HIGH POINT, N.C. -- RugNews.com continues its hunt for Best of Market rugs at High Point Market with an eye out for big traffic-builders from fashion firsts to technical innovations, and the designs that will help vendors close 2019 on a high note.

 

"This has been a tremendous market," explained Kelly Moore, senior vice president Mohawk Home, "attendance has been good - and our appointment schedule is full." Optimistic about buyers' response to products like Elements, Tempest and Tryst, he told RugNews.com, "The general attitude in business is up -- it seems to be lifting a little."

 

"Loloi was very pleased with our showroom traffic overall, and we had a large increase over both the last April and October High Point markets," said Austin Craley, vice president of sales. "Retailers were very excited about what they saw at Loloi, and were buying and committing in a big way," he continued. "Once your products turn quickly at retail, retailers have confidence in what you offer and are anxious to re-stock the existing products and buy into the new products in a big way." 

Newness was everywhere this fall market, and buyers flocked to launches like Momeni's introduction of Lemieux et Cie rugs by Christiane Lemieux, Nourison's launch of Calvin Klein rugs packed with perceived value, and the refashioned traditional designs on show at most vendors -- always in fresh colors and often with playful new placement of traditional Persian motifs.  Surya scored with its first-ever vintage and antique rugs, and its big focus on hand-knotted introductions -- including high-value printed hand-knots.

 

And at High Point Market, Stephen Hoberman, vice-president - business development, Trans-Ocean, said there were so many big selling Liora Manne designs that it was difficult to pinpoint just one. "Actually, this market is busier than normal. We start each day slammed with appointments; we've been really busy in the mornings, and our indoor rug business is expanding here in a big way," Hoberman explained.

 

Follow RugNews.com as we track down the best sellers at more than two dozen rug vendors in this two-part shopping tour.  Part 2 covers showrooms from Karastan to Unique Loom. Make sure to check out the top looks at showrooms from Amer to Kaleen in Part 1.

KAS

 

The Upton collection by Libby Langdon for Kas was front and center at the rug maker's showroom.

 

Kas launched new Upton collection rugs by celeb designer Libby Langdon, and her fans attending High Point Market came out in force to make the launch a success. It helped to have Langdon on hand for a showroom presentation, and to provide her own stories about each rug.  Furniture store buyers also got to see the rugs in full rooms featuring Langdon's furniture, lighting and wall art at the Fairfield Furniture showroom.

 

Other market hits at Kas included Bungalow, a densely machine woven plush collection of space-dyed multi-textured polypropylene cable yarn; and two indoor outdoor lines, Lucia and Provo, both machine woven in UV-treated polypropylene.

 

This black and white design from the indoor-outdoor Lucia collection was a top seller at Kas.

 

LOLOI

Loloi's power-loomed Augustus collection topped the charts for its abstract designs and fashion colors. 

At the Loloi showroom, Austin Craley told RugNews.com, "We had so many new rugs, pillows, throws and wall art -- in addition to our existing best-sellers -- that it made for a very exciting and busy show for Loloi." Among the best of market collections were the abstract designs and fashion colors of Augustus, the lustrous ribbed solid Bellamy and the organic solid textures of Stokholm.

Big draws were an art print signing with Rifle Paper Co.'s founder Anna Bond, who introduced Veranda, her first outdoor rugs with Loloi and the Kismet collection, as well as the company's framed textile art gallery, and an expanded one-of-a-kind vintage rug collection. Loloi's popular Turkish bazaar display was decked out with a new product category: pillows of all sizes covered with vintage rugs and saddle bags, which were very well received.

 

Loloi showroom shoppers had the chance to see the latest  Rifle Paper collection, Kismet, and it was an instant hit.

LR RESOURCES

LR Resources introduces Vogue as part of its best-selling Naturals collection and the design was an instant hit.

LR Resources scored with the introduction of the Vogue collection, which expands the company's popular Naturals line with everything from chunky natural-toned braided looks to a new rag rug-inspired design in cotton and polyester from recycled denim in stonewashed blues and greys (design #99133 in sky blue/light gray).

Brightly colored, multi-hued designs with a global Boho-chic aesthetic were also best sellers, including one with a cheerful black and white motif set inside a colorful stripe for a rug within a rug effect.

MOMENI

 

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Momeni rolls out the hand-crafted natural styling of its new Christiane Lemieux assortment  -- and its TUG was a hit for its global styling.

At the fall High Point Market, Momeni introduced its licensed collection with designer and e-commerce super star Christiane Lemieux, founder of both Dwell Studio and The Insider. The new hand-crafted assortment was launched under the Lemieux et Cie label (read more). "Lemieux et Cie was the biggest draw at market," said Rachel Fasciani. "Attendees sought us out specifically to review the line and the entire collection had an overwhelmingly positive response."

Another licensor, The Novogratz, created buzz with its newest novelty rugs in an outdoor camping display, and fans lined up for a book signing event by Robert Novogratz. Under the Momeni brand, the company introduced Lagoon, a machine-made assortment that "received very positive feedback," Fasciani reported.

Nourison grows its Calvin Klein collections at High Point, and buyers loved the new Northwest cow-hide collection's geometric pattern.

 

Nourison grew some of its most popular collections for High Point Fall market, adding to its Calvin Klein program with three debut collections Riverstone, Northwest, and Abyss, as well as line extensions to several top-selling Calvin lines. The new textured Calvin Klein rugs showcased a return to the brand's classic, iconic aesthetic with a touch of modern minimalistic refinement.

 

New Kathy Ireland Home rugs also resonated with buyers, and the company also added to its best-selling Divine and Prismatic collections, and the hit Starry Nights collection, introduced at summer markets, continued to pick up steam.

Nourison's texture Divine collection was popular with fall 2019 shoppers for its unique sweater-knit ground against linear pile motifs.

ORIENTAL WEAVERS

 

Buyers loved OW's new million point cross-woven Maharaja collection.
 
Oriental Weavers introduced a range of new area rugs for furniture stores and galleries shopping the fall High Point Market. Debuting this fall with much success was the company's one-million-point Maharaja, a collection cross-woven of space-dyed polyester with a cotton weft for an incorporated fringe. It took OW's product development and design teams nine months to create the new construction and designs. Buyers liked Maharaja's intricate detailed patterns, super-soft hand and timeless neutral color palette of soft neutrals, soft amber and a grayed out blue.

OW's best-of-summer market intro, Lilihan, a cross-woven Axminster, scored for its classic Persian designs in rich antiqued colors. And the popular Sofia, with its hand-knotted look, added four new designs. A hit for their strong value proposition, the rugs feature a flat-woven low pile polyester chenille face with printed designs and blanket stitch finishing.
 

Oriental Weavers adds new printed antique lookalikes to the popular Sofia collection.

PALMETTO LIVING BY ORIAN

High on buyers' shopping lists was Wilfred (style 9312) from the new Illusions collection from Palmetto Living.

In the Palmetto Living by Orian showroom, High Point shoppers got their first look at Illusions, which was previewed at summer shows but officially debuting at fall Market. Illusions has been so popular, said the company's Julie Shankle, it's on looms and shipping already shipping. She attributes strong retail response to price points and looks, with Devonshire and Wilfred among the top sellers in the collection's plush, high-low designs.

Buyers also gave thumbs up to Palmetto Living's 'Moody Blues' color palette, especially to classic styles in the Aria and Adagio collections, and to the new, sharply priced Persian designs of the Meadow collection introduced here under the Orian label.

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Rizzy Home showcased its coordinating patterned rugs Haven (hanging) and Matrix (on floor over Brindleton), all in the best-selling gray colorway.

Rizzy Home's trifecta was the High Point launch of Matrix( in wool and recycled PET yarns) and Haven (in 100 percent PET), which both coordinate in color with the hand-tufted wool Brindleton range, the company's best-selling collection in units. "Rizzy recycles over one million bottles a day in India, and we spin and dye our PET yarn ourselves using a process similar to tie-dyeing to create the multiple shades you see in these rugs," explained Rizzy Home's Larry Hedrick. "The debut rugs coordinate with Brindleton's most popular colors, a steel gray,  a beautiful blue and a warm brown. It's always about color," Hedrick said.

 

Rizzy Home introduces the Haven collection in 100 percent recycled PET yarns in three top-selling colors.

SAFAVIEH

Safavieh scored points for quality and value with the hand-knotted Samarkand collection.

Safavieh placed heavy emphasis on its higher-quality hand-knotted lines at High Point Market, with new, higher-quality Izmir and Samarkand rugs prominently showcased and instant hits with show shoppers.

"Consumers loved out the quality and value of several of our hand-knotted collections," said Arash Yaraghi, principal. "We're very pleased with the response to our higher quality rugs such as the new designs in our Samarkand collection -- buyers here loved these renditions of classic Khotan rugs. The designs follow the fine weaving traditions of ancient Uzbek tribes using similar vivid colors and motifs, which we hand-knot in a premium wool cut pile.

Safavieh showcased the Khotan-inspired designs of its Samarkand collection in fashion colors.

 

S&H RUGS