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Safavieh launching O'Brien rug line

By Lissa Wyman -- Furniture Today, January 8, 2006

Port Washington, N.Y. — The debut this month of Safavieh's Thomas O'Brien rug collection marks the company's first licensing collaboration with a designer.

The O'Brien collection encompasses a group of 11 designs in a total of 29 colorways. The rugs are hand knotted in Nepal in a blend of hand-spun Tibetan wool and silk. The patterns include a range of cut and uncut pile textures. Suggested retail for a 6 by 9 size is $1,850.

For Safavieh, the Thomas O'Brien launch represents the kickoff of a new division of designer carpets, said Arash Yaraghi, a Safavieh principal. The company will introduce the rugs at the Atlanta market, Jan. 19–22.

"When we began planning our designer collection, we immediately thought of Thomas O'Brien for his wonderful style," said Yaraghi. "He knows how to select a beautiful rug to complement all of the other elements in a room, and his own rugs bring an approachable modern perspective that the design community wants."

O'Brien and Yaraghi met more than 20 years ago when Safavieh sold principally classical antique carpets and O'Brien was just getting his start in interiors.

O'Brien said he has been a loyal Safavieh customer ever since.

"To do a collection in a new design category, you really want to be assured of the integrity of the goods you'll be producing, as well as the label they'll be shown under," said O'Brien. "With Safavieh, I knew I would be able to do rugs that were really special and of wonderful quality. I've always valued the company's sophistication and scope, in all of the carpets I've purchased from the Yaraghis over the years."

O'Brien's designs straddle modern and traditional design genres. His collection for Safavieh includes Art Deco linear motifs, abstract Moroccan geometrics and lavish free-form florals.

"I'm drawn to patterns that are versatile, that might look more traditional in a modernist room or more innovative next to traditional, period furnishings," he said. "I didn't want to do very plain, unembellished rugs for this collection. What's modern to me isn't austerity —it's a sharper focus on shape and line, scale and coloration, and the character of the material itself."

Yaraghi described O'Brien's rugs as original and surprising, but also as having an heirloom quality. "I hope this collection helps to shape people's attitudes about how classic and beautiful modern rugs can be," he said.

Safavieh combines a retail rug and home store division with a rug and home furnishings wholesale business.

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Safavieh launching O’Brien rug line

Jan 13, 2006

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