Artisan

For over 60 years, Hong Kong brand Tai Ping has combined hand-made techniques with an unconventional approach to create the finest luxury textiles

Learn about the craft and artistry behind the creative rugs of House of Tai Ping

Thinking of luxury interior design might prompt you to look up at cascading chandeliers or stunning art on the walls, but you would be remiss not to consider what’s underfoot. A beautiful carpet can add comfort, a sense of warmth and well-being as well as improved acoustics to a room. Some firms, such as Hong Kong textiles company House of Tai Ping, have elevated textiles to such an art form that its products have found their way into the homes of Hollywood actors (Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow) and palaces (Buckingham Palace, the King of Thailand’s palace). With a brand presence in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East, House of Tai Ping creates products for some of the top luxury hospitality, residential and retail brands across the globe, along with carpeting for yachts and private jets; in Singapore, the company’s collections are distributed by luxury carpet and rug fi rm Etesse.

YEH INVENTED THE PNEUMATIC TUFTING GUN IN 1960, A TOOL THAT’S STILL AN INDUSTRY STANDARD TODAY

RAGS TO RICHES

When the firm was founded in 1956, it was due to practical business sense rather than a vision to transform luxury textiles design. Brothers Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie of the industrialist, philanthropic and hospitality Kadoorie family in Hong Kong established the brand along with seven other businessmen. The idea was to provide employment opportunities to Hong Kong’s rapidly increasing population as well as to appeal to Western consumers with an eye for Asian design. Originally dubbed the Hong Kong Carpet Manufacturers, the company began as a workshop in Tuen Mun where around 30 workers created Tianjin-style knotted carpets. The company’s first product wasn’t meant to be as hand-knotting was a rare skill among the region and not well-suited for production. In spite of this, in 1958 the firm opened its first flagship in The Peninsula and landed a commission from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles for a carpet so large it was created in a tent outside of the factory. When engineer Anthony Yeh came on board to manage the workshop, the firm’s status as a revolutionary carpet purveyor was cemented. “In 1960, Yeh invented the pneumatic tufting gun,” explains Mark Worgan, CEO of Tai Ping, who has been with the company for over 10 years. “That gun is still an industry standard today and opened all sorts of avenues that hitherto had not been possible.”