Artistic expression Reviving tradition Sustainably minded
‘A rug should never be secondary or an after-thought in the designing of a space. It should ideally be the starting point from which the rest of the room can come together in a natural way.’
Bonnie Sutton
London-based Knots Rugs is as well-known and well-respected for its breathtaking contemporary artist collaborations as its remarkable and intricate re-workings of the finest Persian antique carpets in the 17th Century Collection. With company owner Bonnie Sutton’s constant drive for excellence, all the designs in the brand’s repertoire are masterpieces for the contemporary age.
With a background in fine art, Bonnie Sutton founded the London-based rug company in 2005 with her father Bernie Sutton, who had been professionally involved with carpets for more than forty years. However, the roots of the business go back another generation, a history that inspired the 17th Century Collection and which informs Knots Rug’s high-end production. The brand is now represented in the US as well as the UK. All the rugs are handmade in Nepal or Jaipur, India with the core collections using Nepalese Tibetan knotting (ranging between 100 to 300 knots per square inch) and the 17th Century Collection using Persian and Turkish knotting (in a 11/11 or 13/13 Persian knot).
In 2018, under the title ‘Your Floor is the Canvas’, Knots Rugs launched a series of collaborations with artists and designers, including the stunning At the End of the Day by English artist George Morton-Clark, which featured on the front cover of COVER 49. In 2021, Knots Rugs return with another inspired collaboration, this time translating American artist Brian Coleman’s original contemporary mixed media artwork into six modern wool and silk masterpieces.
Describing the act of creating as a ‘need’ and a ‘form of therapy’, Coleman’s gestural works are evocative and emotional interpretations of memories and future visions, a celebration of shape and form. The gestures and painterly strokes of Where I Want to Be Part 1 are inspired by drawing, while Part 2 uses tonal shades to capture moments in time. Library of Forms portrays Coleman’s bold mark-making while Wood Structure is a balanced composition of forms in dusty rose. More whimsical in tone, The Bloom & the Thorns is inspired by a trip to Lake Wylie in South Carolina and Wherever it Takes Me is more playful in its mark making.
‘I am always building the surface, changing direction and rearranging on a journey to explore the space on the canvas; the drawing comes alive and starts to move and grow, gaining substance. They are pieces and parts of life—memories, out of space happenings, free drawing in the moment, recurring images I have used in previous works that have told other stories.’
Brian Coleman
Knots Rugs’ 17th century Collection first launched at Domotex Hanover in 2014 to great acclaim. Expanding upon this exciting collection, the new limited-edition 17th Century Persian Vase design is based on ‘the most expensive rug ever sold,’ an antique Persian carpet which sold for $33 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2013. The stunning design features beautiful vines, flowers, and sickle shaped leaves in rich jewel colours on a deep red wool ground and has been finished with an oxidisation technique, which creates an extraordinary 3D effect.
Further new designs for 2022 include additions to the brand’s core collection: the expressive monochrome Hudson design with silk brushstrokes, the ethereal Shadow, and the more geometric designs of Checkerboard and Diamond Cross. In the Textures range Knots Rugs have created several new flatweave designs—Cactus and Sumac Kilim— featuring new techniques and materials such as yak wool, cactus and nettle.
For 2022 and beyond, expect more beautiful rugs in all Knots Rugs’ collections, including the Artist Collaboration series. Sutton is also expanding and diversifying the qualities by using handloom, handwoven flatweaves and hand-tufted for commercial projects. The company’s dyeing factories in Nepal use renewable rice husk as their energy source and going forward, the brand is working towards even greater levels of sustainability on their production processes.
‘Knots Rugs aims to constantly expand its focus on sustainability. All of the collection pieces are made from an artisanal process, where each step is meticulously executed by hand, rich in culture and tradition. Knots Rugs uses natural fibres, avoiding the use of synthetic materials, industrial machines, acids and chemicals in the process.’
Bonnie Sutton
Providing excellence in both traditional and contemporary woven art, Knots Rugs’ intelligent signature style runs through all its collections. Knots Rugs is a brand that can produce a masterpiece for any taste or any interior space.
Knots Rugs
595 Kings Road
London, SW6 2EL
United Kingdom
Phone: +44(0) 207 471 4707
E-mail: info@knotsrugs.co.uk
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