STOCKHOLM -- For buyers and consumers, the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which just wrapped up its 2016 edition, offers a concentrated look into the highly popular Scandinavian aesthetic and design community.
A genre that once was a minor niche in the interior design world has become a mainstay of style enthusiasts. With its preference for functionality, warmth and naturalism, this Nordic sensibility was on display en mass in Stockholm in 750,000 square feet of exhibit space brimming with handcrafts, organic materials and understated lines that spanned every category of home furnishings.
In the floorcovering arena, exhibitors Almedahls, Bargi, Bolon, Classic Collection, E Stjerna, Ege Carpets, Fogia, Kasthall, Kateha, Reza's Oriental & Modern Rugs and Swedeheart rounded out the Northern European contingent.
First-time exhibitor Zollanvari ever-more global in its market penetration, U.K.-based Jacaranda Carpets and Germany's Object Carpet all bolstered the fair's international rug presence with their latest rug designs for this burgeoning show, which attracted 40,000 visitors from 60 countries from Feb. 9 - Feb. 13.
ALMEDAHLS
Almedahl introduced 3 new contemporary designs for floor or wall. Above, Muddle, of hard-twist New Zealand wool, shown in blue and grey colorways. Below, Amazed.
Stockholm based home decor maker Alemdahls gives its area rugs a contemporary twist. The company debuted three designs at the fair: Amazed, Muddled and Silence. Crafted of 100 percent hard-twist New Zealand wool, the designs are hand tufted, available in rectangle, round, and square, and can be color customized.
BARGI
Bargi shows off its variety at Stockholm, above, a hand-knotted Moroccan Berber. Below, the Reloaded collection of upcycled vintage Oriental rugs.
Bargi, a Swedish wholesaler of modern and classic rugs, offers a range hand-knotted, woven and tufted designs. The company highlighted its Reloaded range of overdye vintage Oriental carpets; its contemporary ikat selection made from Pashtu wool featuring a modern monochromatic take on the traditional motif; and the knit-like Granada, crafted of thick undyed wool yarn.
BOLON
Swedish flooring manufacturer Bolon introduces Bolon By You, a collaboration with London studio Doshi Levien.Swedish flooring company Bolon released several cutting-edge designs by London-based design studio Doshi Levien called Bolon By You, which is available in six patterns and allows designers and architects to create their own visions of the range via a newly developed web tool. Founded in 1949 and managed by third-generation sisters Annica and Marie Eklund, Bolon manufactures its products, all of which are phthalate free, in Sweden.
CLASSIC COLLECTION
Classic Collection debuts a velvet line of geometric pillows, shown above, a plush complement to it growing range of home accents. Below the Ullmatta Tropical design.
Classic Collection recasts timeless designs in timeless Scandinavian style. Hand woven in India the line of fine wool rugs, home textiles and accessories feature a palette that has become the hallmark of this region's designs, from black and white to pale grey, faded yellows and subdued pinks. At the fair, Classic Collection introduced a new range of geometric design velvet pillows and its geometric Ullmatta Hampton and Ultimata Labyrinth rug styles.
DECO FORMGIVING
Sweden's Deco Formgiving, which offers a large collection of sisal and jute options, presents its first rugs of recycled PET, above, for the conservatory. Below, a selection of its block-printed cotton rugs.
E STJERNA
E Stjerna's offers the modernist Gent, crafted of jute and polypropylene, and Aruba, below, a cotton printed rag rug.
Swedish wholesaler E Stjerna offered Stockholm fair exhibitors a broad range of floorcovering styles and qualities. Introductions include several new rag rug designs such as the black and white tribal design of Aruba, made of printed cotton, and the striped cotton Britta, along with a number of fresh contemporary rugs made of polypropylene.
EGE
A collaboration with celebrated designer Tom Dixon resulted in Industrial Landscapes for Ege.
A collaboration with British designer Tom Dixon put Ege on design map for contract designers at the 2016 Stockholm fair. Dixon's seven-rug collection, Industrial Landscape, draws its interpretations from the London cityscape. Danish rug maker Ege has a showroom in the New York City area and manufacturing facilities in Denmark and Lithuania.
"We have created a deconstructed brick pattern, a pattern inspired by the railway lines of London and one that refers to the Thames and the grey muddy water of the river," explains Dixon. "We also have a pattern that has more to do with down market aesthetics in the form of crazy paving. So, the collection is a series of patterns and textures that come naturally from the building process or the erosion process."
FOGIA
Fogia's new Land rug, above, is a study in simple geometries. Below, Fogia introduces its latest Nordic home furnishings.
One of Sweden's top furniture brands Fogia introduced a number of new designs, all featuring a classic modern Scandinavian energy, at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair. Fogia collaborates with some of the most recognized designers in Scandinavia, and its new Land rug series by Note Design Studio is a slice of "mini architecture" with pared down lines and three pastel colorways.
JACARANDA CARPETS & RUGS
Jacaranda's luxurious broadlooms and area rugs add instant sophistication to a setting. Above, the elegant Chatapur. Below, the new Santushti.
British broadloom and area rug maker Jacaranda Carpets grows its offering of hand-woven and hand-knotted designs. Following its successful introduction of Santushti and Willingdon broadlooms last year, the Northamptonshire-based company launches the lustrous designs in area rug collections.
The glossy Santushti, available in cool natural color palette, is hand-woven from Tencel, which the company claims wears better and is more water tolerant than other viscose yarns. Willingdon rugs, in same construction as Santushti, are woven from 100 percent wool and also come with a 2.5cm border.
Jacaranda also introduces the Agra broadloom and rug range, crafted from a blend of 50 percent wool and 50 percent Tencel in a thick 24mm pile.
KASTHALL MATTOR & GOLV
Kasthall presents Archipelago 2016, a range of hand-tufted wool and linen with Lurex details.
Prestigious Swedish rug atelier Kasthall Mattor & Golv, paid tribute to the work of long-time design director Gunilla Lagerhem at the Stockholm fair with the debut of Archipelago 2016, for final design for the company.
Archipelago 2016 captures the archipelago's ever-changing landscape and is based on Gunilla's characteristic design process, where sketches in water color are the starting point. Kasthall, which has been making rugs in Sweden since 1889, now presents Archipelago March and Archipelago November, hand-tufted of wool and linen with Lurex details.
KATEHA
Kateha brings its simple aesthetics to the fair, above, Acres of mottled grey wool, and the new textural Fjall, far left below.
Rug manufacturer Kateha, based in Sweden, offers a range of handmade designs with a cool Danish vibe, with products made in Europe and India. Its latest design, Fjäll rug, was inspired by the shadows of the cast laser-cut Knopp lamp designed by Ania Pauser, who also designed the simple motif of Fjall. Available in white or grey, the handwoven rug in 100 percent pure new wool blended with high quality New Zealand wool, features little tufted dots on the woven surface for added texture.
OBJECT CARPET
Object Carpets RugX allows a customized approach to area rugs. Shown, above and below, is the new semi-shag Smoozy for home and office.
German wall to wall broadloom and custom area rug maker Object Carpet, with a factory in that nation, introduced a new semi-shag material called Smoozy with a soft and downy feel. Object Carpet has a custom, create-your-own area rug program, RugX, which allows end users to select various shapes, colors, materials and borders for a custom finish.
REZA'S ORIENTAL & MODERN RUGS
Reza's presents an assortment of Persian patchwork designs called Malayer, above. Below, the new simple striated design of Pronto.
Reza's Oriental & Modern Rugs, a Northern European wholesaler of hand-knotted oriental and modern rugs, presents a collection of Persian patchworks called Malayer and the new simple striated design of the Pronto collection, hand knotted in India of wool and art silk.
SWEDEHEARTS INTERIORS
The debuting Swedehearts Interiors brand brings a classic architectural design approach to the floor. Shown, View, above, and Fan.
Swedish designer Monica Backstrom debuts her new company, Swedehearts Interiors, at the Stockholm Furniture & Lighting Fair. Presenting a collection of modern hand-tufted carpets and cushion covers, the brand draws inspiration from Nordic architecture and interiors. Each rug design is offered in a limited edition of 350.
ZOLLANVARI
Zollanvari designs Quilt Crazy specifically for the Stockholm 2016 fair (above) and introduces Multiple Trees from the Into the Woods line which beautifully complements rustic Scandinavian style.
Zollanvari was the big heavy-hitting international rug manufacturer to debut at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair introducing Nordic audiences to its broad range of tribal, classical and modern carpet designs, including several exclusively created for the Scandinavian market.
"The Scandinavian Design market has always been of great interest to us and the pure lines and simple forms of Scandinavian furniture a source of inspiration," states Reza Zollanvari, managing director of Zollanvari International.
New designs for the Stockholm fair include Quilt Crazy in four rugs inspired by traditional Americana quilt designs, a collection of reworked, abstract modern Gabbehs, part of the debuting Gabbehs Geometric Collection and an organic-looking Multiple Trees design with lots of Scandinavian appeal from the Into the Woods transitional formal collection.