Three of our H+K designers were either finalists or winner of the Designer Rugs Evolve Awards and we often design rugs for projects – a good starting point for our own collection! I wanted the Hare + Klein collection to representative of our talented design team, so everyone was invited to participate and we ended up with more than 60 concept sketches. Designer Rugs designers Lia Pielli and Christine McDonald with their considerable experience, helped in the initial edit of concepts, and the final selection was made with the help of David Clark. We’ve ended up with 7 designs, from 6 of our team linked by a common theme of texture, something we embrace in our interiors.
Which are your rugs? Shadows and Memory
What was your concept? Shadows – The idea for this rug was born out of a cast of shadows on a concrete driveway. I captured it on camera, and thought it would make an interesting rug design. Memory – Textiles are one of the core elements we use in our designs so, over many years, I have built up a memory bank of colours, patterns and textures – this became the idea behind this rug.
How did you develop your design? I spent a few pleasant weekends developing both these, and other, designs in watercolour. Having designed many rugs and carpets over the years for projects, it was a new experience to design without a brief – the creative licence was scary, and liberating at the same time.
How was the texture worked through your design? Somehow the uneven effect of watercolour conveyed the concept of texture that I envisaged for both rugs. Lia Pielli from Designer Rugs introduced us to the possibilities of dyeing wool and hemp using an age-old Nepalese technique of vat dyeing called Abrash, creating textural effects, and then by adding bamboo and silk into the mix there was a wonderful palette of colour and texture to work with. In Memory, I mixed pure solid colour in silk and wool, with Abrash wool mixed with hemp, creating a contrast of texture.
What did you learn from the overall process? Translating the artwork into colours and different materials is the business end of the process! It took time, patience and sometimes a re-think before handing the finished design over to Designer Rugs. The transition from a watercolour painting to a computer-generated design is a great leap of faith, but I had worked with Lia before, which made it less scary! The difference in designing these rugs was the artisan nature of the weaving and dyeing and I had to learn to embrace the resultant uncertainties.
How does it feel to see the finished product? To be honest, I find it difficult to be objective about my rugs, but I am delighted with the collective range, as I think that each designer embraced the weaving techniques and possibilities that they created. Thank you to Lia who was pivotal in making this collection happen.
The Hare + Klein Designer Rugs Collection is available From Designer Rugs.
Photography by: Jenni Hare