Page 25 - History-of-flooringLR

Avena Carpets is a specialist Brussels Wilton manufacturer
initially founded in 1976, when John Crossley and Sons, of
Halifax, discontinued weaving the narrow width Jacquard
Brussels Wilton carpets it had produced for more than
100 years.
Now it’s been revealed that the looms, archive and
equipment have recently been purchased, moved to new
premises, and painstakingly recommissioned by Avena’s
selected team under new owner Richard Hughes, who the
company says has extensive experience and knowledge in
the high-end and historic flooring sector.

Avena Carpets designs and manufactures its bespoke
carpets in traditional weaves on the original Crossley
looms, continuing in the passing on of specialist skills over
to new generations. There’s also a large archive of
contemporary and historical designs. Several of the
historic designs are documented, and a design team uses
CAD technology to support new design work and the
re-colouration of existing designs if needed.
The seaming of the narrowloom carpet can also, the
company says, be taken care of inhouse, as part of the
service. It can truly be a ‘concept to installation’
experience, says the company, when you approach it for
your flooring requirements.

Although tight-lipped about some of the rich, famous and
celebrity customers they’ve provided carpets for, Avena
says there’s obviously a market for this niche bespoke
product, attracting the attention of some of the most
renowned and respected designers and interior
decorators worldwide.
The company says it works closely with these contacts.
Some recent prestigious projects that are included in its
portfolio are a Royal Castle in Norway, and a residence in
Germany and it also says it’s happy to have installed
projects in exclusive residences in London’s more
sought-after areas.
Avena’s project and design manager Rachel Tighe thinks
it’s a truly positive start for the new company in its first
year. ‘Our carpets can be found all over the world in the
US, Canada, Middle East, Europe, Australia and the British
Isles. It’s not just the private clients we love
manufacturing for – we’ve produced carpets for several
restoration projects, The Savoy Theatre, Brodsworth
House, Windsor Castle, The Royal Physicians Hall, Leeds
Castle, Derngate House and Wordsworth House working
with the National Trust, English Heritage and the
equivalent organisations in the US and Australia. We’ve
provided historically accurate reproductions in the past
and have a couple of restoration enquires in development
at present.’
Owner/director Richard Hughes commented: ‘I’m very
lucky to have the support of a highly skilled workforce.
We’re committed to continue to manufacture and supply
a first-class product and have implemented training
schemes to ensure survival of the skills required, with an
apprentice and a kickstarter on the team in the early days,
supported by our production manager Gary Charles we
can be assured we’re building a team for the future.
‘We take pride in the raw materials and have the pile
yarns etc spun and wound to our specifications by a
company based in Yorkshire. We dye our yarns in
Yorkshire and hope to be sourcing our wool from
Yorkshire in the near future, with the help of the British
Wool Board, we’re members of the Campaign for Real
Wool and are utilising Huddersfield’s Textile Centre of
Excellence for our training. It’s looking positive for our
carbon footprint and our duty to the environment,
sourcing and using local companies. As all our carpets are
100% wool, waste yarns are recycled by another Yorkshire
firm into high quality underlay.’

www.avenacarpets.com

The History of Flooring 25