By Deena Bouknight
HIGH POINT, N.C.—Economic woes and a decrease in traffic did not completely dampen rug exhibitors’ enthusiasm at the International Home Furnishings Market here. It was business as usual for many who participated, and the assortment offered in most showrooms fell in line with the current home furnishings stance of focusing on primarily classic looks at the lower-and mid-price points, with some room for novel statements at the top.

Instead of coming out with entirely new lines, many rug exhibitors tended to add to existing collections already selling well on retail floors. Or, they offered market specials as well as merchandising support. “We didn’t have any new introductions,” said Bryan McIntosh of Dalyn Rug. “But we did offer support to retailers with two new displays aimed at stores able to only merchandise rugs in smaller square footage areas. One of the displays is for custom area rugs, while the other unit is for our stock collections.”

Mohawk added Meadow Creek to its Woolrich Home Lines. Constructed of 100% wool, the design is staggered stripes of khaki, dark brown, hunter green, rich burgundy and black. The company also presented Shady Run, a hounds tooth pattern, and Rockwood, a bordered design. Both of these are made of 100% handtufted wool.

Martha Stewart Rugs, manufactured by Safavieh, also expanded its line with 14 designs. Among the new styles are two hand- tufted rugs. Damask is a cut-pile, hand-tufted in India and featuring honeycomb and sage colorations in a classic motif. A standard size retails for around $900. The wool used to make Arcadia is hand-spun and hard-twisted to give the rug an aged appearance.

Feizy concentrated on time-honored designs in its Ustad Collection. As is indicative of the current direction in home furnishings, this collection balances tradition with innovation to provide a familiar, yet updated look. Explains Steve Sorrow, vice president of product development, the pure wool pile of each piece in Ustad creates a harmonious blend of modern style and classic design. A standard size in this line is approximately $900.

Sorrow and others said the housing slump clearly had an affect on the market. However, many point out consumers who cannot and will not purchase an entire room of furnishings will more likely invest in an area rug to freshen their décor.

Three new groups were added to Feizy’s Fine Rug Collection. Bandu showcases intricate traditional designs handknotted in pure, hand-spun New Zealand wool; Asali shows Indo-Pakistani designs hand-knotted in a closely shorn pile, and Mata Hari has a zero-pile floral design hand-knotted and highlighted with silk accents. A 6 x 9 of these high-end rugs retails for $2,700, $2,376 and $3,132, respectively.

“We’re still doing well at the high end,” said Sorrow.

Finally, some exhibitors used color to turn heads. This was the case, as well, in upholstery. Reported Mike Delgatti, Southern Furniture: “Our strategy is that during the time when most companies are very conservative in their approach to fabric, it is the perfect opportunity to bring fresh looks to stimulate excitement, not only with dealers but also with consumers.”

Likewise, Company C, never afraid of color, introduced Modern Tropics in a bounty of such fruity hues as watermelon, kiwi and mango. Its Sachi Pink accent rug garnered attention not only for its fuchsia and light pink over-scaled floral print on an espresso background, but for the fact that 20% of the retail price of each rug will be donated to support breast cancer awareness, research and education. Sachi Pink is hand-hooked and made of 100% wool.