“I adore the Middle East, so it’s a treat to come back,” he smiles, running his fingers through slightly unkempt hair.
It was on one trip to the Middle East that Chris’s interest in rugs was first piqued. “Twelve years ago my wife Suzanne and I were living in Saudi Arabia. There was little to do so the souqs became our second home,” he explains. “We started collecting rugs, which fast became a hobby.”
It wasn’t until they returned to London in 1997 that their passion bloomed into a business venture. “We wanted to do something together and kept seeing depressing rug shops with ‘Half-Price Sale’ signs, and knew we could do better!” he says. Realising their newly-found expertise, they opened their first shop in London producing rugs that were “beautiful, original and distinctive”.
The early years were tough, but with the couple’s artistic flair, business savvy and endless love for the craft, they made The Rug Company a success story.
“We love what we do and we have a fantastic team of designers,” Chris says. “It’s a real renaissance period for the rug world, so we want to reinvent it, do something different and make it interesting once again.” In the shop, with rolls of neat, wall-mounted rugs hung on display in a vivid array of eclectic colours, shapes and patterns, that ‘something different’ is choice.
“To start with, just Suzanne and I designed. But then we took it to the next level, asking designers to create their own collections.” Marni was first, followed by Diane Von Furstenberg, Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith.
“I saw Paul in his shop, asked him to design a rug for us, and voilà!” Chris clearly has a knack for spotting winning collaborations, as the Paul Smith ‘swirl’ rug is their bestseller. They now have 30 artists and designers signed up, continuously creating stylish, innovative collections.
So they headed to Dubai, a city riding high on the Western world’s design coat-tails and home to the company's first Middle East store. “We’re always looking to expand and Dubai is very much the place to be right now as it’s modern and experimental,” says Chris. “Chicago, Sao Paolo and maybe Abu Dhabi are next. Then hopefully Egypt – I love it there!”
With shops all over the world and a host of rugs with stunningly original designs, there’s something for everyone, even the pickiest of buyers. “People rarely know what they want until they spot a pattern they like, then ask who designed it?”
So how would one know what to buy? “Firstly, work out whether the rug will build the scheme or be a part of one, complementing something existing or taking centre stage. Also think about size – go too big and you’ll swamp a room, but too small can look silly.” According to Chris, you can use rugs to break up a room and create different spaces.
With so many styles on offer, Chris recommends always trying a rug first. “They aren’t disposable purchases as they last hundreds of years, so always test a rug at home first.” Liking the rug is vital, especially considering the care that goes into making each one. “Each rug is handmade, with 80 per cent of them coming from Nepal and the rest from China, India and Iran.
They’re all made slightly differently; Nepalese rugs use Tibetan wool and knots, taking approximately four months to complete. Iranian rugs have tighter knots, which can take eight to 12 months,” he explains. “It’s slow, but it takes time to make something worthwhile.”
With the creative side left to Suzanne, Chris often travels to Nepal to keep track of production. “It’s fascinating to see the manufacturing, especially the dyeing and colour mixing. It’s like a chemistry lab with bubbling pots!” The Nepalese factory employs over 3,000 people, making it the country’s third largest employer.
“Nepal is an extremely poor country, so we’re offering vital, yet responsible, employment,” says Chris, who’s heading back to make a film about the rug-making process. It certainly is an interesting one, starting from sheep wool being brought into the factory to be washed, cleaned, hand-spun, dyed and knotted. “It’s very organic and you get a much better finish.” It is this quality and finish, combined with the modern spin they’ve put on their rugs, which sees people queuing up to design for, and buy from, The Rug Company.
With several stores in Los Angeles, Chris has a list of celebrity fans. “We do sell to well-known customers, and our rugs were used in the Sex and the City movie, which was great product placement!” So where to next? “The White House. I’m a huge Obama fan and I’d love to see a Vivienne Westwood Union Jack in there!”
With a potential foot in The White House door, designer Alexander McQueen creating his first collection, and new stores opening worldwide, The Rug Company has achieved much since 1997. “There’s a lot still to do,” Chris smiles. “We’ve had an incredible journey, but as our rugs last forever, hopefully people will still be collecting them in 50 years' time!”
