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Zollanvari Celebrates 75 Years by Learning from the Past and Looking Toward the Future

To say Zollanvari has a long and rich history would be an understatement. The 75-year-old company is known for designer and tribal Gabbehs, flatweaves, and decorative objects, such as mafrash coffers that come in all shapes and sizes.

Its mission today, as it was when it started way back when, is to produce carpets that embody the spirit of Persian carpet design and weaving, an extraordinary art form that has been treasured across the world for more than 2,000 years.  

It seems like yesterday my child was still sitting on my lap while watching cartoons. Though it saddens me to be helpless in slowing the clock hands of time down, I find new pleasure hearing his future thoughts and plans. Today he is a fine young man ready to enter this next phase of life. The business guy within me can already see the emerging marketing campaigns geared specifically in his direction. For those risk-takers, I offer up great kudos. They are the ones who realize today’s casual spending youths are tomorrow’s growth sustainers.  

In most industries, targeting and forecasting comprise the foundation for potential spending, both planned and unplanned. Actually, there is a certain excitement when we peel the various layers of potential back from two current generational sales onions. 

Nourison and HGTV star Nicole Curtis partnered to create a line of vintage-inspired Persian rug designs for a new collection that debuted at the fall High Point Market. A few months back, Nourison announced it was partnering with Nicole Curtis, a designer and HGTV star of Rehab Addict Rescue and Rehab Addict, on a new collection of accent rugs, area rugs decorative pillows, and more.

­­The women in top executive posts within the area rug industry make up a small but mighty group. A historically male-dominated field across domestic manufacturing to importing firms alike, our industry has been slow to promote female leadership into the C-suite.

Sadly, we’re not alone.

Female participation in the workforce hit its lowest rate this year since 1988 due in part to the pandemic. In the U.S., COVID-19’s impacts translated to five million-plus women pushed from their jobs.

In the Winter 2022 issue of RUG INSIDER Magazine, one of the questions explored is that of the New Traditionals, as the question is asked, are today’s buyers sticking with Modern designs and colors, or are they returning to more Traditional styles?

For many years, the trend in the area rug trade has been to move away from Classic Traditional Designs, with their bolder colors, centralized stylistic elements, and busy fields, and to move toward more Modern designs, which tend to be characterized by softer, more subdued colors, and decentralized, uncluttered designs, often taking an Abstract form.

Interior designers talk about rug trends and explain how manufacturers can better help designers with rug needs.

There are rug people—those who love funky designs and bright colors—and then there are not rug people—people who enjoy a simple, solid design with a nice border. But regardless of the person, rugs have graduated from simply being an accent to being a full-on statement piece in most people’s homes; They change the entire look of a room.

Redone. Restored. Brought back. Revisited. Choose your own synonym for borrowing from classic style. Whether rugs, furniture or fashion, designers adapt traditional patterns in new colors, materials, finishes or techniques to suit modern tastes and to meet consumer demands.

Samad’s Kuma in Oyster from the Caspian Collection is a perfect example of such an adaptation in a new colorway. The reimagined Khotan from French Accents, which keeps true to antique weaving techniques, is modernized by “simplifying core patterns, colors and weaves.” Majestic Oushak from Harounian Rugs International (HRI) includes four classic designs from the company’s library of traditional designs—vibrantly recolored. 

out·spo·ken  /ˌoutˈspōkən/
direct and open in speech or expression

Launched in April 2020, the inspirational hair-on-hide artistic rugs of Be OUTSPOKEN gained fast recognition—garnering five coveted home decor awards. This fall in High Point, the company will debut a special edition monochromatic series for its CHOOSE TO SHINE signature art design. Gold hues to warm light browns were created in custom pigments specifically for the colorway of the hide.

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