Bespoke rug – I’ll have what he’s having, please
One of my favorite moments when collaborating with a client and creating a custom rug, is that the whole process brings a fresh perspective on my own designs. A well known TV personality (which I cannot reveal his name), chose my Silhouette rug, one of our latest designs, but asked to change the colors. Coincidentally, I’ve created drawings of other colorway for this particular rug, but kept it in a drawer and left Silhouette in its original rich tones. Until this client showed up.
If there’s anyone who loves colors and not afraid to show it is this particular client. Silhouette new colors for this projects are fresh and vivid, to me it looks like a new rug design.
We went on with drawings of the new colors, then sample, approval, then to actual execution of the rug. Everything looked good on paper especially the colors, but when we got pictures of the rug itself completed and ready to ship from Nepal, we were like wow! it made me drool. It is absolutely a stunner. Rich wool in the background shows off a gorgeous layer of bright silk pattern, oh this rug is delicious I want it.
Actually, I would love to sit in this client’s home with the rug in the room (and the client too). I can only imagine how he feels and what the room’s going to look like.
In reference, I’m working on Silhouette rug in its new colorway (slightly different), for our inventory and can’t wait to see it in the coming months. Nothing gets more attention, or expresses sensuality, shows presence and says “here I come” than a pop of color. It’s the ultimate in personalization.
My interview with a lovely SF Interior Designer
A couple of months ago I had the pleasure to get to know a talented and a lovely Interior Designer from San Francisco CA. The introduction happened quite by accident when I was pinning and happened to see beautiful images of interior design projects that, when I clicked, led me to Anna Fane Pinterest page. Following her on Pinterest made her contact me stating she loves my art work and our rugs. Through interesting back and fourth email chats we’ve got to know each other a little better and now we can say we are pen pals.
Anna Fane runs her own design blog The Design Tray (don’t you love the name), and I love the way she designed it; clean and clear. Recently, I was interviewed by Anna who posted on her design blog. Not only that I like the post (really), but her blog is interesting to read and beautiful to look at.
Thank you Anna for the interview and hope to meet you some day.
Glow – design inspiration
Nature has been mastering itself for some time now and it is an honor to be able to capture its beauty. (Justin Beckett)
Glow, Hand Knotted Himalayan wool and Chinese silk. RUG ART
Ever since I learned scientific illustration I became fascinated by mother nature; rock formations and patterns, stones and plants.
When I was in high school I remember this trip very vividly; I was struck by this ancient magical small Cave in the Judea Mountains. It was an impressive collection of sculpted rocks and frozen drops of water, naturally formed during a period of a hundreds of thousands of years beneath the ground. I was fascinated by its ambiance and bizarre looking stones that like a magnet I was drawn back to see the cave time and again. It was a jaw dropping experience for me; The mood and color, nature’s glorious wonders, even the silence – everything was intriguing. I walked around gazing and speechless. I wanted to touch but wasn’t allowed. I did it when no one was watching. The rocks felt smooth to the touch almost like glass and very cold. The air was moist and strangely, while I walked followed by a path, it felt as if I was floating. I’ve never seen anything so magical, so magnificent and so naturally artistic without a touch of a human hand, as this drip-stone Cave. Still fascinated and in awe by this experience I knew that a rug design was a possibility and I already begun to envision how it’s going be constructed.
When I begun to think this rug in my head, my thought was to achieve something that will have a mystical/vintage feel but modern in design. The colors I worked with are not only subtly complementing each other, but also have an understated elegance. I chose to work with wool and silk. The design itself is layered with unstructured texture of drips-like silk, revealing subtle movement of elegant pattern in the background. Anything else added would distract from its sophisticated elegance. The high mountain wool is rich in oil which gives the rug its natural luster, but with the addition of silk the rug gets this patina shine that only emphasizes the design’s characteristics.
The rug feels very soft under foot and lustrous; a design well appreciated from any angle one chooses to look at. Visit our NY showroom to view the new collection.
Goodbuy normal Kitchen
What is the secret to a happy kitchen renovation?
a tale of a kitchen re-do. part I
Patience. I choose patience.
You see, we are going through a kitchen renovation mess. My ex-kitchen was a good-looking one: dark glossy cabinets highlighted with stainless steel appliances and knobs. The lower cabinets supported a heavy and expensive black granite imported from Turkey. Glossy Travertine floors illuminated by nice spotlights. My ex held up pretty good with all the cooking and beatings, high traffic, big spills and lots of crumbs. It knew my good and bad pots. You see, I took care of my ex and kept it in good shape. I used every inch of it because I wanted our love to last. But honestly, I think my ex loved me more than I loved it.
It started on a sunny morning when I made my hot cup of Jo while gazing at my cabinets and sink, then it hit me: I didn’t want dark glossy or that ugly two hole sink with gazillions tiny scratches, even with my high maintenance routine, anymore. There was no love there. No pulse. YouTube movies about a new deep strong one hole sink started to invade my already busy brain. That wasn’t a good sign.
The Mr. noticed my dilemma. He knew. I looked him in the face and told him my dearest humble and honest opinion (I do it all the time). He knew exactly how emotionally disturbed I was by being surrounded with things that…didn’t mean to me anymore. I’m an artist and artists dream.
We knew we can’t change the sink without removing the granite and possibly damaging the cabinets which will make us spend more money on “the unexpected”. We decided to knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining to create an open concept. “This will light up the kitchen” the Mr. said, “yeah, but it wont change the color of the cabinets or the sink” I said. One wall down and an added island in the center for more storage. Agreed. After the first estimate the Mr. said “you know what, let’s get an estimate for refacing the upper cabinets too, just curious”. After we got the estimate we added “one small change”: to replace all the upper cabinets instead of refacing them (talk about staying on a budget). Agreed on that too.
When the guy came back to measure we told him “you know what, give us a number for refacing the bottom cabinets too, just curious”. Yeah right. I knew this curiosity would get out of hand. We finalized it by keeping the old refrigerator that looks like new, the stove that looks like new, the black expensive granite that’s also the backsplash and looks like new and the sink that looks like crap. That’s it! I’ll manage I thought.
But it wasn’t for long. Soon after the project started we were hunting for a new refrigerator…opening and closing french doors and playing with the water dispensers. It felt like a play date.
Now the wall is gone. Yay…we are loving it already. I can finally breath and see the light at the end of the room. Upper cabinets are gone. Phew. Relief. Seeing my kitchen without cabinets makes me want to stay without them. Almost.
Going along with the project it seems that things are on track and we are so excited we can’t wait to see the results. The project manager scheduled installation for the bottom doors and drawers then again, we found ourselves driving to the showroom because guess what? “one more small change”: we purchased Carrera marble for the rest of the kitchen counter top. No to black granite. What??? I looked at my husband thinking we’re crazy, can’t we just keep one word we say?
But the best part of all this: I get. to replace. the sink!
My dream kitchen sink is hand hammered copper that cost 3 years worth of grocery shopping. Should we eat less? Naaa I’ll keep it low…but wait, the faucet I want costs even more. I just can’t get out of it.
Are we on budget? like my mother always says: It’s like giving birth to a baby – it’s hurts like hell then you forget with first smell.
To welcome my new white kitchen I will share with you this amazing Orange roasted sesame cake. It’s to die for. Coming soon.
Are you familiar with the Children book If you give a mouse a cookie? It all started with a two-hole crappy little sink.
Who inspires me now
I have been asked many times who, among the “rich and famous”, inspires me. It’s not always easy to point at someone and say this or that, there is so much I am inspired by but by people, only few: She is one of the most elegant women I’ve ever seen or heard of. Strong sense of discipline and structure she is a woman who knows her product and not afraid to take risks. Her evening gowns are glamorous and chic just like the designer herself. She is Carolina Herrera, one of my favorite fashion designers. I’m inspired by her talent and the way she works. I love how she uses superb luxurious materials to create beautiful elegant evening gowns, a dress that makes a woman look and feel like a million dollars. I love her oversize patterns, elegance and intricacy, in a word – details. It reminds me of how I design my rugs for RUG ART time and again, with a lot of attention to details, i just love the idea of working that way.
In my designs I like to strike a balance and am always looking for a playful idea to include in my rugs. Herrera’s gowns employ sensual and playfulness and I love that it goes hand in hand. I may be inspired by many other sources but always keep in mind what my client is going to feel when he or she have my rugs in their homes. How it flatters their environment, the mood, style, I take my designs personally almost like designing a dress for myself and knowing myself well, I do not like to compromise. Herrera designs smart and beautiful, it takes precision, meticulous craftsmanship and lots of patience – an approach I feel is key in creating a product that makes people keep coming back to for more.
I love her design compositions, color combination, floral patterns, geometric, all well thought out designs that contribute not only to the overall look of the one who wears it, but also how it feel to have one on. A rug should be treated no less and I get the same vibes when i see a beautiful piece of rug art work in a room. A beauty not to be ignored. I would love to own one of her gowns and if not, would love even more to meet her some day and chat, I have a feeling she is a very down to earth person. I just admire her.
