Walter Knoll's CEO Reveals How Trips to Africa Inspired New Rug Designs

Culture Trip: So how did the ‘Legend of Carpets’ collection come about?
Markus Benz: ‘Travelling gave me the basic inspiration for the collection – I’ve visited many places in Africa, including Namibia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. These landscapes are so rich and I enjoyed every one of them, but what I learned from the native tribes in particular – and not just in Africa, but also in India, and South America… I also talked to Maoris in New Zealand and Aborigines in Australia, is that they all have something in common. Every culture has its own specialisms in craftsmanship so when I was researching how to make a rug I discovered the traditional Tibetan hand-knotting method, which became a really important part of the process.’

CT: Why was that?
MB: ‘I wanted the product to be something that you would like to inherit and that could be passed down from generation to generation. A rug is an investment in itself, but also is a symbol of the investment of time, dedication and craftsmanship that has gone into it from the person who crafted the piece; there’s often at least 18 months to two years’ work gone into each individual rug.’

CT: Can you explain the design process from inception to completion?
MB: ‘The first experience I had in Africa was in Marrakech, so we visited the city and took inspiration from the people, the landscape and the light. We did a lot of research into the traditional Berber rugs and a friend pulled me through all the souks, which was a wonderful experience. Shortly after that we went to Namibia and then Botswana and suddenly the picture was clear in my mind of what I wanted to portray, so I had a discussion with my artist friend Helmut Scheufele and he made drawings based on my descriptions and the photos I took of these landscapes that I found on my travels, which were then translated into the rug designs.’

Find out more about the new collections that launched at Milan Design Week here.