Handmade highlights from Istanbul’s International Carpet & Flooring Expo 2026 

With just 1 day left of Istanbul’s International Carpet & Flooring Expo, here are some standout rug moments we’ve seen so far.

Subasi

Istanbul’s International Carpet & Flooring Expo at the IFM İstanbul Expo Center ends tomorrow. With 497 exhibitors from 21 countries it is a big show with a lot of personality and while the majority of rugs on show are machine-made, there are also plenty of handmade gems to see. In addition, the meeting of handmade with machine-made has really arrived.  

Looking at the companies making innovative rugs 

With Ahmet Diler at the helm, Kirkit Rugs is always an important stand to visit. This year highlights included more of the brand’s souful neutrally toned hemp and goat hair rugs, the colourful Anatolian collection by Muhammed Türk and Caucasian designs made in Afghanistan. Nearby Burak Aydogan and his Knotisse brand showed alongside the company Subasi. Aydogan had a great new collection made of hemp and recycled wool.  

Burak Aydogan & his Knotisse rugs

Having only been formed several years ago, Damga Rugs has been busy developing machine-made rugs using natural yarns. The company’s latest designs demonstrate just where this area of production is moving towards, a machine-made rug that looks handmade. Also in this camp are Etnik Dokuma’s loop pile and flatweave collections by company designer Deniz Karyuz. Meanwhile Iranian machine-made rug company Zarin Delan Carpet had a range of designs they subtitled ‘100% wool, 50% machine, 50% hand’, rugs made on a machine but finished by hand in terms of washing, and the sides and ends. Machine-made is looking increasingly interesting! 

The ICFE design competition had some quality entires including a Kirkit hemp and goat hair rug in the Green Design category and a dynamic Damga rug in the Best Transitional Design category. 

Read more about machine-made innovations and ICFE highlights in COVER 82, out in March.   

Words by Lucy Upward