and Michel Boyd of Smith Boyd Interiors in Atlanta.
HRI
Bobby Shamsian, left, HRI; Asha Kochukalikkal, Complete Commercial Design, Vancouver; Nasin Qasemali, Ariana Oriental Rug Corp., Vancouver, Canada; Greg Jordt, HRI. They are standing in front of the Lori collection of Nomadic tribal designs hand-knotted of New Zealand wool.
JAIPUR
Matt Peterson and Lacy Estes of Jaipur with Megan Richardson of Target in Minneapolis, Minn., and Mallory Appleton, Jaipur. Rug shown is the woven jute Mayen design from the new Naturals Lucia collection in Pantone colors.
JAUNTY
Mansour Ardehali, left, Oriental Rug Importers, Boston, Mass.; and Kami Navid, Jaunty. Lavish multi-dimensional rugs from the Dimensions collection combine wool pile with raised accents of viscose.
KALATY
Pat Simmons, left, Simmons Homes, Owasso, Okla.; Warren Kalaty and Gabriel Kalaty, both of Kalaty; and Carol Parker, Collectibles, Tulsa, Okla. Representing the fourth generation of the Kalaty family, Warren and Gabriel are showing off a wool rug in grey and khaki from the Artisan collection.
KALEEN
Blake Dennard, left, Kaleen, with Linda Patino, LaBella Casa, Yakima, Washington, and Ron Carroll, Kaleen, stand in front of the new Divine collection hand-tufted in a blend of wool and viscose.
KARASTAN
Ron Caulfield, left, Karastan; Heather Helé, Jeromes Furniture, San Diego, Calif.; Bob McMenemy and Brandon Culpepper, both of Karastan. Behind them is the Spice Market rug (right) that received a 2016 America's Magnificent Carpet Award.
KAS
Vee Curfman, left, KAS; Caleb Rockey and Pragya Poudyal, both of Jabaras Carpet Outlet, Wichita, Kansas; and Lynne Lines, Starr Marketing, O'Fallon, Missouri. KAS introduced new colors in its growing indoor-outdoor Key West shag series.
LOLOI
Tim Ward, left, Loloi; Nancy Steinhardt, At Home in The Valley, Van Nuys, Calif.; and Amir Loloi pose in front of the successful polypropylene and viscose Kingston collection featuring distressed Persian designs updated in fashion colors.
MOMENI
Hadi Sattari, left, Momeni; Julie Smith and Brittany Duffy, both of Julie Smith Design and Retail, Austin, Texas; and Ralph Long, Momeni. Momeni introduced a trio of collections for Las Vegas winter 2016, including Renaissance, Veranda and Fresco, and added this made-in- Turkey grey and white design to the Eclipse collection, a super plush polypropylene range.
NOURISON
Maria Amparo Abascal, left, Trazo Arquitectonico, Sonora, Mexico; Ana Tapia, Posadas Cantabria, Sonora, Mexico; Charles Duvall, Nourison; and Raul Tapia, Trazo Arquitectonico, Sonora, Mexico.
NULOOM
Janelle Pantry, left, Spaces Limited, Jamaica; and Monica Marquez, Nuloom.
SAFAVIEH
Cyrus Yaraghi of Safavieh, left, and Bijan Farrokhi, Rug Palace Expo, San Diego, Calif., stand in front of a rug from the textural new Paradise Collection with plush cut pile patterns against a chenille loop pile ground. Power-loomed in Belgium viscose yarns for the lustrous sheen of finely woven silk carpets.
SURYA
Mark Abbas, left, Surya, with Cathy Wilson, At Home Furniture and Mattress, Albany, Oregon. They are posing in front new colorways of a best-selling, ready-to-ship shag collection, part of a Surya's extensive introductions of rugs, lighting and accessories at winter markets.
TAYSE
Ron Radin, director home decor, World Market Center Las Vegas, left, with Jay Dogan, Laila Bohac and Travis Ayers, all of Tayse, at the ribbon cutting for Tayse's first permanent Las Vegas showroom. On the floor is a painterly abstract modern polypropylene rug from the new Avon collection.
LOLOI
Marketgoers line up for an autographed copy of Justina Blakeney's The New Bohemians: Cool & Collected Homes at a book signing sponsored by Loloi. Blakeney has created a line of colorful, textural rugs and pillows in her New Bohemian style for Loloi.
ORIENTAL WEAVERS
Oriental Weavers drew attention to its new Andorra collection with a Las Vegas Market display of rugs draped to create a woman's dress. The complex machine made designs are made with a proprietary yarn and weaving technology with 200 color options per color bank.
KALEEN
Monty and Radhe Rathi invited customers to watch the AFC Championship Game at their World Trade Center showroom during Las Vegas Market. Behind them is a contemporary rug from the new Montage collection handmade in India of wool with unique pattern distressing.
02.01.16