Anglo-Irish Luke Irwin has had a varied career, from the world of theatre, PR and antiques when a chance meeting at a lunch party in Dorset in the UK had Luke sat next to a 12 year old boy. The boy engaged in conversation with Irwin regarding his father who owned three mills in Napal, and was regarded as a Tibetan master weaver. This chance meeting struck Irwin with the Eureka moment that we all dream of…. and well the rest is history. Luke Irwin is now one of London’s leading contemporary rug designers and has now opened his first showroom on London’s famed Pimlico Road.
Pimlico Store – Source remodelista.com
Of course the chance meeting did not automatically just happen, there was a lot of thought and investment behind his belief. It took a while to get that inspiration…especially given Luke had no actual design experience…. for the first collection. It was not until a trip to France that he finally came up with the idea for his first collection which was based on the ideas of ariel views and crop circles….. draining the last $15,000 from his bank account Luke set off to visit the Tibetan to commission his first collection of rugs.
![[irwin1]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-PU746_irwin1_G_20110925150645.jpg)
Source wjs copyright Tobias Harvey
Luke Irwin’s collection has expanded to include ikat, geometric, floral, animal and children’s patterns. His client list is as diverse as his bespoke offerings, including rock stars and royalty, East End artists, West Country aristocrats, The Whitehouse and Russian oligarchs.
“Rather than running his showroom like an office, he ushers clients toward his 1960s Willy Rizzo desk, from which he offers coffee and cigarettes. (This might be the only store in London where customers are free to smoke.) The overall effect feels more like catching up with a friend in a drawing room than conducting a business transaction. And rather than piling his rugs up high like more traditional dealers do, his pieces are hung from the wall like works of art. No two rugs are the same; each one is designed to order and handcrafted with colors, weaves and textures chosen by Irwin and the client.” source WSJ Magazine
So here are some of the collections. I love the worn in look of the Ikat range, and the manhattan lady walking her dogs in a quirky kind of way….. which ones are your favourite to lie on?
“IKAT RANGE”
“GEOMETRIC RANGE”
FLORAL RANGE
“ANIMALS”
AND DON’T FORGET THE CHILDREN
This Sydney Life
August 30, 2012 at 8:40 am
BCD – as ever, a wonderful find. I don’t know how you keep doing it, my friend. I think my favourite is the 1st one in the ikat range… perhaps I am more traditional than I imagined!
birdcagedesign
August 30, 2012 at 9:33 am
They are my favourite too….I think I like the fact that they are a bit aged so you feel less nervous about them!
EverydaySparks
August 30, 2012 at 5:13 pm
These are great – I’m more of a geometric and florals gal myself…but I must confess that my favourite is marked for the children – I love those ducks!
narhvalur
August 30, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.
apartments i like
August 31, 2012 at 3:22 am
That first on makes my eyes do strange things…I like it! All the design are quite unique. Really love the flag with doves design.
twoblackdoggies
August 31, 2012 at 9:51 am
These are awesome, really love the floral and animal designs.
birdcagedesign
August 31, 2012 at 10:02 am
They are beautiful aren’t they, really hard to choose!