WELCOME TWO NEW RUG COLLECTIONS!

Creative Matters will proudly launch two new versatile rug collections at The Rug Show in New York (September 10 - 13).  Arashi and Architexture, like all our collections, are made of wool and silk in Nepal using the timeless technique of handknotting. 

Crumple from the Arashi Collection is one of the few Creative Matters designs to have a shaped edge. 

The Arashi Collection is named after the Japanese word for storm. Crumple, Ichiban - Copper, Imprint - Earth, Suji - Gold, Twine - Copper, and Veil - Mint will grace our stand in New York with more designs and colourways from the collection to be launched in the coming year. The designs originate from a dyeing-themed Art Day when the entire Creative Matters team escaped their computers and created art in a traditional way.

"We organized two types of dyeing - eco bundle dyeing and shibori dyeing," said Sandra Ciganic-McKinney, a senior designer who contributed designs to both of the new collections. "For the eco dyeing, we bundled plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables into silk and wool and soaked them in various natural dyes. And for the shibori technique, we folded and tied up wool and silk with cord (and other fasteners) to bind the fabrics and then soaked them in natural dyes," she said. 

Creative Matters designer Kayla Bortolotto carefully considered nine wool colours and three silk colours to create Crumple.

The Crumple design is the eco dye technique brought to life on a large scale - uneven edges, subtle imprints of botanical shapes, and the look of crumpled fabric that has been smoothed out. A particularly unusual and complex design, Crumple also has two pile heights giving the illusion of two rugs stacked on top of each other.

Imprint was designed by Sandra Ciganic-McKinney for Creative Matters' new Arashi Collection. 

Imprint is based on a pattern from the shibori dyeing process. "For the final design work on the computer, I did very little manipulation to the original piece of dyed fabric, said Sandra. "The colours were so warm and rich from the natural dyes, that they dictated the design." For added design interest, variation in pile height is reminiscent of a mountain range, further enhancing the organic design.

Creative Matters' new Imprint design features silk for both highlights and grey transition areas. 

The Architexture Collection also arises from an Art Day. "For this day, we first curated photographs from travels and our own urban shots. We then combined them with urban textures and patterns to come up with the designs. We also pulled in maps and everyday urban elements, like a manhole cover, and tile patterning," said Sandra. Divergent - Lavender, Divergent - Taupe, Duomo, Linseed - Rust, Scaffold - Night, and Streets of New York will launch the collection but four more designs will appear in our upcoming brochure. 

Streets of New York is a Creative Matters design developed from the idea of exploring beauty in the industrial, architectural aesthetic.

The Streets of New York is the design that sparked the idea for the Architexture Collection. "We all fell in love with the juxtaposition of the softness of the floral motif against the stark, gritty urban feel of the manhole cover," said Anna Panosyan, the Senior Designer who created this rug design. "The artwork reflects the rich cultural life of the city, layers upon layers of past and present, tradition, urbanism and futurism. I was trying to bring together different aesthetics and periods such as traditional indo-persian block print element, graffiti and industrial art in the form of a manhole cover." 

10 colours and 23 colour blends are handknotted together for the Creative Matters Streets of New York design. 

Sandra is also the designer of the Architexture Collection’s Linseed, an industrial looking design which will work well in urban homes. “It is based on a photo I took of an industrial building with a window, fire escape and writing on the wall, she said. “There is a ring of rust that adds an accent colour and loop lines that run horizontally across the cut pile - reminiscent of an old television screen.”

The Linseed design from the Creative Matter's Architexture Collection is named after one of the words that appears in the finished design. 

Linseed has already completed its months of traditional handknotting with six wool colours and an incredible nine silk colours. A full range of warm greys combines with some minty greens and the rust colour for this fresh take on an old building. 

The Creative Matters Linseed design is an industrial design that will work well in urban homes. 

Sandra, Amie Suttie, VP Ana Cunningham and President Carol Sebert will be at the New York show to present all 12 new designs.