‘Best Studio Artist Design’ Carpet Design Awards 2020
John Booth x FLOOR_STORY, Giovanni, hand-knotted wool and silk, £3,250 (160 x 216cm); floorstory.co.uk
John Booth is one of the UK’s foremost contemporary artists with an unmistakably joyous style. In his collection for FLOOR_STORY, John has bought his cartoonish style and bold, painterly colour layups, fill scribbles and graphic lines to modern hand-made modern rugs.
To capture John’s life-affirming aesthetic in its truest form, Giovanni is hand-knotted from a wool and viscose mix, the latter adding lustre to create eye-popping colour. Ethically made in Nepal by GoodWeave certified weavers, it is inspired by an existing John Booth work.
John says of his new collection, “The designs are very much an extension of my usual drawing work, and all of them are motifs and patterns I have worked with before. I chose every single colour yarn personally, by hand, matching them as closely as possible to my original design drawings, so I feel they are a true representation of my work.”
‘Exemplary High-end Webshop’ Carpet Star Awards 2020
Founded to make modern rugs accessible online, FLOOR_STORY has grown to become one of the UK’s most respected and high-profile rug retailers, known for its exclusive collaborations. Now with a showroom in East London, a brand-new website launched in September and two prestigious accolades in the Campaign for Wool’s Carpet & Rug Awards, FLOOR_STORY is riding the crest of a wave.
FLOOR_STORY’s work on collaborative projects with established designers including internationally renowned names such as Camille Walala, John Booth, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Sebastian Wrong and 2LG, along with some of the country’s most notable young design talent; has seen the retailer become a beacon for hand-made rugs as an expressive medium. Through these projects, along with its own in-house creations, FLOOR_STORY has pushed the capabilities of its craft, delivering homes modern rugs that are technically superior.
Working predominantly with GoodWeave certified makers, FLOOR_STORY is also ensuring it upholds strong ethical principles. Using only the finest wools and silks, these ethical weaving centres are also among the world’s finest makers, helping FLOOR_STORY to bring the creative energy of its collaborative and in-house projects to life.
FLOOR_STORY has transcended its original role as an online retailer and has now become a formidable maker of modern hand-made rugs with a bold, left field approach to design.
‘Designer Collaboration of the Year’, Wool Carpet & Rug Awards 2019
Wrong Angle, Sebastian Wrong x FLOOR_STORY, hand-knotted wool, from £900 (120 x 180cm – other sizes available), floorstory.co.uk
With a portfolio of work spanning furniture, lighting, accessories and gallery projects, Sebastian Wrong is a designer, creative director and specialist in modern manufacturing. In his rug for FLOOR_STORY, Sebastian explores how rugs can help to define the spaces in which we live and work.
Through tone, scale and lines, Wrong Angle from Sebastian Wrong x FLOOR_STORY, takes a novel approach to how we use rugs, working to connect spaces or frame objects. By using a community of rugs layered into interconnecting grids, Wrong Angle can work to frame a space, or simply used on its own to stunning effect.
Hand-knotted by GoodWeave certified artisans in India, Wrong Angle is crafted with 100% wool to bring rich depth to the two-tone colourway. With a low 20-knot count to give a worn-in look, the rug can be made in any size or colour.
Sebastian Wrong says on the Wrong Angle rug for FLOOR_STORY, “This is the realisation of a project that I had begun some years ago. The design is intended to frame a floorspace, allowing endless configurations to be aligned or layered and providing a place for furniture or objects to be connected into a grid pattern. The idea works as a group of rugs or just one and with or without furniture.”
‘Hand-Knotted Rug’, Wool Carpet & Rug Awards 2019
Marmalade, Carmellia Indrawati x FLOOR_STORY, hand-knotted wool and bamboo viscose, £725 per m2, (£4,500 for 220 x 300cm) floorstory.co.uk
A self-confessed daydreamer, Carmellia Indrawati takes a whimsical approach to design, bringing splashes of bright colour and a touch of playfulness to all her pieces, exemplified in her award-winning Marmalade rug for Carmellia Indrwawati x FLOOR_STORY.
Marmalade was inspired by the architecture of London, particularly the Art Deco cinemas and Tube stations that impressed the Indonesian designer when she first arrived in the city, and blends a 1920s aesthetic with a 1970s retro feel. At once sleek, glamorous and joyful, thanks to its vibrant teal colourway, it’s the perfect eye candy.
Recent recipient of the ‘Hand-knotted Rug of the Year’ at the Wool Carpet and Rug Awards, supported by the Campaign for Wool, Marmalade is ethically hand-knotted in Nepal by the world’s finest artisan rug makers from a combination of wool and viscose.
Carmellia Indrawati, says on her Marmalade rug, “Marmalade was inspired by London. The city has a wide range of architectural styles, but Art Deco stood out the most for me when I first arrived; I was floored by the fact that there’s an Art Deco building on almost every corner. I’ve always been attracted to the sleekness and balance that Art Deco architecture embodies.”
