MORE CUTTING-EDGE COLLABORATIONS
MATTHEW WILLIAMSON X OBEETEE for Amara
Each of Matthew Williamson’s five new designs for Amara, made in collaboration with the world-leading rug manufacturer Obeetee, uses ‘beautiful colours and dramatic textures that resonate with warmth and vibrancy’ to recreate the designer’s favourite breathtaking sceneries. Crafted by artisan weavers in India, each handknotted design takes nine months to create, and Matthew sees them as a fundamental tool for unifying the mood and flow of a room. ‘Colour plays a vital role in uplifting our homes and affecting us emotionally,’ he says. ‘I can see this collection complementing a smaller room while adding drama to grander spaces.’ From £645, matthew williamson.com; obeetee.com; amara.com
CAMPBELL-REY for Nordic Knots
Getting the colour right for their three new rugs with Swedish company Nordic Knots was key to creating ‘a very organic, alive feeling from something that is made with a very analog craft,’ says Duncan Campbell, one half of the design duo Campbell-Rey. Their use of different shades of green in ‘Garden Maze’, for example, designed in homage to the work of 20th-century British gardener Russell Page, or the pink in ‘Folding Ribbon’ (a contemporary interpretation of the swags adorning Gustav ian style furniture) cleverly lends a trompe-l’oeil effect. ‘We really love creating things with a sense of intrigue that makes them worth a second look,’ says Duncan. From £690, campbell-rey.com; nordicknots.com
‘COLOUR PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN UPLIFTING OUR HOMES’
BETHAN GRAY for CC Tapis
Bethan Gray created her ‘Inky Dhow’ design for CC-Tapis in last year’s lockdown, experimenting with inks, pens and paints before working with a Chinese calligraphy brush to produce a composition of lines varying in tone, width and length. CC-Tapis’s translation of these marks from ink into hand-dipped silk thread mirrors the hand-painted feel of Bethan’s original. ‘The pattern changes depending on where you look at it from,’ she notes. Hand-knotted in Himalayan wool and available in three colours, ‘the gold is lustrous, the blue is striking, and the black and white is for lovers of monochrome.’ From £6,000, bethangray.com; cc-tapis.com
MATTHEW HILTON for Christopher Farr Rugs
For Matthew Hilton’s new collection of rugs for Christopher Farr, the furniture designer turned to his iPad doodling for pattern inspiration. ‘I do these drawings to rest, it’s a bit like meditation, where I let my mind wander and just draw,’ Matthew explains. While abstract in conception, there is a sense of calm, thanks to the gentle colour palette, and an indefinable familiarity to the designs. And while the pattern for ‘Usahk’, produced in Turkey, came from ‘trying to make something that didn’t look like anything’, after listening to Christopher’s stories of where the rugs are made, Matthew developed the design to reflect these landscapes, suggesting it intimates ‘a view of hot misty mountains and valleys with long reaching shadows.’ From £795, christopherfarr.com; matthewhilton.com
‘I WAS TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING’