As Decorex International recently drew to a close, we reveal the highlights on our stand at this year's show. After all, this is the leading destination for luxury interior design and we tend to exhibit every year. However, on this occasion, we had an even more exciting story to tell... This is where we unveiled our new LuxuryEco collection to the discerning decorating masses.
Decorex International 2019 which was held at Olympia
Planning our new collection
As the UK's only show for the luxury interiors market, Decorex provides the perfect resource for high-end interior designers, architects and decorators. So, it was with this in mind that we began planning the launch of LuxuryEco. In addition, we would be joining more than 400 exhibitors at this year's show. You can imagine, we couldn't wait to reveal samples of our new product to trade. However, we wanted to showcase our new collection alongside a comprehensive collection of other rug and carpet samples from Nepal, too.
A small selection of our beautiful hand-knotted rug
and carpet samples at this year’s Decorex
Hand-knotted rugs from Nepal
We are already renowned for our beautiful, hand-knotted rugs, which are produced in Nepal. These luxury rugs and carpet showcase a highly specialised craft, which feature various processes, which are all conducted by hand. So, we created a section on our stand, which would showcase this beautiful craftsmanship. This way, our existing clientele could touch a variety of luxury samples made from different fibres, from natural Nepalese and Tibetan wool to silk and pashmina. We are also members of GoodWeave, the organisation which works to end child labour in global supply chains. In the carpet industry, children can sit at looms for up to 14 hours per day. So, this way we ensure all the rugs and carpets we make in Nepal do not use and therefore exploit children.
This 'plastic' water bottle, hand-tufted, made from upcycled fibre represents how
we take discarded plastic bottles from the ocean in Thailand to transform
them into this yarn to make our LuxuryEco collection
Our LuxuryEco collection
Our LuxuryEco collection features upcycled yarn from discarded ocean plastic waste. So, we knew we would be leading the luxury flooring industry when we revealed this unique textile solution at this year's show. It makes perfect sense to make use of plastic in an innovative way with bespoke rugs and carpets, which will stand the test of time. After all, once you read the facts on plastic pollution, you'll realise why we want to help to alleviate such a serious problem.
Plastic facts
The reality is that plastic use is not going to stop overnight. In fact, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since it was introduced in the 1950s. So, when you consider that one million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world and less than half of those bottles end up getting recycled, this really highlights the issue. According to the Earth Day Network, plastic pollution is now choking our oceans and poisoning our food and water supply, which is affecting wellbeing for humans and wildlife.
This area showcases some samples from our LuxuryEco collection
including our stunning Nautilus rug shown here in grey
Dressing our stand
If you visited the stand at this year's Decorex, you will have seen an entire floor carpeted in samples from our new LuxuryEco collection. After all, this is one of the best ways for our visitors to experience this kind of luxury underfoot. So, we featured a variety of carpet styles with luxury rug samples on the floor and filled a complete wall with more samples.
Revealing the quality
This was our first chance to unveil the quality of the beautiful new products we have produced. In fact, this was where we would get the chance to showcase our LuxuryEco collection to an international market. So, visitors could actually touch these luxury rug and carpet samples to feel the supreme quality themselves.
More examples of our LuxuryEco collection including our Manila rug which has
been designed to reflect the shape and natural pattern of the Manila clam
Understanding the benefits
We are now offering this upcycled fibre as an option for use in the majority of our bespoke, luxury rug and carpet production. In fact, from now on, all of our new developments in hand-tufted, flat-woven and hand loom will use this fibre. And we wanted Decorex visitors to understand that this upcycled yarn not only has environmental benefits. So we could explain how this yarn is, in fact, water repellent and flame retardant. It's ultra-durable and easy to maintain. What's more, it also stain and mildew resistant which is why this fibre lasts for years to come.
Our director Matthew is joined by furniture upholsterer, Sally Ross Richmond (L),
and Anouska Lancaster (R), award-winning interior designer and broadcaster
Our visitors
It was fantastic to see such positivity for both our existing hand-knotted Nepal samples and our Luxury Eco collection. After all, we welcomed a whole host of people, from expert interior designers and decorators to architects, onto our stand. The resounding comments on our LuxuryEco collection centred around the absolute quality and benefits of our rugs and carpets.
A beautiful frosted glass vase from Objet Luxe
Collaborations
This year, we joined forces with luxury homewares brand, Objet Luxe . In fact, Objet Luxe is one of our wonderful neighbours at World's End Studios in Lots Road and they design and make luxury home accessories.
These daffodils have been handmade from waste
plastic bottles by eco designer Sarah Turner
We also worked with Sarah Turner, an award-winning eco artist and designer. She loaned some beautiful upcycled flowers and a table lamp for this year's stand, which helped us to convey our upcycled message to visitors.
Would you like to meet our director over on our blog? You can find out all about Matthew Wailes by simply clicking here.