Exploring Liberty’s Oriental Carpet Room
Our cushions can not only be found online but also nestled in at the exquisite and magical Oriental Carpets and Rugs Room situated on Liberty’s fourth floor. Liberty was founded on bringing goods from the East to the West, making the Carpet room the oldest department. Bruce Lepere, the carpet buyer for Liberty, hand picks every piece found in store. Traveling everywhere from the Khyber pass and the Dasht-e-Kavir desert, to the bazaars of Peshwar and the Hindu Kusht mountains to find the worlds best oriental hand made carpets, he stocks over 4000 unique and different pieces. Each rug is an individual work of art - hand woven using methods and skills passed down through the centuries. Each pattern as unique as the tribes, traditions and weavers themselves, each telling their own story through their work.
Last year, after leaving my role as a print designer for Cath Kidston, I not only worked with Phil but also as a freelance print designer. One of my first projects was with the wonderful Bruce, the carpet buyer for Liberty. Having previously designed a rug for Bruce, while working for Liberty, he briefed me to create a new design - something I was both extremely honoured and excited to work on. With the trusting and open brief of 'a floral', I turned to our very own beautiful English gardens for inspiration. The outcome was a tangle of colourful flowers and foliage hand painted in watercolour, full of energy and movement. It was this original rug design that we reworked into a fabric print for our own collection. Currently being hand woven, our rug will be joining the cushions later this year and we can't wait!
Bruce has a wealth of knowledge, years of experience and an overwhelming passion for what he does, usually specialising in antique pieces, we are delighted to have our cushions sitting alongside such beautiful and unique finds. We thoroughly recommend popping in to visit Bruce and his team, not only is the department a thing of true beauty but you will be welcomed, educated and entertained. With each rug holding its own intriguing story, it's an awe-inspiring place not to be missed.
'I love working with young talented people and in Keighley and Phil we have found the best of the best. Both totally devoted to their design projects, it has been totally inspiring to see the outcome of my original brief to something exquisite and beautiful. I hope and trust to continue to work with them on many new projects. Truly amazing and inspiring lovely people’ Bruce Lepere.