Kickstarter project pays homage to NYC with handmade rugs

By BrickUnderground | September 16, 2015 - 12:30PM

At first glance—or, given its presence on Kickstarter, first pitch—this project by Floorplan Rugs appears to have all the makings of a typical, Pinterest-ready hipster project. But it's actually backed up by a fascinating backstory: cities immortalized in modern rugs made by weavers from Pakistan, India and Turkey with a long history in the trade interpreting the concepts of architects and designers.

Traditionally, rugs of this type provide a visual narrative of the cities that have inspired them. And if NYC—subject of legions of books, movies and TV shows, good and bad—can't generate rug designs, what other metropolis could? The result: six different patterns that do actually capture that certain, undefinable NYC spirit and, perhaps even more important than the idea, will look good in many city apartments (and help you stick to the 80 percent rule—which, self-explanatorily, means residents are supposed to cover 80 percent of their floors to minimize noise—many co-ops and rentals have.)

See two sample patterns—Chants and Maze—below:

The rugs lean toward the spendier end of the spectrum—a 3-foot-by-5-foot one starts at the $149 pledge level for a flatweave design, and a hand-knotted six-foot-by-9-foot one in the confetti pattern is gettable for $2599—but given the materials and the care that will go into the making of them (be forewarned: it takes an average of nine months to make one), the pricing makes sense. (If you're not ready to commit to a rug, posters and T-shirts are available for pledges below the $149 level, too.)

For more on the project, whose campaign ends tomorrow, September 17, check out Floorplan Rugs' video pitch:

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