Fine Furnishings: Safavieh at Home
In the past thirty years Safavieh has come a long way from an artisan family business to a high tech corporation with very sophisticated operations in terms of manufacturing and distribution. They’ve grown from one showroom on Madison Avenue to become an international player with half a million square feet of warehouse space and their own manufacturing facilities on three continents. They now drop-ship thousands of packages daily to end-use customers on behalf of retailers in all 50 states, plus Canada, South America, Europe and Asia.
Within the home furnishings industry, Safavieh is most successful in combining the best of high tech and high touch.
Since Safavieh’s inception in 1914, consumer education has been its core philosophy. Informed customers and a commitment to quality have helped them become the world’s finest weaver of luxury rugs. That commitment has been rewarded with numerous industry accolades and recognition by America’s top designers and architects.
Safavieh began as a supplier of antique Oriental rugs to leading interior designers. They continue to curate one of the country’s finest collections of antique rugs from the great weaving centers of the world, and to work with notable style leaders globally. As a result, their archives are limitless.
They study fabric, color and lifestyle trends two to three years before developing a new collection in their New York design studios. Cycles often begin in the fashion world before filtering to products for the home, so Safavieh look for trends in couture clothing and color forecasts as well.
Safavieh creates its designer-quality rugs in the major rug weaving centers of the world: Persia, India, Tibet, Nepal, China and Pakistan. They have the unique ability to produce each Safavieh rug in the region best-suited to each particular design. Although the artisans are scattered far and wide, they are all equally talented. But each country, city and village has its own time-honored techniques and special look – qualities they incorporate into their designs.
Based in the United States since 1978, Safavieh combines rug and home furnishings showrooms with a varied wholesale business, supplied by its own production lines from the classical rug weaving centers of the world. The company is headquartered in Port Washington, New York. Its flagship showroom is located at 153 Madison Avenue in New York City. Permanent showrooms are open year round in Atlanta, Las Vegas and High Point, NC.
Safavieh began its licensing program in 2006 with Thomas O’Brien, a longtime customer whose taste they had admired for decades. In 2007, Safavieh successfully introduced a highly anticipated Martha Stewart Rugs collection. In 2009 they launched Safavieh Couture, a licensing program with renowned designers including Jamie Drake, David Easton, Suzanne Kasler and Thom Filicia. January 2011 marked the introduction of the coveted Ralph Lauren and Lauren Ralph Lauren rug collections by Safavieh.
The uniqueness and beauty of Safavieh’s own programmed collections have been acknowledged with the America’s Magnificent Carpets Awards, and their unparalleled service has been recognized with awards such as the Home Decorators Collection Vendor of the Year. Click on the images in the gallery below to see some of what Safavieh has to offer for your artistic home.
