Sunday Times Style Magazine - Floor show
With the help of their designer friends, Christopher and Suzanne Sharp have revolutionised the way we view the humble rug
Words by Victoria Stanley, Photographs by David Loftus
It’s not often that people drool over pictures of rugs, but that’s just what happened when The Rug Company launched its latest catalogue. So desperate were people to get their hands on this glamorous coffee-table tome that it even topped the wish list of a famous glossy magazine. But then, The Rug Company has single-handedly inspired a whole new generation of homemakers to covet the carpet.
It wasn’t always so, as Christopher and Suzanne Sharp, the husband and wife team who set up the company in 1997, can testify. “When we started out, the rug market was all about looking back,” says Christopher. “The only things you could buy were expensive antiques or the faux oriental carpets that your parents had bought in the 1970s. Nobody was looking forward and people were bored. It was clear to us that there needed to be a big injection of interest and design.”
Cue a collection of contemporary rugs, created by Christopher and Suzanne, together with their in-house designer, Sam Turner, that set about turning the humble carpet into a style statement. Bold prints and strong colours were married with a traditional Tibetan hand-knotting technique, matching eye-catching designs with couture quality. We’re talking big flowers, squiggly abstracts and 21stcentury patchwork. “When we first showed the Tibetan weavers our designs, they looked at us as if to say, ‘These guys are off their trolley.” Says Suzanne. “They were genuinely worried that we wouldn’t sell a single rug.”
Fortunately, the British public proclaimed them quite sane: the designs, which start at about £500 but typically range from £1,000 to £3,000 were universally adored and, within a few months, the pair were approaching some of the biggest names in contemporary design to join their rug revolution. Marni was the first to come on board and create a collection. The couple were introduced to the designer by their mutual friend Lucinda Chambers, the fashion director of Vogue. They hit it off instantly; and Paul Smith soon followed.
“We never set out to collect names,” says Christopher of the who’s who of designers on the company’s books that now includes Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson, Cath Kidston, Lulu Guinness and Vivienne Westwood. “The relationships evolved out of a shared interest in doing something different. We offer them a free rein and time out from designing frocks all day. They are attracted by our attention to detail and the fact that we like to do things properly.”
Doing things properly is a big thing for the Sharps, whether it’s photographing a catalogue (the current issue took a year to shoot), taking care of customers, who can take advantage of the “try before you buy” service and test their chosen rug in situ for a week, or looking after staff, who receive regular cinema and restaurant trips. The couple believe taking time is vital.
“There is a way of doing tings properly and that takes time,” says Christopher. “The way we do business reflects the way we make rugs. It is a slow and traditional process. People look surprised when we tell them that their bespoke rug will take four months to finish.” This, he is quick to add, is because each rug is spun, cleaned, dyed and knotted entirely by hand, in ethically sound conditions, by Tibetan weavers based in Nepal.
The couples’ people-orientated, time-rich approach has its origins in the place where they first learnt to love rugs: the souk. The couple spent their twenties working in television in the Middle East, and the colourful bazaars were where they hung out, drank tea and bought rugs. By the time they returned to London in their early thirties, they had quite a collection. They decided to quit television and turn their hobby into a full-time job. The first shop was opened in 1997, just off the King’s Road in Chelsea. Today, there are three stores in total, with one in New York and one in Los Angeles.
After a decade in the business, the Sharps’ interest in rugs shows no signs of waning. They talk about what they do with the enthusiasm of someone new to the business. “If people could see the journey that the wool takes, from a remote village in Nepal to one of the best-dressed apartments in New York, they couldn’t fail to fall in love with the rug,” says Suzanne.
What about the fact that most people find it difficult enough to stay married, let alone stay married and work together? “It’s imperative that you establish your own areas, and then try not to interfere,” says Christopher. He focuses on the say-to-day running of the business and does the lion’s share of the travelling, so Suzanne can be at home as much as possible with their four children. She takes care of the creative side of things: designing rugs, organising photo shoots and applying her enviably natural sense of style to everything from launch parties to the couple’s Notting Hill home.
The Sharps’ original mission, to shake off the rug industry’s heirloom image, has come full circle. Many of the rugs they have created are being hailed as future classics. Original versions of Paul Smith’s candy-striped Swirl, Vivienne Westwood’s ineffably British Flag and Marni’s brilliantly bold Margherita are becoming increasingly collectable. “Hopefully, people will look back on this period and see that it was an interesting time for rugs,” says Christopher.
What’s more, there is clearly no shortage of great rugs to come. Suzanne’s sketchbook is brimming with ideas from a recent trip to India; they have just started working with the former Chloe designer Phoebe Philo; and there are new sketches on their desk from Diane von Furstenberg and Vivienne Westwood.
Ultimately, however, the couple credit focus as the secret to The Rug Company’s success. Christopher says: “We set out to do one thing and we have stuck to it. We make great rugs. Not furniture, not tables, not chairs, just rugs.”
