Next month the 86th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles, and once again we hold our breath in anticipation of Australian’s being announced as Oscar winners.

One firm particularly excited about the March 2^nd event is Australia’s Designer Rugs, a principal supplier of set dressing for Baz Luhrmann’s block buster, The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby, image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures © 2013 Bazmark Film III Pty Limited

Enjoying a long standing partnership with Catherine Martin, production and costume designer on the film, Designer Rugs’ expertise was called on by Martin to assist in the design of and managing the manufacturing of some of the film’s most eye-catching set pieces.

The Great Gatsby, image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures © 2013 Bazmark Film III Pty Limited

Three gigantic, intricate, custom rugs were made for the film, overseen by Lia Pielli, one of the Sydney-based Senior Designers at Designer Rugs.

Designer, Catherine Martin

Working with Martin and her team at Bazmark, Pielli expanded on the pieces in the Designer Rugs Deco Collection by Catherine Martin to supply one-off pieces that would set the backdrop for pivotal scenes in the film.  Rumour has it that the film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio, was so taken with the enormous “Westchester” piece in his character’s bedroom set that he had it shipped to his home in the United States!

Deco Collection, image courtesy of Designer Rugs

This March, Martin is nominated for two Academy Awards, having already won the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for production design in Sydney this week – testament to the calibre of the Australian production and set design talent in this country.

Designer Rugs
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