DOMOTEX is the global meeting hub for the entire flooring industry and a major highlight in the events calendar of flooring professionals the world over. Dealers and distributors from around the globe use the show to meet up with product segment specialists and producers, make and maintain contacts, learn about new and emerging trends, and gather inspiring new ideas for their own businesses.
Preparations for DOMOTEX 2019 which will be hold on 11 to 14 of January are well in hand, and judging by the high number of exhibitor registrations received so far, it is going to be a successful show indeed. The keynote theme for DOMOTEX 2019 is “CREATE’N’CONNECT” – a bold statement that puts the spotlight on the current connectivity megatrend. Connectedness is an important aspect of flooring in the sense that floors are unifying, connecting elements of room design. It is a global platform where visitors and exhibitors can meet up and – in the words of the lead theme of CREATE’N’CONNECT.
Among the visitors who regularly attend DOMOTEX to keep up with the latest trends and make new contacts are two young rug dealers, Anna Wahdat and Katrin ten Eikelder. With their labels, On the Rugs and The Knots, they are bringing innovation and freshness to the Oriental rug business and successfully opening up new target markets in the process. Neither has a large rug showroom, preferring instead to focus on matters of quality, such as natural materials, sustainability, fair trade, and originality.
Fresh new approach from Hamburg: On the Rugs
Despite having her own label, Anna Wahdat works very closely with the more traditional family business. She also draws on her family’s contacts, such as when she works with other traders from the Speicherstadt district. “Being able to draw on my uncle and father’s stock gave me courage and security and enabled me to take my time over developing and building up my label. I still make selections from their stock, even though I now have plenty of contacts of my own.” She says. “For me, visiting the show was always a chance to immerse myself in a completely different world. Now that I’m in the trade myself, I value DOMOTEX as an important annual fixture where I can meet up with industry peers and make new contacts.” Regarding the latter, it bothers Wahdat that a number of more traditional rug dealers still rely on print ads in the local press – the kind that scream with big red letters and big discounts. “I market my hand-made originals principally online in the first instance. The main thing is, I make sure I have really good photos of the rugs, which I then disseminate via channels like Instagram and Pinterest.
The next step almost always involves direct contact. Customers can view the rugs and gain a tactile feel for the materials, at selected interior design stores in Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin. On the Rugs also rents out carpets and rugs for a wide range of event types, such as film shoots, weddings and conferences.
The Knots – for young and urban customers
Katrin ten Eikelder hit on the idea for her label while she was in New York, working as a business development manager for a German fashion company. “In New York, I saw oriental rugs in modern settings – beautiful hand-made originals of the kind that were no longer so popular in Germany.” So she put together a plan to rekindle the love of oriental carpets in Germany and headed to Berlin, where she founded The Knots in 2014. “My father is a registered expert in oriental rugs and continues to give me the benefit of his expertise to this very day,” ten Eikelder says, she also adds; “But my family background played no role in developing my business idea.”
In Berlin’s central Mitte district she operates a showroom, but for the most part she sells online, in keeping with the shopping habits of her label’s young and urban target market. “I value fair trade and working with small producers whom I know personally. I like to know where my products come from.” If you go to the label’s website, the first thing you’ll see is a slideshow of vintage carpets spread out on an urban sidewalk. Katrin ten Eikelder herself actually features in some of the product photos. The website also has a journal containing stories and styling tips on how to get the best out of oriental carpets.
The online shop part of the website features vintage and new rugs, all beautifully hand-made. Among much else, shoppers will see 80-year-old creations from Turkey and various regions of Iran that have been specially sun-bleached to create unique design effects and then re-dyed. This process is a highly effective way of transforming traditional artisan products into modern design objects. That’s because the new color is only partially taken up by the textiles, and in certain spots is not taken up at all. When Katrin ten Eikelder first started the business, bold colors like turquoise, pink and green were the top sellers, whereas nowadays her customers tend to prefer muted tones like light-blue, beige and light-gray. Her The Knots label also features Berber rugs from Morocco and the Atlas Mountains, as well as Persian, Turkish and Afghan kilims. It also includes other textile products, such as blankets and cushions. Quality and color-coordinated with the rug range, these accessory products come predominantly in natural and pastel single tones. Katrin ten Eikelder visits DOMOTEX regularly in order to keep up to date with the latest trends and developments in the carpet and rug sector.
