Narrative Threads Blog
Scroll through our Narrative Threads blog to enjoy behind-the-scenes insight on special projects for leading interior designers and architects.
Scroll through our Narrative Threads blog to enjoy behind-the-scenes insight on special projects for leading interior designers and architects.
Creative Matters was thrilled to participate in COVER Connect New York for the fourth consecutive year. Hosted by COVER magazine, this boutique trade show presents a curated selection of handmade floor coverings from global rug brands. This year, we enriched our collections with a stunning array of meticulously crafted designs and sophisticated new colourways, expanding the Vista, Vanguard, Arcadian and Macrame collections.
For the third consecutive year, Creative Matters had the pleasure of participating in COVER Connect New York, a boutique trade show for top-tier global rug brands, hosted by COVER magazine. This year was our most momentous show yet, unveiling three new collections: Vanguard, Arcadian, and Vista. Additionally, we unveiled our collaboration with Burdifilek and presented new additions to our Sonance and Macrame collections.
Creative Matters is committed to the earth and the people on it. Our 2023 Sustainability Report highlights this commitment, exploring our current and forward-thinking practices for ensuring sustainability, fair trade and corporate social responsibility.
As the demand for Creative Matters’ carpets continues to increase so must our design team grow bigger. This year we have 13 designers not including our three Partners (Ali, Ana and Carol) who still love to fit in some design among their other responsibilities. We asked each designer to select their favourite 2022 carpet and they came up with 12 different answers, testament to the diversity of our creations.
We are delighted to present Creative Matters’ twelfth and most recent collection of handknotted rugs. Yet another outstanding contemporary compilation of carefully considered designs brought to life in Tibetan wool and Chinese silk by the artisans of Nepal.
In 2021, Beckford House, located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, underwent an impressive renovation. Working directly with Studio Sofield, we designed eight custom floor coverings specifically tailored to the unique spaces of Beckford House. We created handknotted, handtufted and woven Axminster floor coverings to complement the residential building’s interior.
Our most recent project reveal comes from Mexico City where we collaborated with Chapi Chapo Design on some amazing floorcoverings for the presidential suites, guestrooms, corridors and ballroom for the new Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Orchestra is one of our most popular designs, so it was no surprise when our client in Paris selected it for their stunning salon. The design - released in 2013 as part of our XXV Collection - is available in both a dark and a light version.
There are now 10 full collections and two smaller collections. Assembled over the last 14 years, they are a wellspring of Creative Matters’ techniques, sensibilities and ideas. How to make your way through what are now 79 designs? We asked Vice President Ana Cunningham - who has contributed to several of the collections - to guide us through them.
Welcome to Halcyon, our most recent collection. We’re excited to show off the new images here along with insights from the design team behind these works of art. The beautiful fair trade rugs themselves are now proudly on display in our new studio.
With the launch of our new website this week, we welcome the arrival of our first-ever Creative Matters online shop. Savvy consumers and rug investors will now be able to view and order a contemporary, handcrafted Creative Matters collection rug with a click of a mouse. Previously our collections were only available from select retailers, through an interior designer or very rarely from a pop-up store near our studio.
Welcome readers from around the world. We hope this issue of Narrative Threads finds you, your families and colleagues well. To show you how we’re managing, how our colleagues at mills in other parts of the world are faring, and what we can do together to keep our international community strong, we bring you this update.
Erica and Alan McLaughlin undertook the revival of an old home in Winnipeg's River Heights neighbourhood. They spent a good year refinishing and updating the rooms, and once complete, were ready for the final touches.
Rug designer may not sound like a career path that involves a wide variety of international travel but at Creative Matters it surely does. As in many jobs there are trade shows to attend, but what really racks up the passport stamps are the trips we make to supervise production of our rugs.
Imagine our delight in 2017 when New York’s Gachot Studios invited us to create all the floorcoverings for Detroit’s new 129-room Shinola Hotel, one of the many projects that are creating massive renewal in the city.
In 2018 we were delighted to participate in a project that required 97 handknotted rugs. Until this year, we have assigned handknotted rugs to our trusted fair trade suppliers in Nepal and India. In 2018 however, we had the good fortune to work with a slightly different style of handknotting and create an incredible opportunity for Afghan women.
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.
After creating carpets for high-end retailers around the world - Printemps in Paris, Bergdorf Goodman in New York and Gucci in 40 locations - we welcomed the opportunity this year to design for Canada's own luxury retailer, Holt Renfrew.
The Perennial Collection of wool and silk handknotted rugs first hit the floors at the New York International Carpet Show in September 2015. We then proudly displayed seven more designs at the European shows in early 2016.