Delicate Matters

Before we even began designing Delicate Matters, it was important to us that this collection be special, since it marks the debut of a new, beautiful wool yarn we will be using for all hand tufted rugs going forward. Only the longest and finest fibers of New Zealand wool are selected, and due to its fineness the yarn takes color with more vibrancy and sheds much less than other wool hand tufted rugs. We initially wanted to highlight this exciting development with dramatic flourish, and, in its first life Delicate Matters (then untitled, but in no way delicate) was packed with every opulent, jewel toned color we could think of. When we got the samples back we saw just how (eye-poppingly) vibrant the colors were and we realized that we wanted to celebrate our new elevated materials not with extravagance but with subdued glamour.

And what movie epitomizes subdued glamour more than American Gigolo? We often joke that it’s our favorite movie that we don’t like very much. But every time we start to dig into its flaws - it’s humorlessness, for one - we find ourselves coming to its defense, in the way you do for certain family members or your hometown. Because the film isn’t just beautiful, though it is that. It is truly stylish, poised between perfectionism and effortlessness. Yes it’s dated (you may want to do yourself a favor and google Richard Gere’s exercise scene) but only because nothing seems quite so glamorous anymore.

As with the original collection, we envisioned the American Gigolo diorama house as a palace of excess. If something wasn’t silver, it should be gold. If it wasn’t velvet, it would be fur. Enormous paintings in gilt frames of bored people on the walls - rugs on the wall too - and a glass bottomed conservatory patio. The only thing we left out was the exercise equipment (really, google that scene).

Photography: Jonathan Hökklo