From September 13–15, 2025, COVER Connect New York welcomed more visitors than ever before. COVER Connect Las Vegas at tise—
The International Surface Event—happens January 27–29, 2026. The next Manhattan edition will take place September 26–28, 2026
BOUYANT MOOD AND NEW INTRODUCTIONS
The fifth edition of COVER Connect New York—the leading trade show for handmade rugs and highend carpets, organised by COVER—concluded on Monday afternoon after its three-day run from 13–15 September 2025. The b2b show attracted more than 400 accredited professional visitors from across the USA and beyond; attendee numbers were up more than 13% on last year’s figures. These figures and the buoyant mood experienced at the Metropolitan Pavilion and The Altman Building during the show form a solid retaliation against the mild pre-show air of uncertainty amid the current unsettled political and trade situations unfurling in the USA, Nepal and other rug producing countries. Rug buyers serving the high-end luxury market in North America still want access to the finest woven products on the market today and these were available in droves at COVER Connect New York.
The nine new brands for the 2025 edition appreciated the especially dedicated audience seeking a focused buying experience. Couristan is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary with an increased focus on hand-knotted qualities; Olker was pleased to encounter the strong turn out on the East Coast following their COVER Connect debut on the West Coast at COVER Connect Las Vegas in January. Outdoor rugs were represented more strongly with specialists Via Star Rugs and Outalux exhibiting in The Altman Building’s lower level. Also new for 2025, modern hooked rugs were presented by The New England Collection.
A few notable rug introductions from returning exhibitors included Paulig’s multi-yarn two-tone flatweaves and complex soumak weaves from Knot & Co. Commanding artist collaborations came courtesy of Wool & Silk with Paddy Cohn and Knots Rugs with Sarah Bopp and Beñat Olaberria; Zollanvari celebrated the launch of its Pacific Northwest collection by Carmen Andonian and welcomed a renowned Japanese TV personality to the show to film proceedings. Tamarian’s wonderfully witty Rug Store design formed a backdrop to various happenings over the course of the show such as the cutting and distribution of a perforated LSD-inspired rug delivered alongside its newest pieces from Nepal.
VISITOR & EXHIBITOR QUOTES
“I love that the show is in NYC!!! We love our annual visit. The party on Sunday night is always so great to spend time with our rug friends!”
— Tara French, The Scarab, CCNY 2025 Visitor
“I love this show, and always get a lot out of it from a product sourcing to general networking and social interactions.”
— Anna Augusto, Augusto Fine Rugs, CCNY 2025 Visitor
“Great show, lots of traffic and all our main clients were there.“
— Jaime Crespi, Pampas Leather, CCNY 2025 Exhibitor
“We love participating in this show; it’s where we had our break out session last year. This is our community and we love being here with everybody.”
— John Thompson, UnderItAll, CCNY 2025 Exhibitor
“This show has been especially good. We’ve had over 35 separate companies come and visit us here and most of them have placed orders, so it’s a resounding success.”
—David Samad, Samad Rugs, CCNY 2025 Exhibitor
“CCNY is a great opportunity to connect with new and current colleagues, peers, and clients. We were really happy with the show this year. Lots of old and new connections, which is the most important feature of the event.”
— Ali McMurter, Creative Matters, CCNY 2025 Exhibitor
“We had a great time at COVER Connect New York following our debut at COVER Connect Las Vegas in January. We’ve had customers here, we’ve had tonnes
of meetings and there is a real buzz for what we’re building.”
—Tom Strachan, Service Buddy, CCNY 2025 Exhibitor