Known for its home accessories and furniture collections, Uttermost will break into the area rug category this month at High Point Market.
The initial launch of 91 designs is handmade in India and will include brightly colored flatweaves, wool and viscose handtufted rugs and handknotted rugs in soft, worn patinas. Each design will come in three or four sizes, and retail prices will range from $199 for a 5-by-8 to more than $4,000 for some of its 10-by-14 handknotted rugs. While the design emphasis will be on transitional looks to accommodate a wider range of interiors, there will also be traditional designs in cleaner patterns.
The company shows in the International Home Furnishings Center, Commerce #448.
“Our rugs are designed to complement the styling and feel of our line, but we didn’t design specific rugs to go with specific items in our line,” said Mac Cooper, president. “We wanted to give our customers an incredible selection to easily coordinate with our furniture and accessories, but not be exact coordinates or too matchy...Customers have been asking us for rugs for years and I think they will be pleased.”
By market, the new rugs will be either in stock or “on the water,” Cooper said. He added that he wanted to start with handmade rugs but would consider machine-made ones in the future in order to hit a more price-sensitive part of the market.
Uttermost will also offer a rug tower display with 16-by-16-inch swatches to retailers, as well as swatch-only programs with either 16-by-16-inch or 6-by-6-inch swatches. Designs can also be viewed in the company’s catalogs and on its website and iPad application.–Andrea Lillo