Julia Gentil

The “Aquarelle Collection” was designed to launch Tsar's NY Office.

Fusing handtufted gradation techniques and the blendingof NZ Wool and Bamboo Silk fibres, this collection creates fluid and alluring works of art for the floor.

The Cetak Collection pays homage to the aesthetic of Indonesian and Thai textiles. Celebrating the spontaneous nature of woodblock printing,  where misregistration and accidents are embraced, the Cetak designs focus on the beauty of serendipity, natural patterns, and organic elements. The result is a raw, breezy and playful rug collection, perfect for contemporary and rustic inspired interiors alike.

Dusk at Thirlmere Lake in rural NSW causes the water reeds to mystically reflect and shimmer on the lake’s surface. The beauty of this asymmetrical reflected glow was spellbinding enough to inspire this rug half a decade later, once the gradation technique was developed and perfected.

The transition of fiber (NZ wool and bamboo silk) and hue is a fine art and a very complex technique in execution, but the net effect is one of humble serenity and a homage to nature itself.

For many decades hand-tufted rugs had been given very little inventive design attention, in favour for the more expensive knotted technique. In recognition of the underutilized potential of tufting, I set myself the goal of producing innovative, beautiful and artistic rugs, in the highest quality fibers at less than half the price of knotted. Thirlmere pushes the technique beyond the familiar by gradating both hue and fiber along in non-linear directions. The net result is a rug art piece not only unlike any other tufted rug, but technically not possible within the linear loom structure of knotted rugs.

* Thirlmere was nominated for a Victorian Premier's Design Award

Neva Fade was designed as a versatile and harmonious staple design for TSAR’s carpet and rug collection family.

The raised cut pile rows gradate seamlessly from both dark to light and 100% NZ Wool to 100% Bamboo Silk, creating a mesmerizing landscaped ambiance. The bold coloured stipple of the 100% NZ Wool loop pile flanking each raised cut pile row, contemporizes this design to suit the design savvy abode.

Sophisticated, moody, shimmering and beautiful, Neva Fade went on to win an Achitizer Award in NY (2014) for soft flooring.

Out of a passion for the tactile and textural look of hand-knotted rugs and a desire push the technical boundaries of hand-tufting the “Royale Collection” was born, making high-quality fibers and luxurious styles affordable to a wider market,

Discarding the simpler “fill the shape” look of hand-tufted rugs, the Royale Collection uses a base layer of multi-stippled areas to form the backdrop for a traditional patterned top layer, in a slightly higher pile, tufted out of bamboo silk. The shimmer of the silk juxtaposes the texture and movement of the background, resulting in a sophisticated playful feel. Available in a multitude of colourways, this collection is a homage to traditional styles, re-contextualised in a contemporary rug.

The Patti design uses a gradual thread by thread stippling effect to create a smooth gradation within the patterned area of the design, allowing one’s eye to dance along the design joyfully.

Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. The resulting colour is a stark opposite to the unsorted yarn which still contains the naturally occurring variations of wool just off the sheep’s back.

In this collection, I played with naturally occurring opposites: illuminating bright bamboo silks against the tactile, raw natural yarns. A multi-sensory experience is the result.

A combination of some client projects and individual showroom favorites

A personal collection incorporating wool and silk - in progress.

Personal hand-knotted project: Wool and silk blend