About Michael Bauer
Michael Bauer has been a leader in the interior design/home industry for over 20 years, including his recent 10- year employment as VP of Business Development for Design with the Dallas Market Center. Now with Feizy Rugs as Director of Trade Relations, his main objective is to support the national Interior Design Community in all aspects of the business of design. Michael has been the recipient of the Kathy Hammond Industry Partner Award with American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the ASID Dallas/Fort Worth President’s Award for Outstanding Service and Support and the Legacy of Love award from DIFFA Dallas. He is also the Past President of the DFW Chapter of Interior Design Society (IDS) and continues as Board Advisor. Michael now holds an executive seat on the national board of directors for Interior Design Society (IDS).
About Feizy Rugs
From Old World to New World and everywhere in between, we offer handmade, machine-made, and One-of-a- Kind rugs meticulously designed and handpicked to suit an eclectic, discerning, and dynamic world. As this ever- changing world unfolds, we evolve with it, bringing newer collections showcasing the best in style, craftsmanship, innovation, and technology. The consumer demands such versatility, and we deliver without compromising the integrity prevalent in the most exclusive to the most affordable of our offerings. The same passion for rug making that began in 1973 can be seen in every knot, every tuft, and every finish of our luxury Fine Collections as well as our more accessible Lifestyles Collections.
Key Take Aways
We asked Michael for some key takeaways from the event.
What are the several types of rug constructions that Feizy produces?
Michael: We have rugs in various constructions including hand knotted, hand tufted, hand loomed, and machine made. Hand knotted pieces are a great versatile option, they are a great solution for any area as they withstand high traffic for 20 or more years. They can be made from any fiber needed for that piece (wool, silk, jute, cotton, etc). Hand tufting is one of the oldest rugs making techniques dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries in Persia and parts of the Middle East. Tufted pieces are typically compiled of wool but can have viscose/silk details or be completely viscose/silk in some cases. Hand tufted performs well in almost any scenario including high traffic. Hand looming is a manual weaving technique using vertical or horizontal looms and done by highly skilled artisans. Lastly let’s talk about machine made. When selecting a machine-made piece one of the things that is most enticing is being able to pick from the latest design trends and colors. They are typically made of synthetic fibers which gives them exceptional value for the price point. However, you can find wool and silk machine made as well.
Examples of areas these are a great option are high traffic, children’s areas, and indoor/outdoor scenarios. Machine made rugs give designers flexibility for the client who may not be able to make those large decisions easily.
What is the difference between Wool and New Zealand Wool?
Michael: The most common fiber used in hand made rugs is wool. Wool has great qualities for interior design projects, one of them being natural and renewable. As for properties of the wool itself there is not a difference between the New Zealand and other wools. The difference for New Zealand wool and other wools is how the sheep live in their environment and how the wool is sheared. New Zealand sheep live free range, and the shearing process is delicate and precise. This makes New Zealand wool a more expensive option, but often a better quality.
What are the distinct types of rug designs?
Michael: Traditional, transitional, and contemporary. Let’s start with the basics of traditional design. There are
different “flavors” including French, Italian, English, Middle Eastern, Spanish, etc. These flavors are exceedingly difficult to mesh as we all know. Some characteristics of traditional are color, we see lots of color. Symmetry, rarely do we see an asymmetrical in traditional. Same goes for rugs in this category. They will most often be an ornate symmetrical design with a lot of color. Transitional is often an “anything goes” kind of world. Because this is a mixed style between traditional and contemporary there is a lot of room for interpretation. Rugs in this category may have a symmetrical traditional style design but be more neutral in color pallet. Here are some examples of transitional rug designs. Contemporary spaces and rugs are most often done in your neutrals – whites, greys, beige and then accented with pops of color. They are clean in pattern and not cluttered. A contemporary rug may often show a design as a whole piece not repeated in a pattern. Your contemporary rug can either stay in the neutral family, or it can be that pop of color that creates the life of the space.
What colors are most popular currently with rug shoppers?
Michael: Everyone we talk to keeps hoping to get away from gray and blues but, they are still working across the board. We were excited to see green come back in the fold and continue to see varying shades there and in addition, we are seeing some color pops happening in design as well which is one of the drives behind our Pryor Collection highlighted at Las Vegas Market this past January. Obviously, we have all seen some pink enter the show from last year and now we are seeing the 2024 Pantone color of the year ‘Peach Fuzz’ become more prominent and we have those colors in various rugs.
Tri-Supply was very happy to host this continuing education unit and we have more planned in the very near future. If you’d like to attend those events, please let us know, and we’ll share the upcoming continuing education units schedule with you.