Capel Rugs will debut three Moroccan-inspired rug collections at this weekend’s Las Vegas Market.
All three new Moroccan collections – Bazaar, Casablanca and Sahara – explore different themes, drawing on the spirit of this culturally rich North African crossroads. Key features of the handmade collections include bold colors, intricate geometric patterns and rich textures.
“Everyone has loved the innovative colors of Bazaar and Casablanca,” said Cameron Capel, Capel Rugs president of sales and marketing. “And Sahara won favor for its fabulous luxurious hand.”
Bazaar is a vibrant hand-knotted collection. Its 100% wool design, made in India, celebrates the color and craft of contemporary Moroccan fabrics. The multi-hued color stories flow across each surface in rugged geometric motifs and painterly lines that evoke the artistic character of handcrafted Moroccan textiles. “Every rug in the Bazaar collection feels like a curated artwork – bold, layered and full of movement,” said Capel.
Putting a new spin on Moroccan-inspired hand-knotted design is Casablanca. Casablanca features 100% New Zealand felted wool that is hand-loomed in India. The rug’s design combines light backgrounds with soft greens and calming blues, accented by rugged geometric lines. “Casablanca delivers a warm, inviting and distinctly contemporary look, with the imperfect, hand-drawn lines adding texture and character,” Capel added.
Rounding out the new North African-inspired rugs is Sahara, a modern homage to Moroccan minimalism. Each rug in the Sahara collection features a clean, contemporary geometric linework set against light, neutral backdrops evocative of desert landscapes. Hand-loomed in India with premium New Zealand wool, Sahara features a thick, dense pile.
Another new hand-knotted collection being shown in Las Vegas for the first time is Tessara, made in India using 100% wool. Woven in a refined quality, each piece showcases the intricate detail and durability that defines heirloom rugs.
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Rug brand Ernesta will continue to expand its retail presence, a rollout that will total 10 new showroom openings in just 10 months.
The expansion includes new locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco along with current showrooms in Dallas, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Detroit and Long Island, N.Y.
“From the beginning, we believed customers deserved a better way to buy a rug,” said Jen Parker, Ernesta chief sales officer. “What we’ve heard consistently from homeowners and the design community is that while they love ordering from Ernesta online, they also want the ability to experience our products in person—seeing the textures, comparing constructions, understanding color and feeling the quality with their own hands. That’s exactly what these new showrooms deliver.”
Unlike traditional rug retailers that primarily sell standard sizes, Ernesta creates every rug to order in virtually any size. Since launching in 2023, the company has continued expanding its assortment, now offering hundreds of premium styles spanning wool, natural fibers, performance materials, indoor-outdoor collections, flatweaves, textured constructions and statement designs.
The retail expansion was driven directly by customer feedback. “Interior designers and homeowners alike repeatedly expressed how valuable Ernesta’s showrooms are—not only for experiencing the products firsthand, but also for discovering new collections, collaborating with design specialists, and confidently selecting the perfect rug for their space,” the company said.
“Our customers asked for more stores, and we listened,” Parker said. “The response has exceeded our expectations, particularly among local homeowners and interior designers. Each location gives us an opportunity to build deeper relationships within the market and better understand how customers want to shop and work with us.”
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Revival Rugs has launched new textural rugs, which are relevant as designers and consumers look beyond color and pattern to bring depth, warmth and dimension into a room. Across its newest collections, Revival is using carved details, recessed motifs and layered construction to create rugs that feel as visually interesting as they are tactile.
A few standout examples include:
- Etch– Hand-drawn geometric forms brought to life through texture and negative space.
- Lino– A dimensional weave that emphasizes materiality and understated depth.
- Shell– Soft, sculptural surfaces inspired by organic forms, creating movement through texture rather than bold pattern.
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Alaska Tlingit artist Jennifer Younger has partnered with American Dakota, a U.S.-based rug maker that partners with Indigenous artists, to transform traditional spruce root basket patterns into a collection of made-to-order area rugs, launching in mid-August. The collaboration brings centuries-old weaving traditions into a contemporary textile while honoring the cultural stories that inspired them.
Art has always been part of Younger’s life. She grew up drawing, painting and creating, but in her late thirties she felt a growing desire to reconnect with her Tlingit heritage and pass that knowledge on to her children. That journey led her to learn the traditional art of spruce root basket weaving.
Inspired by her grandmother, Younger said, “I wanted to help carry on her legacy and help revitalize something of her culture—which was literally beaten out of her.”
Learning about her heritage eventually became the foundation for a new collaboration with American Dakota.
“Authentic collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous creators works when you work as a team,” she says. “We’re creating something that isn’t Native-inspired but is actually created with a Native artist while respecting Native designs.”
The resulting collection draws from the geometry and symbolism found in traditional Tlingit spruce root baskets. Designs reference ocean waves, strawberries, bear tracks and sand hills while introducing those patterns to a new audience.
The Jennifer Younger collection includes four designs available in an eight-foot round, 5×8 and 8×11 sizes.
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Design Within Reach (DWR) has broadened its portfolio with an array of new product introductions, including rugs from Flamingo Estate designed by BENI Rugs. Flamingo Estate is a California-based company that makes soaps, olive oil, candles and other products from locally farmed ingredients.
Following their first collaboration in 2023, this launch marks a second BENI x Flamingo Estate rug collection, new and exclusive to DWR.
The collection intertwines both brands’ appreciation for traditional craftsmanship and objects made with a purpose. Drawing inspiration from the gardens, architecture and shifting light of Flamingo Estate, the five-piece collection includes a weft-knotted rug, lattice-knotted rug, garden ladder knotted rug, Obelisk knotted rug and Ridgeline knotted rug.
Each design translates elements of the Flamingo Estate landscape, from garden lattices and brick pathways to sculptural forms and sunlit stone, into hand-knotted rugs crafted from lustrous Atlas Mountain Wool.
The new Semita rug collection marks DWR’s first partnership with Studio & Projects. The new offerings consist of both round and rectangular shapes. Little Wing Lee, founder of Studio & Projects, designed the rugs with an effort to ground the room in the same vein as art.
The collection, exclusive to DWR, features a hand-drawn spiral inspired by kilims, constructivist paintings and the memory of a striped rug from Lee’s family home in Hawaii. Its design inspiration allows the rug to successfully balance surrounding elements within any space.
