Burlington inks deal with Wools

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 2/19/2001 12:00:00 AM

ATLANTA -Burlington House Floor Accents and its manufacturing and marketing partner Carpet Art Deco in Montreal have signed a licensing agreement to become the mill partner of Wools of New Zealand, based here.

Under the agreement, Burlington/Carpet Art Deco will use the Wools of New Zealand brand for its new Niya Collection, introduced at the Atlanta International Area Rug market in January.

"They have a quality product from well-known spinners in Europe; it has some great designs, and it's the only wool rug made on 12-frame looms," said Wes Connelly, acting managing director of the North America division of Wools of New Zealand.

Connelly said the new Niya Collection is actually what spurred the new partnership between the manufacturer and Wools of New Zealand.

Using advanced technology, Burlington created the 40 pieces in the Niya Collection-12-frame, 100 percent wool rugs featuring very saturated earth tones and higher price points than its typical offerings. A 6' x 9' rug retails for $799.

To become a partner with Wools of New Zealand, wool rug makers are required to pass various tests, including appearance retention, or ability to keep its appearance through heavy foot traffic; light fastness, or fade resistance; and rug fastness, or ability to prevent colors from bleeding and staining other fabrics.

Burlington/Carpet Art Deco are among more than 35 rug and carpet manufacturers nationwide who are partners with Wools of New Zealand.

"Niya is the first collection they have that is under our partnership," Connelly said. "In the future, if they have other collections that meet our requirements, we'll continue the partnership with those collections."