Atlanta—A line from an old Rolling Stones song perhaps best summed up the mood of sellers at the end of July’s Atlanta International Rug Market: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need.” The summer market, traditionally slower than its January counterpart, was no different this year, but vendors appeared to be happy with the outcome when looking back at the event. “We had two really good days. You wish every day could be great, but that’s not always going to happen,” said Rob Beistline, marketing manager for Milliken Carpets. He said Monday and early Tuesday were his busiest days, but many buyers left early Tuesday evening when most of the temporary booths also emptied out.

At Momeni, Ray Eshani, vice president of sales of the New York-based company, was still hustling around the showroom Wednesday morning, always ready to make another deal. “Traffic was down, but for us it was a very good show. When people showed up, they bought from us. We had a very good Sunday and Monday.” And Eshani had a very simple philosophy when describing why he was remaining busy even though most of the customers were all but gone: “Good people, they stay,” he said. Beistline said the overlapping of the rug market with the annual Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market likely improved foot traffic.

That pairing is not coincidental, according to Chas Sydney, senior vice president of floor coverings and vice president of new business development for AmericasMart, which hosts the biannual event. “We try to make it as convenient as possible for everyone,” Sydney said about the timing of the markets. “Time is money to them and we know that floor covering ties into home furnishings.” Many vendors, he said, reported stronger sales of machine-made rugs this year. Overall, he said, the show went well.

Amir Loloi, owner and president of Loloi Rugs, had only good things to say about his new machine-made offerings. The company’s Stanley collection, decidedly traditional, comes in six sizes, are made with polypropylene and have a suggested retail price of $399 for a 5X8-ft. That collection, Lo-loi said, sold well during the market. “The market was good,” he said. “Overall, we did what we expected, but we did really well with the Stanley collection.

The Dallas-based company has been in existence for only one-and-a-half years, Loloi said, and the first six months of 2005 went well. “It’s been a challenge, because we’re a new company, but we’ve just had to overcome those challenges.” Not afraid to be different the company showed off a shag line in its Boyd collection. The wool rugs come in four sizes and seven different colors and retail for $495 for a 5X8-ft.

Dalton-based Shaw Living also reported a strong show, largely because of an expansion to its Mary-Kate and Ashley Home Collection. TV’s Olsen twins are growing up, and new additions to the collection reflect a more mature look in the rug line named after the siblings. While targeting the younger home décor market, these newest designs can work in trendy interior settings for all ages, said Kimberly Barta, brand manager for Shaw Living.

The new designs, range from Boogie Blocks, a solid background featuring rounded blocks of dramatic, undulating color, to Wall-flowers, a floral design in two color combinations. These printed nylon rugs are available in 3X5-, 5X7 and an 8X10-ft. sizes, with a suggested retail for the 5X7-ft. of $199. “The new offerings are more sophisticated,” said Barta. “They’re working the living room and the bedroom and getting away from the pink and other youthful tones that dominated the early collection.”

Aside from new offerings in the Kathy Ireland First Lady Line, Shaw also showed off something a little different during the show—Quilts of Gee’s Bend. The rugs, based on handsewn quilt designs from Gee’s Bend, Ala., come in five standard sizes and retail for $449 in a 5X8-ft.. Barta, too, said sales were good despite the slower foot traffic that summer brings. “As expected, traffic for the summer rug market was down compared to the winter rug market. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of traffic in the Shaw Living showroom Sunday through Tuesday,” she said. “Overall, we were pleased with the outcome of traffic and sales for the market.”

Milliken unveiled six designs with five colors for the July rug market in its Pastiche and Innovations collections, all based on a contemporary look. “Our biggest thing is, we offer choices,” Beistline said. “In our catalog we can offer a customer 7,500 choices based on design and size.” The first four months of the year were strong, he said. “Then in May we hit a wall.” He said things started picking up in June, and that in all, sales were ahead of where they were last year at this time.

He said one trend he saw throughout the first half of the year was customers buying smaller sizes to save money. That, Beistline said, is normally a measure of the economy. “When you see everyone buying smaller sizes, you know something is going on.” Milliken also released new patterned braided rugs in four oval sizes and a round. “These new designs are exciting because of the endless combinations they present,” Beistline said. “As we look to expand this line, we will combine many other patterns and designs with the braid to give consumers extensive options.”

John Shepherd, CEO of 828 International Trading Co., said the market went really well. “The crowds weren’t huge but they were buying, and it seemed a lot of people stayed in the showroom longer, plus we had more repeat buyers.” The company touted its new Calandrea and Mystique lines during the show, both 100% wool in more than 24 colors and five sizes. Like many, he said the first six months of 2005 were kind to the industry. “We’re considerably ahead of where we were last year, but there has been a slow down recently.” Shepherd said that often happens in the summer, attributing it to vacation time.

Sphinx by Oriental Weavers introduced four collections at the Atlanta show. The Cache Collection fosters a Tibetan look in 100% handcrafted wool from China. A 5X8-ft. retails for $399. Legends is reminiscent of antique Persian carpets with hand-twist construction that creates the look of heirloom knotted rugs. The 100% wool offerings also go for $399 in a 5X8-ft. Also new from Sphinx at the show were its Grandeur and Supernatural collections.

The Grandeur line offers open traditional patterns in 100% handcrafted wool at a bargain price of $199 for a 5X8-ft. “It was a good show for us,” said Mike Riley, executive vice president of sales for Sphinx. “There was high interest in a lot of our handmade lines.” He said Monday and Tuesday were very good days. “We had most of our appointments set for Tuesday,” and many of those buyers were looking for something new. “These days you have to keep rolling out new products. That’s just the nature of the market.”

Mohawk Select rolled the dice this summer and issued two new designs in its Metropolis collection that take advantage of the poker craze sweeping the country. Game Night is a textured black and red design that resembles the look of a poker chip. Decked Out, with a similar black and red color scheme, features the overall look of playing cards. Both polypropylene patterns come in three sizes—a 5X8-ft, an 8X11-ft., and an 8-ft. round. Retail prices range from $199 to $299. Aaron Gray, territory manager for Mohawk Select, said he was happy with the show. “Sunday and Monday went really well. A lot of people came in and did place a lot of orders,” Gray said.