Review: COVER Connect New York 2022

New designs and colourways of note shone out from stands across the board at COVER Connect New York 2022

The second edition of COVER Connect New York drew to a close at lunchtime on Tuesday 13 September after an action packed two and a half days of business at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. There was an incredibly positive atmosphere for the duration of the trade show—open only to buyers and industry professionals—as the twenty-two exhibitors connected with clients from across America, on a scale that has not been possible for several years due to the pandemic.

New designs and colourways of note shone out from stands across the board with notable highlights including: Wool & Silk’s After Hours collection; Awaken the Sprits, the rug diptych by Stefan Heyer for Knots Rugs (as seen on the cover of COVER 68) and Aves a fresh addition to New Moon’s Secret Garden collection. Exciting samples of forthcoming KC designs proved popular for Creative Touch, along with its all-wool lines, while samples of the new Penumbra collection from Lapchi demonstrated the high impact effects of different colour combinations applied to a highly textural surface. The green shade of Creative Matter’s subtly gradated design from the Sonance collection received a lot of attention; a masterful piece achieved with staggering precision dyeing.

The opening party on Sunday night, hosted in partnership with Label STEP, provided the opportunity for a celebratory social gathering. Then Zollanvari marked its 75th anniversary with a drinks reception on Monday afternoon, where guests sampled a special signature cocktail as well as the new mafrash collection (also seen in the COVER Lounge) offering seating and storage solutions in the brand’s signature colourful style.

As the event concluded on Tuesday, Samad’s David Samad commented: ‘This has been an incredible week. We went all out to bring in carpets from India; many of the new lines that we’ve launched here were flown in especially for this show, knowing that we were really expecting a great turnout. We’ve had serious buyers attend the show and we’re in wonderful company.’ Stark Studio Rugs’ National VP of Sales, Taylor van der Mandele said: ‘We’ve been showing a wide variety of products, everything from hand-knotted all wool rugs to all silk rugs out of Nepal, hitting many different price points for many different clients. We have had dealers from all over the country—all the way from Washington state right down to Florida—come and see us here, so it’s been really great to capture a wide audience.’ Tamarian’s Ned Baker said: ‘Great show! We brought all new stuff, everybody was excited to see it, we saw a lot of good people, the energy was great, so we’re really excited about this show and we’ll definitely be back!’

The third edition of COVER Connect New York will take place at the same venue, the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan, from 9-11 September 2023.