Source: Contract magazine, November 2012
Contemporary tapestries for the floor, these rugs from Spanish company Gandia Blasco give new meaning to “knit one, purl two.” Traditional crafts and woven arts, in fact, continue to resurface with modern twists in the furnishings market, and some undoubtedly influenced the dimensional pieces released this year by Gandia Blasco’s flooring division, Gan Rugs.
Canevas, designed by Charlotte Lancelot, plays on cross stitch and embroidery techniques. Its wool felt ground measures 5 feet 7 inches by 7 feet 11 inches and sports a grid of perforations through which vibrantly colored yarns weave a series of X’s. The Canevas design is also translated for poufs and generous cushions. Meanwhile, the low-and-high-pile Hidra evokes block printing in a combination of neutral and primary colors. Designed by José A. Gandía-Blasco, the wool rug sports raised, ornate diamond motifs that create a relief or frieze-like surface. Hidra comes in two sizes: 5 feet 11 inches by 7 feet 11 inches and 7 feet 5 inches by 9 feet 10 inches. And the in-house designed Trenzas features a large-scale, stockinette-stitch pattern. Its high-pile wool on cotton backing feels like a hand-knit sweater underfoot, and its neutral palette of ivory, taupe, and brown make it versatile for a range of settings. Trenzas measures 5 feet 7 inches by 7 feet 11 inches or 6 feet 8 inches by 9 feet 10 inches; a 7-foot-5-inch- diameter round version is also offered.
Other recent offerings from Gan Rugs are equally visual and textural, drawing on geometry, symbols, crochet, and quilt and patchwork design.