TAI PING and design studio AB CONCEPT launch bespoke collection of handcrafted rugs

Posted in News on 18 January, 2018

World-renowned design duo Ed Ng and Terence Ngan, at the forefront of creative studio AB Concept, has teamed up with tailor-made rug specialists Tai Ping to create ‘Nephele’, an exclusive collection of rugs. Much alike a couture fashion collection, the rugs are hand crafted, from weaving to dying, and from carving to embroidery, as well as made-to-order, ensuring the design is unique and exudes exclusivity.

The collection is named ‘Nephele’ after the Greek nymph moulded out of clouds by Zeus and is inspired by the time that Ed Ng and Terence Ngan spent on planes crossing the globe while building their international design practice. The eloquent designs represent a poetic take on the world as seen from above.

The collection comprises four rugs representing a different time of the day witnessed out of a plane window: sunrise, midday, dawn and midnight.

Syrinx, the first piece of the collection, is an ode to the ballet performed by wind blown grasses of the prairie and steppe at sunrise; the grass is represented by an embroidered celadon silk ribbon that runs through the design. Adopting a more subtle interpretation, Oread, which represents midday, portrays the Hong Kong Bay with delicate blue and white waves accompanied by mountains draped in soft clouds. Moving towards an illustration of dawn, Boreas is a vision of Antarctica in myriad nuances of white showing the planet’s vulnerability during this time of the day. The final design, Polis, represents a midnight city-inspired scene; elements of imaginary roads and rivers are picked out in golden Glosilk, which portrays a dramatic evening scenery when viewed from above.

Co-founder Ed Ng commented: “My first assignment after graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University almost 30 years ago was to design a rug for a hotel in Tokyo to be made by Tai Ping.  Since then, Terence and I have worked with Tai Ping on many prestigious projects and have taken great pleasure in designing a collection that used the company’s vast array of technical skills to tell a story inspired by our experiences.”

Bringing together all of the House’s values, Nephele is unprecedented and will offer clients all over the world a unique level of refinement, the capsule collection demonstrates the very best of the House of Tai Ping’s artisans mastery and skills.

Catherine Vergez, Managing Director EMEA, House of Tai Ping, said: “The Nephele collection is a wonderful representation of the artisan craftsmanship of The House of Tai Ping. The designs that AB Concept created showcase the delicate variations in tone that can be achieved by our in-house dying process, the beautiful refinement of Tai Ping hand-tufting and the unique texture that is possible because of the embroidery and carving skills of Tai Ping artisans.”