Designer Rugs is marking 40 years with a charity auction that brings together six distinctive voices from Australian design, fashion and art. Catherine Martin, Akira Isogawa, Silvana Azzi Heras, Greg Natale, Louise Olsen and Ken Done have each created a one-of-a-kind handknotted rug, with proceeds directed to a charity personally selected by the designer.
The six works span a broad range of references. Martin’s Dianthus, inspired by historic crewel and Chinese embroidery, supports the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, while Isogawa translates two birds from a hand-embroidered wedding dress in his archive into Wedding Birds, supporting BirdLife Australia.
For Ruby Rising, Azzi Heras draws on her own experience of surviving cancer to create a flourishing garden motif, with proceeds supporting the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick. Natale’s Passi, meanwhile, takes cues from the Italian passeggiata, translating stone staircases, stepped geometries and arches into a graphic composition supporting PROJECT ROCKIT Foundation and its work to prevent bullying.
Related: The sustainable side of furniture
Nature provides the starting point for the final two works. Olsen’s Nature’s Rhythm captures the movement of birds and insects through colour and pattern, supporting the Bob Brown Foundation, while Done’s characteristically vivid Studio Reef looks beneath the water to fish and coral, with proceeds supporting the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
All six rugs measure 240 by 300 centimetres and have been handknotted in wool, with several designs incorporating silk. Each carries a reserve of $10,000.
“For 40 years, our work has been shaped by collaboration and a belief that good design can do good in the world,” says Designer Rugs Managing Director and Co-Founder Yosi Tal. “This auction brings those values together, allowing collectors to own something extraordinary while supporting causes that matter.”
The online auction is now live and closes at 10pm on the 15th of October.
View the Designer Rugs 40th Anniversary Charity Auction.
Designer Rugs
designerrugs.com.au
