Mill guide · For the trade
emma gardner design rugs: a designer's guide to the patterns, the knotting and where they belong
emma gardner design rugs are hand-knotted wool and silk rugs from a design studio founded in 2002 in Petaluma, California, each pattern made to order in the size and colors a project needs by a GoodWeave-certified producer in Nepal. They are for the designer who wants a graphic, playful or quietly drawn pattern in a Tibetan-knotted rug, recolored to the scheme, rather than a ready-made rug chosen from a rack. Interiors carries 141 emma gardner design patterns, every one a custom rug, on the emma gardner design brand page, with complimentary samples for approved trade accounts shipped from the mill.
The studio
Emma Gardner Design is a rug design studio founded in 2002 by Emma Gardner, a former magazine editor and illustrator, and her husband, Patrick McDarrah. The illustrator's hand is the point of the line. The studio partners with one of Nepal's leading Tibetan carpet producers and is GoodWeave certified, which means no child labor, no forced or bonded labor and documented workplace conditions, a line item many firms now need on the spec. Every piece is hand-knotted. Fibers are Tibetan and New Zealand wool and Chinese silk. In our catalog, 103 of the 141 designs are wool blend, 36 are wool and 1 is silk, and 140 of the 141 are recorded as hand-knotted, with 128 at a low pile to 0.30 in. All 141 are made in Nepal.
What we carry
The 141 patterns divide by what they draw. By our catalog, 53 are abstract and modern, 32 geometric, 24 floral and botanical, 19 textures and 8 traditional. The playful, graphic designs, Jester, Foxy, Funky Damask and Block Print, sit beside quieter pieces such as Ribbon and Wildflower, and any of them can be recolored for a client. Hand-knotting is what makes that possible: each knot is tied by hand around the warp, so the weaver can follow any drawing and any palette. A low pile keeps the drawing crisp and the rug thin at a door, and silk in a wool blend gives the lighter areas of a pattern a sheen. Widths are not fixed: there is no roll, so ask us for the spec sheet on a specific pattern if the project has a maximum dimension to meet.
Collections to know
emma gardner design is organized by pattern rather than by named collection, so the brand page is the catalog. Sort it by pattern family. Designs we carry include Jester, Mandarin, Foxy, Plaid, Funky Damask, Block Print, Ribbon and Wildflower, each available in custom sizes and colors through our Design Studio. For a scheme that needs the rug to be the room's one strong move, start with the abstract and modern and geometric groups; for a rug that sits under a scheme, start with the textures.
Where it belongs
A hand-knotted wool rug belongs in a living room, a dining room, a bedroom, a library or a primary suite, anywhere the floor is seen and walked on in dry shoes. Wool is resilient and cleans well, so a living room rug from this line takes a family's traffic. Keep the silk and the wool-and-silk blends out of a dining room where chairs drag and spills are routine; they belong in a bedroom, a dressing room or a formal sitting room. The graphic patterns, Jester, Foxy and Block Print, work in a child's room, a playroom or a den where the rug can be the scheme; the florals and the quieter Ribbon and Wildflower drawings sit under a bedroom or a living room scheme without competing. Because every rug is drawn to size, a hall or a landing can take a runner in the same pattern as the room it leads to.
Custom rugs and runners
Every emma gardner design rug is custom. The pattern is the starting point; the size, the shape and the colors are the project's. We draw the rug to the furniture plan in our Design Studio, recolor it to the scheme, and the studio produces a rendering, then a woven strike-off, then the rug. A runner, a round, a rug with a cut-out for a hearth: all are drawn the same way. Designs created with Interiors are made through Interiors.
How to order through Interiors
Interiors is a to-the-trade showroom for interior design professionals; we do not sell to the public. emma gardner design samples are complimentary for approved trade accounts and ship from the mill within 24 hours. Net pricing is quoted by the showroom; there is no public pricing. Because every rug is custom, the order follows the Design Studio process: rendering and net quote in about two weeks, a woven strike-off in 4 to 6 weeks, production in 18 to 20 weeks, and the ship date is provided when the design process is complete. We install anywhere in the United States through our installer network.
| Styles | 141 |
|---|---|
| Types | Custom rug (141) |
| Fibers | Wool blend (103), wool (36), silk (1) |
| Constructions | Hand-knotted (140) |
| Widths | Made to size; ask us for the spec sheet on a specific pattern |
| Made in | Nepal (141) |
| Availability | Custom (141); low pile to 0.30 in on 128 |
Questions designers ask
Are emma gardner design rugs good quality?
Yes. They are hand-knotted in Tibetan and New Zealand wool and Chinese silk by one of Nepal's leading Tibetan carpet producers, and the studio is GoodWeave certified. Hand-knotting is the most durable rug construction there is; a wool piece from this line is a decades-long floor. Sample first for color, since wool and silk take dye differently.
How much do emma gardner design rugs cost?
Net pricing is quoted to approved trade accounts; we do not publish prices. Cost is driven by size, by fiber, with silk and the wool-and-silk blends above wool, and by the knotting density the pattern needs. Send us the plan and the pattern and we will return a rendering and a net quote in about two weeks.
Where are emma gardner design rugs made?
In Nepal. All 141 patterns in our catalog are hand-knotted by the studio's partner producer there, which is GoodWeave certified. The studio itself was founded in Petaluma, California.
Where can I buy emma gardner design rugs?
Through trade showrooms such as Interiors. We carry all 141 emma gardner design patterns for interior design professionals, with samples on the floor in the Laguna Design Center, and we install anywhere in the country. Samples ship from the mill to your office.
Can an emma gardner design pattern be made as a runner or in custom colors?
Yes, that is the line. Every pattern is made to order in the size, shape and colors the project needs through our Design Studio, a runner for a hall or a stair landing included. The rendering comes first, then a woven strike-off in your colors, then production.
What is GoodWeave certification?
GoodWeave is an independent certification for handmade rugs. For this line it means no child labor, no forced or bonded labor and documented workplace conditions at the producer in Nepal. It is the line to cite when a client or a firm's sourcing policy asks how the rug was made.
How long does an emma gardner design rug take?
About two weeks for the rendering and net quote, 4 to 6 weeks for the woven strike-off and 18 to 20 weeks for production, with the ship date provided when the design process is complete. Order the rug when the furniture plan is fixed, not when the install is scheduled.