A highlight in the extra space was a large sampling of handmade OAKs that the Feizy family has been curating and collecting for over four generations. What's more, just prior to Market the company announced that its full range of OAKs would also be available online, and that treasured designs from its extensive inventory of 100,000 unique rugs in stock would be added to the website weekly.
"Nothing can replace the time-honored tradition of hand-woven rugs and we are proud to share our remarkable finds from all over the world," said Principal Cameron Feizy of the new web portal. "It's incredible to be able to offer an online resource to search for unique and one-of-a-kind rugs."
At the new OAK showroom in Historic Market Square, customers saw a sampling of rugs that the Feizy family has been collecting for four generations.
Feizy's one-of-a-kind designs are not new to High Point shoppers: A special OAK section of the company's primary showroom had been a magnet for designers, with sales increasing progressively each season. The expansion to a dedicated OAK showroom reflects Feizy's mission of putting customers first, Cameron Feizy explained. "We want to ensure that our products and programs continue to grow our customers' businesses and set them apart from the crowd."
The spacious OAK showroom allowed Feizy customers to inspect dramatic oversize rugs fully unrolled in a setting of vintage interior architecture.
Touring the Showroom
On a tour of the new showroom, Jaclyn Sion, Feizy's senior manager of marketing communications, told RugNews.com that sales were brisk. She said that in order to manage the assortment's scope and depth of styles and weaves, the OAKs had been divided by themes. "With the expanded space, we were able to theme our OAKs and merchandise them in vignettes that would give designers and market visitors a better look at what these pieces can really do for a room," she explained.
A vividly colored Ikat design from Feizy's Prismatic-themed OAK collection was a hit with designers looking for modern, almost technicolor area rugs.
The themes for the fall market included: Kasbah (Moroccan-inspired, tone on tone and geometric designs); Luxe (silk, wools and other high-quality materials); Modern (contemporary designs with on-trend colors and patterns); Prismatic (explosion of color, kaleidoscopic and over-dyed designs); and Timeless (traditional colors, patterns and authentic old-world designs).
Sion pointed out that the Kasbah theme, while a play on Moroccan style, included other tribal and tone-on-tone designs as well. "We wanted Kasbah to speak to the entire region; we didn't want to confine it to Moroccan." In another room, this one dedicated to the Luxe theme, one standout Art Deco design crafted of wool and silk was in the process of being sold. As our tour entered the Prismatic section, Sion explained: "Prismatic is what it sounds like --a lot of Technicolor and bolds. I think some people love more traditional patterns, but they want them in more trending colorways. Our customers tell us their clients want these updated, one-of-a-kind pieces."
One of five design themes featured in Feizy's OAK showroom at the fall High Point Market, Kasbah focuses on Moroccan-inspired, tone on tone and geometric designs.
To meet those requests, Sion said Feizy produces and procures some of the world's most ornate and exquisite one-of-a-kind rugs, some taking up to four artisans working side-by-side as long as six months to produce. "Some people think one-of-a-kinds are not affordable, but we find there is a market that wants a unique piece at a more reasonable price point," she said.
Among Feizy's limited edition and OAK collection themes at High Point Market, Luxe is a range of hand-crafted rugs in silk, wool and other luxury materials.
The addition of the OAK portal, which includes e-commerce functionality, to the website is a game-changer for Feizy since these features are not widely available from other rug manufacturers. Online visitors are able to search and purchase OAKS by specific rug type, including Persian, Tabriz, and Tibetan Weave, at their own convenience and regardless of location. In addition to the broad selection of more traditional and vintage pieces, a shoppable OAK landing page has been created to spotlight weekly designs with more modern and on-trend aesthetics.
The Prismatic trend (above) included kaleidoscopic colors and over-dyed designs, while for the Timeless theme (below) Feizy included traditional colors, patterns and old-world designs.