Rob Merritt, president of Orian Rugs in Anderson, S.C. with parent company execs, Sophia Vanwynsberghe and Matthias Page of Mc Three Group at Domotex 2018.

Part of the international Mc Three Group -- which also includes Mc Three Carpets (Belgium) and Sofiteks Carpets (Turkey) -- Orian Rugs of Anderson, S.C., previewed new designs from its popular Carolina Wild, Symphony, Next Generation and Bohemian collections at Domotex 2018.

At Domotex, Obeetee's Angelique Dhama, chief marketing officer, Gaurav Sharma, managing director, and Anu Gupta, chief creative officer, pose in front of Ikat collection wool and silk rugs from the Boho Shop concept.

Obeetee innovated with the launch of a new merchandising concept featuring four themed lifestyle shops: Boho, Hip, Found Rug and Biophilia (read full story).

"Obeetee does the whole spectrum of products in handmade, from 50 cents a square foot to $100 a square foot. In terms of our categories, we do hand woven, hand knotted, and hand tufted," explained Angelique Dhama, chief marketing officer for the company.

The new lifestyle shops include rugs from multiple collections, and from top to bottom in price point, Dhama said. "The idea is display a range of collections within each shop, because the theme is what has to appeal to you. It's not about a construction or a single product. We want to show we can give a handmade product that will suit you, and that we have something for everyone."

Obeetee introduces four lifestyle trend categories for 2018 at Domotex, including the Hip Shop illustrated here with the Saar collection designs Sadia, hand knotted in tri-color natural wool, and Ghana, in jute.

Oriental Weavers Group shows off its printing capabilities to buyers inside, and to passersby with a giant photo realistic carpet on exterior walls of one of it busy showrooms at Domotex 2018.

Rug & Kilim introduced a new collection called the Color of Texture for the 2018 Hannover fair, which according to founder Josh Nazmiyal is the beginning of a new branch in the company's offerings. "These are really those nothing rugs that look rich because of the texture. This is a new part of our business that is going to grow for us -- we are going to do a lot of different textures," Nazmiyal said, noting that the rugs are woven in India with a mix of four different yarns.

R & K also previewed a new iteration of its popular Scandinavian flatweaves -- this time a Scandinavian Pile collection. "It's the next generation of Scandinavian, in preparation for a full launch of 35 rugs at the spring Rug Show at High Point Market." Nazmiyal told RugNews.com the company wrote more business at the 2018 Domotex show than it did in 2017. "We are very happy," he said.

Rug Star by Jurgen Dahlmanns previewed eye-popping colors and designs for 2018 in its hand-knotted production at Domotex, which as always drew designers and retailers to its stand non-stop throughout the four-day event. But the trend-setting Dahlmanns is placing heavy emphasis this year on its Tuft collections, including the Water Earth Air series, and the just introduced Signature collection targeting the hospitality and contract markets (read full story).

In the hand-knotted category, both the company's Persian designs produced in India and the colorful contemporary looks of Rug Star's Nepalese production were equally popular with show shoppers.

Awash in bold, vibrant color, the Rug Star by Jurgen Dahlmanns exhibit stand is always a Hannover crowd-pleaser.

Zeki Yucel of Eko Hali, Samad Brothers' supplier in Turkey, David Samad, and Nicole Samad of Samad Brothers in New York. Shown, Nirvana Couture Enchantment in light blue and copper.

"The theme here is handloom," said David Samad of Samad Brothers. Sharing exhibit space with its Istanbul-based supplier Eko Hali, Samad launched its new Nirvana Couture collection. "We introduced the Nirvana collection at the Rug Show New York, and we've now introduced Nirvana Couture in more involved, intricate designs. It has been extremely well received. We're very happy.

"Nirvana Couture is a loom-made, hand-finished rug of 100 percent wool with bamboo silk touches. Basically, they're Wilton carpets made on old face-to-face Wilton machines. The big difference is that once the carpets have come through the Wilton machine, they are hand sheared, hand washed, and completely hand finished. The whole process takes almost six weeks because there is so much work going into the carpets."

Samad worked with manufacturing partner Eko Hali to create the Nirvana Couture collection of loom-made rugs that "behave like hand-knotteds." Shown, the Peace Black design, a paisley ikat.

Hasan Jafri of Dover Rug & Home in Massachusetts, Raj Choudhary of Saraswati Global, Mahmud Jafri and Yash Bothra with Dover Rug & Home get early bird picks at the Hannover fair.

One of the busiest exhibit stands at Domotex, Saraswati Global based in Jaipur, India, hosted an international coterie of visitors, all after its newest textured abstract hand-knotted designs. Buyers flipped through stacks of rugs from popular collections, with Zenith among the best-selling lines at the show. The line is hand knotted of raw, handspun wool and exotic raw and hand-carved silk to create the appearance of movement of colors in expressionistic art.

Nikki Kapoor, Nikhil Kapoor and Arun Kapoor show off a design from the Ottoman Kilim collection in 100 percent silk at Domotex 2018.

Tissage showcased its Ottoman Kilim collection to rave reviews, with Domotex visitors particularly impressed with the new weaving technique used to create a more substantial look. According to Nikhil Kapoor, creative director, "It's a flat weave, but we use what we call a cross-stitch that makes it very different from anything out there in the market. If you look at it, it almost looks like a pile."

Kapoor added, "Domotex is an important show for us. We've been doing it for about seven years and we are pleased with the traffic this year."

Tissage works its magic with 100 percent silk in this hand-knotted rug from the Ottoman collection.

Erbil Tezcan and son Anka Tezcan pose in front of the cloud-like abstract Reverie rug, in watercolor pastel tones - a hit at the Wool and Silk stand at Domotex 2018.

Wool and Silk showed a new cloud-like direction to its abstract designs, ranging from a neutral beige rug called Fossil, to the dreamy pastel Reverie, and the dramatic Sinasos in beige and rust.

Designer Erbil Tezcan next takes a completely different turn with Crossroads, a design inspired by needlework. "My father took that as inspiration, and played with the colors," said Anka Tezcan at the Wool and Silk stand. "It's been received very well.

"What's interesting is that all of these new designs have inspiration from different places," he continued, "one from needlework, one from a fossil and another from an abstract painting. It's nice to talk about. When people come in, they appreciate the stories about each rug. They want to know where the idea came from. It's awesome."