NEWH - Fall 2021 - 58

COVER STORY
Collaborative Service
Drawing on its long manufacturing history, Ulster Carpets helps clients tell their stories
By Alia Akkam
Photography by Todd Kaminski/Kaminski Studio, and courtesy of Richmond International/Rosewood Miramar Beach, and
Ritz-Carlton Berlin/G.A Group
B
ack in 1997 when Richard Wilson first started at Ulster Carpets, his
family's company-nearly 60 years old at the time-was " largely
focused on making traditional, running line products for sale through
a dealer network in the UK and Ireland, " recalls the company's now president.
" Manufacturing is still UK-based and both family ownership and the retail
business remain constants, but today Ulster is also a service-focused
hospitality vendor, which exports the majority of the goods it produces. "
behemoth Price Waterhouse prior to Ulster, so " coming from a business
rather than a design background, I saw Ulster as an industry-leading
manufacturer, " he explains. " Now I understand Ulster is a service provider,
and that carpet is the medium through which our collaboration with the
hospitality design industry is showcased. Watching a project move from
inception to completion is so exciting. "
Hospitality is at the core of Ulster (myriad casino, marine, and residential
developments are also part of the mix), which partners
with brands including MGM Resorts International and
Graduate Hotels and recently collaborated on such
properties as Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee,
Hotel ZaZa Austin, the Rosewood Miramar Beach in
Montecito, California, and Hilton Vienna Park in Austria.
One of the reasons designers are drawn to Ulster's
Axminster and Wilton carpets is the streamlined
manufacturing operation the company controls
completely, from sourcing the quality wool and spinning
and dyeing the yarn to weaving the custom carpet in
Northern Ireland-a central location that facilitates short
lead times for customers. Another boon is its embrace
of PSYLO, the weaving technology that Ulster patented
in 1999 to allow for more intricate designs flaunting a
greater spectrum of color. " There is no need to repeat
patterns, " assures Jeff Vecchiarelli, vice president of
design and marketing. Based in the Marietta, Georgia
office with Richard, the former interior designer and
senior director of design management, architecture, and
construction at Starwood Hotels & Resorts joined Ulster
in 2020.
" We work extensively with the design firms and
Above: The bespoke carpet at the Drake, Chicago illustrates Ulstern Carpets' meticulous design capabilities.
George Walter Wilson, Richard's grandfather, founded Ulster Carpets in
Portadown, Northern Ireland, in 1938. That original, still-thriving headquarters
has since spawned offices across Europe, North America, and the Middle
East, employing some 600 people. Along with its main production plants,
Ulster Carpets Group encompass the wool processing company Ulster
Yarns; Danish carpet manufacturer Danfloor; technical textile machinery
manufacturer Ulster North East; and luxury design brands Roger Oates
and Mourne Weavers. Richard had just finished training at the accounting
ownership groups to find their inspirations, craft a
bespoke carpet design, and then manufacture it for
them, " explains Vecchiarelli. " Some will provide us with
concept imagery, others go through our online design
portal and ask us to reimagine a pattern from there. They are telling us a
story, and our designers are reinterpreting it. "
There are also no design constraints. " We have designers who come up
with cutting-edge concepts. There is no limit to their creativity, but there is
subtlety. Carpet is essentially a flat product, and the ability to use texture,
color, and adjacencies can create something special. A beautiful product is all
about proportion, value, and tone coming together to create the art of Ulster, "
Vecchiarelli adds.
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