Monday, January 25, 2010

Design Rug Little Field of Flowers


Tord Boontje's 'Little Field of Flowers'
Modern Rug from the Nanimarquina collection Spain

In 1987, Barcelona-based designer Nani Marquina established a textile and rug design studio. Since 1993, the company’s designs have been manufactured in northern India. Marquina has devoted her career to promoting sustainable ethics in production. Her definition of “sustainable” applies both to materials (her rugs are mostly biodegradable, and one, Bicicleta, is made from recycled bike inner tubes) and to fair labor and trade practices. One of the most popular design rugs in the Nanimarquina collection is the Little Field of Flowers rug, the first rug by Netherlands-born, England-trained, France-based Tord Boontje.


The Little Field of Flowers rug is made using felt strips, lending a texture that is very soft and pleasant, yet strong. A little space for day dreaming. With 'Little Field of Flowers' you’ll feel as if you’re resting in a cool meadow on a hot summer's day - your own small place for relaxing and daydreaming. It has a certain lightness to it which creates a comfortable environment.


Tord Boontje's 'Little Field of Flowers'
Modern Rug from the Nanimarquina collection Spain

Following the philosophy of Studio Tord Boontje, this design gently softens angles, finding its inspiration in nature and playing with shapes and layers to seduce your imagination and awaken your emotions.



Tord Boontje's 'Little Field of Flowers'
Modern Rug from the Nanimarquina collection Spain

Little Field of Flowers is hand loomed from 100% New Zealand wool felt which is hand dyed.


How the Little Field of Flowers rug is made

From an article in Dwell which explains how this rug is made: depending on the size of the rug—they come in three sizes—one or two technicians operate the loom, which involves painstaking manual labor. “Every two or three lines,” Nani Marquina explains, “we insert a pair of die-cut flowers. They are fixed through a wool thread that is woven between the flowers and the base.” The technicians follow an intricate pattern, much like in knitting, which graphically conveys the intended location of each distinct flower pairing. They can produce one rug in a seven-hour workday. “It wasn’t easy,” Marquina remembers, “to find manufacturers willing to take on this project—it’s quite complex.”

The Nanimarquina rug collection is sold in the USA through Stardust.