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I S SUE Marketplace: Reviews 149
01 Surf, Sand, Pebbles, Brian Orner x Art Interpreted
02 Forest textile sculptures by Elodie Blanchard
03 Which(?)craft No 1, Johanna Ulfsak
04 Gale, mink, Terra collection, Yabu Pushelberg x Warp & Weft
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Design fairs ICFF AND NYXDESIGN 18–20 May 2024 Javits Center, NYC www.icff.com
Rugs are always the best part of a fair and, at ICFF 2024, this was surely a matter of fact! To begin with, Warp & Weft’s beautiful new hand-knotted collection, Terra, designed by architecture studio Yabu Pushelberg, received the ICFF Editors Award for ‘Flooring & Rugs’. The five calming wool and silk rugs are deserving winners.
Of the numerous other rug companies on show, Art Interpreted was a new face. The New Yorkbased, art-led brand showed some great hand-knotted designs including Surf, Sand, Pebbles, by Brian Orner. Hadi Sattari of the brand commented: ‘We gained many new contacts and serious prospects for business-to-business opportunities, which is a newer channel for us. Many of the talks were about sustainability, and it’s always good to remember that handmade, wool rugs are inherently more sustainable than many products.’ Hear-hear!
Big design shows can easily feel too corporate and staid, but ICFF brought in many elements to liven up the brand mix—and with rugs and textiles it meant a few smaller names could be discovered at the Javits. The Wanted Look Book, presented with media partner Dezeen, was home to young designer Tomma Bloom (see Origins) who has just collaborated on a rug collection with TTW (Tuft the World).
In its second iteration, The Crossroads section directed by David Rockwell and Rockwell Group focused on sustainability in US design and included Elodie Blanchard’s ingenious textile tree sculptures.
Outside the Javits, NYXdesign provided a lot of fun, none more so than Johanna Ulfsak’s Which(?) craft rug collection showing as part of the Estonian UPMADE exhibition at Lafayette gallery in SoHo.