Design
Nordic Knots
Loops in green, also available in beige, red, and yellow. From the collaboration with Giancarlo Valle, the rug is crafted from New Zealand wool with a cut-off corner design. The design was inspired by the hand-painted furniture in Valle’s home in Latin America.
Image courtesy: Nordic Knots, photographed in Hälsingland, Sweden
Nordic Knots rugs are inspired by Scandinavia’s lights, colors, and landscapes. Founded on Scandinavian’s tradition of (courtesy of Nordic Knot’s website) “functional design with a minimalist aesthetic.” Nordic Knots was founded in 2016 by Fabian Berglund, his wife Liza Laserow-Berglund, and his brother Felix. At the time, Fabian and Liza were living in New York City; the pair had come to realize that the market was lacking quality rugs with great designs at reasonable prices.
The three founders all came from different professional backgrounds; Fabian was a creative director at an advertising agency, Liza worked in antiques and interior design, and Felix was a former professional poker player who evolved into an e-commerce entrepreneur. Fabian said that the three wanted to bring “some of what we love about Scandinavia to the rest of the world.”
Buds rug in Falu red, a design from Giancarlo Valle’s new collaboration with Nordic Rugs.
Image courtesy of: Architectural Digest, photographed by: Magnus Mårding
The company uses only high-quality materials, and all the rugs are designed in the company’s Stockholm Atelier and handmade by weavers in Bhadohi, India. The company is a proud partner of Goodweave™, a certification that ensures the rugs are made by adult artisans. In addition, Goodweave™ is committed to ending child labor and offering educational opportunities in weaving communities throughout the world.
Nordic Knots rugs offer a Swedish aesthetic; a style that is well curated and minimalist. For Liza, high design runs in her family; her mother is one of Sweden’s leading antique dealers. Liza and her mother, Karin, own Laserow, a beautiful store that sells high-end Swedish antiques made between 1500 and 1850, as well as offering interior design services for residential projects.
Family Rug in Antique White. The rug is part of a collaboration with Arjé.
Image courtesy of: Arjé
Traditionally, rugs and curtains have played a big part in Swedish home design. What began out of necessity, (to keep the cold out) turned into functional design over time. At Nordic Knots, it takes a year for a specific design to find its way onto a rug. With inspiration collected and defined, (courtesy of an interview between Bonnie Langedijk and Liza for Hura) “we think about how it’s going to be marketed. What photographers do we want to work with? And is there maybe a furniture collector, or a stylist or homeowner we want to work with who fits with what we’re trying to do? From there we create the designs. You design it 2-D, and you add the texture to it after. That’s when it really comes alive. With this process you really get closer to our client, in the early stages. That makes the design process much easier.”
Oftentimes, rugs are the last thing people think about when furnishing their home… it is almost an afterthought. However, Nordic Knots hope to turn the process around. The company’s rugs are a breath of fresh air in a market that is still considered traditional.
Face Rug in Warm Ochre. The motifs are inspired by the works of Cubist artists… fragmented expression and abstracts.
The collaboration with Arjé launched in April. About the collaboration, Bessie Afnaim Corral and Oliver Corral of Arjé said, “The concept of home is a deeply significant one for practically every human being. Some of us have always known what it is, some have found it after a long search, while others are still looking.”
Image courtesy of: Arjé
Two new collaborations have flung Nordic Knots further into the spotlight. The collaboration with Giancarlo Valle was inspired by folk traditions. Specifically, it was a visit to a grouping of ancient farmhouses in northern Sweden where the walls were painted and the woodwork had whimsical design that served as the inspiration. Valle told Architectural Digest, “We were almost trying to throw design out the window.” Valle’s own doodles of hands, loops, and buds lay the groundwork for the new rugs.
The notched corners provided a bit of formality to the rugs that are available in four colors. The designs, though non-traditional, are not uncommon for Sweden. Such motifs date back to the Middle Ages when trade routes brought Eastern textiles and artisan craftsmanship to Northern Europe.
Elder 01 in black, photographed in Antwerp, Belgium. Rugs available in black, navy, terracotta, and olive. The contemporary design is made from high-level craftsmanship; it is composed of minimal patterns and muted hues. The rug is hand-knotted from Sardinian wool using artisanal weaving techniques.
Image courtesy of: Nordic Knots
Giancarlo Valle’s collaboration with Nordic Knots ensued in a display of Guatemalan and Scandinavian design aesthetics. The bold rug collection was, in part, due to Valle’s international upbringing; the designer was born to Peruvian, Italian parents and raised in San Francisco, Chicago, Caracas, Venezuela, and Guatemala.
Valle noted (courtesy of Architectural Digest), “Folk traditions exist in every culture. It’s almost like a universal language. We wanted to distill that down into its simplest form.”
