With all the work that goes into running a streamlined professional rug event, now that COVER Connect New York 2023 is over we are extremely delighted that exhibitors and visitors left us with glowing reviews of the show. It was always going to be a tough job for us to follow the enormous success of and rapturous response we got to COVER Connect 2022. The effort that we put into all the aspects that are required to make an event relevant to the companies involved as well as the visitors were recognised by the people we spoke to during and after the event.
On the first day of CCNY, Saturday 9 September, the two venues—The Altman Building and The Metropolitan Pavilion—soon filled up with visitors, buying started from the get-go. We were happy to see and hear a buzz of activity, which soon filtered into all parts of the buildings as the day went on. Sunday’s downpours and stormy weather did its best to deter our guests while Hurricane Lee succeeded in canceling many flights in and out of the city but the stream of visitors remained good and consistent. The CCNY party held in partnership with Label STEP at The Bowery Hotel was a great way to end a wet, stormy but successful day. Monday had shorter hours but still saw a number of buyers who could not make the show at the weekend. Despite Lee’s best efforts our numbers were up on last year, which is important for a show that almost doubled in size from last year.
This year I discovered how hard it is to run an event and report on it with so much less time to see the goods on show. Despite this I want to highlight some of the interesting, innovative, fun and covetable rugs I saw during the three days. Walking around the buildings, I loved seeing the attention-grabbing designs that companies placed on the frames. Knots Rugs’ fabulous Dawn rug featuring a design by marbler Nat Maks was a real stand out, as was Tufenkian’s dramatic silk dragon design rug with great shimmering texture at the back of the brand’s stand.
London-based Wendy Morrison was a great new addition to CCNY this year. The company’s opulent and bright yet sophisticated style was appreciated by a number of buyers. Jan Kath’s Insert Coin rug—created in collaboration with artist Raphael Brunk—that dominated the stand was really as spectacular in the flesh as seen online. Also striking was New Moon’s new bright scarlet rug featuring an abstracted skull and snake was a real departure for the brand and a great addition to their inventory. In addition to these, I loved Zollanvari’s Glitch Gabbeh design and the new colourful, earthy toned rug by Kirkit, which comprised flatweave and pile.
Turin-based brand Battilossi launched a new exciting concept at the show, the company’s new Mood Board project that is developing a new way of selling rugs to help rug retailers and interior designers. The new concept focuses on 14 Mood Boards which bring together existing designs with new patterns to shape collections of rugs that can be used harmoniously together. The company continues to expand its innovative approach to texture, weaving and colour while considering the collections as a language that can tell a rhythmic story.
For buyers there were plenty of companies with something different. Sumaq Alpaca’s super soft, highly usable and innovative alpaca designs always attract a large number people. Pampas Leather’s dynamic hide designs are really one of a kind, making real statements for the floor. New to the show were Rebel Carpets, who brought some innovative products such as a beautiful weave with ombre colour running through it. Also new, Rhyme Studio had a great story for people to engage with. The company’s rugs are hand-tufted using Irish wool, a dying industry. Company owner Claire McGovern is on a mission to keep the traditional use of Irish Zwartbles sheep alive.
It was great to see Sahar back on show after a break since January 2020. Their new Patina collection with a vintage, textural finish and new designs from Tessuto were well appreciated by buyers while they also presented some interesting new rugs at a lower price point, featuring a thick luxurious pile and Bauhaus-inspired designs. In a smiler vein, Wool & Silk presented some really attractive 60 knot rugs with Mazandaram kilim patterns, a change from the company’s usual 100 knot quality.
In a world where every design is possible on a rug, texture and technique is everything and I loved Paulig’s new shaggy Berber rugs, which are available in 15 colours and are made in Morocco with New Zealand Moroccan wool. As always, Lapchi presented new engaging weaves and palettes and the company’s silk sumac with a wool pile design was really special.
For Jaipur Living, neutral tones and textures were big sellers at the show. Creative Matters launched three new striking collections, the elegant Vista hand-knotted in Afghanistan in Ghazni wool, the water-inspired Arcadian collection and the colourful Vanguard. Samad’s new Brio collection had an elegant and artful aesthetic while we loved the latest Mid-Century Modern and Khotan designs—using such attractive and delicate colour palettes—by French Accents and Creative Touch’s stunning super-fine all silk rug. HRI launched a number of new collections at CCNY 2023, including the pastel Platinum Oushak, the dreamy Milo, Horizon hand-knotted in India and the abstract Catalina in wool and silk.
Of all the new and innovative rugs on show from brands such as Stark Studio Rugs, French Accents, Tissage, Eliko and Anadol more will be shown and discussed in COVER 73. We will also be highlighting the best sellers from Rug & Kilim, Harcourt, Design Materials Inc and Caravan and looking at the increasingly dynamic, creative approach taken by Tamarian under the leadership of Ryan Higgins.
Of the new companies for 2023 not already mentioned, it was really good to see Ariana back exhibiting. We were happy to welcome the high quality offered by Asha, Asia Minor, Bokara, Tibet Rug Company, Rug Icon, who all brought even greater value to COVER Connect. High quality area rug pads were presented by new exhibitor Jade Industries Inc., adding another aspect to the event. Speaking to first time exhibitor, Zubair Mohamed, head of Knot & Co, he explained ‘We had a lot of interest and reaction so it was a very good show for us.’ The company’s beautiful selection of rugs had constant attention.
In addition to the rugs, in collaboration with Label STEP we held two round table discussions on the subjects of sustainability in rug design and global weaving issues. Thanks to Domotex for sponsoring the Coffee Bar in the COVER Lounge at CCNY, free coffee was an amazing bonus for everyone at the show. It was in this area the informal discussions were held. On Saturday, ’Sustainability Goals: The Rug Industry Working Together’ gathered a room full of people to discuss sustainable issues, headed by Ali McMurter of Creative Matters, Daisy Barquist of Tamarian, Tovi Diler of Kirkit and Reto Aschwanden of Label STEP. This panel introduced a global group that has been set up for industry people to join to come together and solve sustainability issues together (see COVER 73 for more information).
On Sunday, Jim Ffrench of Beauvais and Reto Aschwanden directed the conversation focusing on ‘Worldwide Weaving Regions: Highlights and Issues’. The issue of weavers became the biggest topic on the agenda. While no solutions were found for the ever-dwindling number of weavers, the root of the problem was raised: the attitude towards weavers in weaving countries is still poor and the issue is a difficult one to address—see more in COVER 73.
As we closed the show and said goodbye to familiar faces, we heard the same words ‘thank you guys you did a great job’. I add this to make the point that while not every exhibitor had the same high level of success as his neighbour, everyone appreciated that the show served them very well. Setting up the event, we were fully aware of the US economy’s ongoing threat to go slow and the sense of cautiousness is in many people’s minds. Therefore, the positive outcome of COVER Connect New York 2023 was particularly pleasing.
As it is difficult to review one’s own show, below we invited visitors and exhibitors to add their opinions.
‘We loved coming to Cover Connect and touching base with our colleagues in person. It’s a treat to be surrounded by our newest rugs and to see what everyone else has been up to as well. The selection of exhibitors and visitors is excellent and makes this show a favourite for us.’ – Ali McMurter, Creative Matters
‘COVER Connect NYC, the energy returns! I thoroughly enjoyed the reinvigorated energy of COVER Connect 2023. After the lull from Covid, we’re back to reconnecting, reinventing and revitalising the network of our industry. I saw remarkable new techniques in knotting and gorgeous colours that will enlighten any room. So fun and inspiring! Can’t wait for next year!’ – Jackie Cox, Tapis Decor
‘COVER Connect was Sahar’s first public exhibition since January 2020. While much has changed over the ensuing years, we were pleased to find the market is still receptive to well-crafted products that solve design problems for our customers. We find that with so much direct importing being done by retailers, relevance to the market is dependent on domestic wholesalers providing products and services that the retailer does not have the time or else the technical knowledge to develop on their own. For Sahar, this translates to the growing importance of developing unique textures that are novel, repeatable, and customisable. This is why we feel the new introductions to our Tessuto line and the launch of our Patina collection were so successful at this year’s show.’ – Hayes Robinson, Sahar
‘Cover Connect has blossomed into a vibrant and must attend fall show. Not only did we enjoy visiting with our existing vendors, much to our own surprise, we picked up a new line that our team is rather excited about. I especially enjoyed the round table discussion with Reto of Label STEP and hope future shows include informal discussions hosted by Cover.’ – Brian Robins, Kush Rugs
‘I must congratulate you and your team for hosting such a wonderful trade show for our industry. I believe that in the next few years this is going to be the most important show in the rug industry for the North American rug buyers. You did a great job in gathering some of the world’s most unique hand-knotted rug manufacturers under one roof. Most of the suppliers that I have dealt with in the last 30 years, were present and my son and I who joined my company as the second generation earlier this year, were able to source spectacular rugs for our showroom. The timing of your show is impeccable. It is a great time to load up with new inventory just in time for our most important season of the year’ – Michael Pourvakil, Weavers Art
‘Tamarian was thrilled to participate in CCNY 2023. The event has continued to grow in both value and prominence as the most important show of the year. It was a great moment for the industry to come together as a community and enjoy connections with colleagues and clients, and friends old and new. We welcomed the return of panels to discuss topics that are important to all involved in the creation and import of handmade rugs. And of course, we set the course for the upcoming year by sharing our new designs, qualities, and innovations. Somewhere in there, we also had quite a bit of fun.’ – Ryan Higgins, Tamarian
See more about CCNY in COVER 73, out in December.
