Tappeti marks 20 years of bespoke rug design

Published

29 July 2026

By

At Paddington Town Hall, the Australian rug studio reflected on two decades of bespoke design with an event that brought its archives, collaborations and making processes into motion.

Tappeti has marked its 20th anniversary with Teatro Tappeti, an event held at Sydney’s Paddington Town Hall last month.

Founded by Karinna Gobbo in 2006, the studio has grown from a bespoke rug business into a design house working across residential, commercial and hospitality interiors in Australia, Singapore and further afield. Its rugs and carpets are developed through an in-house design studio and produced by specialist weavers in Nepal and India using hand-knotting, tufting and looming techniques.

The anniversary event drew on the atmosphere of historic Italian theatres, reflecting Gobbo’s heritage and the studio’s emphasis on colour, texture and storytelling. Clients, architects, interior designers, artists, makers and collaborators gathered for an evening that considered the relationships behind the company’s development.

A runway presentation became the centrepiece of the event. Rugs from Tappeti’s collections and bespoke archive were reinterpreted through fashion and movement, allowing their scale, pile and material qualities to be viewed away from a conventional interior setting.

The selection included designs developed with First Nations artists, alongside signature pieces created with Sydney interior design practice YSG. The presentation highlighted the varied sources that have informed Tappeti’s work over two decades, from contemporary Australian art and interiors to longstanding exchanges with makers and practitioners across Asia.

“I founded Tappeti in 2006 with a vision to create original, design-led rugs that bring colour, texture and meaning into beautiful spaces,” says Gobbo. “Twenty years on, we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with fibres and design.”

While the evening looked back across the company’s archive, it also reflected the collaborative structure of bespoke rug production. Each design moves through several hands, from creative direction and material selection to dyeing, weaving, carving, binding and final installation.

That process has remained central as the business has expanded. Tappeti’s work continues to sit between product design, textile craft and interior architecture, with rugs developed for specific spatial conditions as well as broader collections.

After 20 years, the studio’s next phase will build on those relationships while continuing to develop artist-led collections and custom pieces for projects in Australia and overseas.

Tappeti
tappeti.com.au

YSG
ysg.studio