Malcolm Sims CTexT FTI, international textile consultant, reports:

Wool made its presence known at this year’s Harrogate Carpet Show, the most important trade show for the UK carpet industry.

With the Campaign for Wool and the newly formed Wool Carpet Focus Group maintaining a high profile, with eye-catching images and wool facts handouts, the Focus Group’s strap line ‘It’s cool to buy wool’ generated significant interest. Wool carpet manufacturers described the show as ‘most positive’, with a number of new wool products introduced.

In keeping with the trend of recent years, variations of stripes continued to make a stylish impact. Alongside creative Axminsters and Wiltons, colourful heathers, classic high twist and velvet products struck a positive note. Natural heathers, which rely on non-dyed coloured wools, were on show in a range of structures.

The UK has always been a strong market in terms of colours, generally offering the widest range of wool carpet colours in the world, and this year’s Flooring Show was no exception. While commonly it is 20% of the colours that give 80% of the sales, with beige and its variations still dominating, the wide range of boldly coloured stripes for hallways and staircases offered an inviting opportunity for the introduction of other colours in other rooms.

Texture in wool carpets was also presented with great effect, not only in cut pile with combinations of high twist yarns and low twist, but also with a multitude of loop pile structures, using big loop/small loop effects or high loop/low loop constructions.

Visitor numbers were up by 9% on last year, with over 170 exhibitors from 16 countries. The UK market is a vital market for wool yarn and carpet, and there are good indications that current retail carpet sales are strong.

For international companies that can provide creative wool products, the UK carpet market represents a substantial opportunity.

For more information on trends, trade show reviews or product development contact me at   malcolmsims@malcolmsims.com