FLOOR_STORY
Founder Simon Goff
020 7871 3013
team@floorstory.co.uk
www.floorstory.co.uk
@floor_story
Hi Simon, can you introduce us to Floor Story. Who are you and what do you do?
We are designers and manufacturers of hand-made, high-quality rugs – most of which are produced as a result of a collaboration, with either a well-known or more obscure creative/designer. We are known for a left-field approach to our processes and much of our collection is colourful and pattern-led. We have just opened a brand-new space in Shoreditch which is also a gallery for our pieces and is shared with Trifle*, a Workspace Design agency who also created the space for us both.
Your website describes you as London’s friendliest rug dealer. What makes you stand out from other flooring companies?
We take a different approach to the design and also the marketing of our rugs – firstly aiming to work with people who haven’t made or designed rugs before and also with our storytelling, which is often communicated through films. The finished rugs are a close collaboration with our internal studio and are developed together from a concept – this means we don’t ever just invite someone to design a rug for us. We believe rugs are architecture for the floor – to be touched as well as walked on and this is reflected in the tactility of each piece. We know for example, that choosing a bespoke rug can be a bit daunting, so we try to make our processes accessible through how we communicate to our customers, both online and in person.
Floor Story is positioned as a design-led flooring brand. In reality, what does this mean and what can customers expect to find from you?
The team at FLOOR_STORY are all encouraged to seek out design through events, magazines, exhibitions – so that we can filter this through to who we choose to collaborate with and the final designs themselves. We have a very eclectic collection which means there’s something for all tastes but most people who come to see us, already know what we are about and are looking for something a bit different.
As well as your own in-house design team, you also collaborate with established designers, like Henry Holland, Emily Forgot, Zandra Rhodes and Kangan Arora among others. How do these collaborations come about and what do you look for from these designers?
We always like to find people that are doing something unique within their field, and from this we work together on a concept which is then interpreted into a rug design. So, we want people who have an interesting story and approach to design - for example the Henry Holland collection began from a pattern which Henry had created in his new ceramics range, but which also reminded him of 80’s and 90’s rave iconography. A time and scene which really resonated with us.
What size are your rugs and is it possible to specify a custom size for a smaller, awkward space?
We can create pretty much any rug to any size - although there are some standard sizes, yes. Our rug, your way.
Each Floor Story rug is Goodweave certified. Can you tell us what that means and why it’s important?
We work with teams in India & Nepal who produce our rugs with us, they are very much part of FLOOR_STORY. GoodWeave means that no child labour was used in the making of our rugs, the weavers have good working conditions and are fairly paid.
For 2022 / 23 what is ‘on-trend’ for rugs? Is there something new from Floor Story we should look out for?
In terms of trends, we don’t really follow any, but we are always happy to see an increase in colour in living spaces and particularly with rugs, which we think will continue into 2023. We have some exciting collaborations in the pipeline for 2023, so watch this space – but we can share news of an exciting and ongoing project with 90’s pattern pioneer Eley Kishimoto and a series of wonderful rugs, each telling a story of their own. We will reveal these at Maison et Objet, Paris in January and are really happy to have a presence here, as we are great fans of the event and its’ creative direction.
How can we view your rugs in person?
Our website is actually fantastic, but it’s always so much better to see the rugs in real life. The tactility is really important and something you can’t see in imagery. Also, the detail that can be achieved from different pile heights and yarns, or methods of production. The colours in most of our rugs are extremely rich and vibrant – again photography doesn’t always do this justice. Our new showroom holds every design – either as a full-size piece, or sample. Our new rug wall houses 244 samples and we rotate the rugs on the floors and walls, on a continual basis like a gallery.