REFORM | Lim + Lu

Design Type: Product Design
Designer:  Vincent Lim, Elaine Lu
Design Company:  Lim + Lu 
Design Time: 2017.06
Images provided by: Tai Ping

TAI PING COLLABORATES WITH RISING ASIAN TALENT LIM + LU ON REFORM, A FLEXIBLE GEOMETRIC CUSTOM CARPET INTERPRETATION

Hong Kong, June 2017 – Tai Ping, beloved internationally for its design-driven custom handmade carpets, will be showcasing its first collaboration with Hong Kong-based inter-disciplinary design firm Lim + Lu.

Architects Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu were inspired by everyday surroundings, and questioned why carpets had to be rectangular and static. “We wanted to create rugs that can be transformed to fit in different spaces,” says Lu. “Reform means to make changes in order to improve something. We wanted to create a rug that would be able to conform to any space without sacrificing its inherent character. The result was the creation of a modular rug consisting of three modules that would allow users to piece together their perfect rug no matter the shape of their space.”

Additionally, Lim + Lu looked to traditional colour wheels and overlapping circles to introduce colour into a room. “Colour charts of overlapping circles normally associated with visual teaching was the first inspiration for the rugs,” notes Lim. “We started with overlapping circles and experimented with a range of colours, textures and patterns reminiscent of marble and precious stones.”

Reform I illustrates how different materials can be combined, with a colour palette of pastel pinks and blues that mimic stone against metals such as brass and silver. The mixture of materials include different yarn count and pile height wool, dull silk, spun silk, flax and shiny fine lurex. Techniques such as cut and loop in different pile heights, twisted yarn, overtuft loop and sculpting—a combination of hand carving, bevelling and embossing—were used to achieve a medley of textures. Reform II features colour blocking with vivid hues on 100 percent wool. Both rugs were entirely handcrafted in Tai Ping’s Xiamen artisan workshop.

“We were inspired by Tai Ping’s technical capacity—its craftsmanship and attention to detail were amazing,” enthuses Lu. “They were very open to our ideas, and expertly carried complicated designs.” Lim believes that Reform exemplifies the range of what Tai Ping can achieve through juxtaposition of materials and techniques. “You really get the rug’s tactile quality with the different textures you feel under your feet,” he states.

“It is a privilege to be the first carpet maker to give Lim + Lu access to our medium,” says Stephen Wong, managing director of Tai Ping, Asia Pacific. “Working together, we translated their signature aesthetic and applied it to custom rugs. Our collaboration will surely resonate with new audiences.”

About Lim + Lu:

Lim + Lu is an inter-disciplinary design practice initiated in New York, currently based in Hong Kong. Lim + Lu works internationally providing architecture, interior, furniture, and product design services. Co-founders Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu met at Cornell University during their architecture studies. As both Lim and Lu were born and raised in the East, educated and practised in the West, a balance of both cultures is essential to the duo and always translated through their design. Lim + Lu aims to initiate a constant dialogue between the user and the object through the user’s continual interaction with its designs. These designs are fully completed only through the actions of the audience. Currently, Lim + Lu is working on projects in Hong Kong, New York, Copenhagen, and other cities.

About Tai Ping:

Tai Ping, a House of Tai Ping brand, is a custom handmade and woven carpet manufacturer that has won international acclaim for its innovative design, superior quality, and unparalleled concierge service. Recognised for over six decades as the designer and manufacturer of choice for a discerning global clientele, the carpets of Tai Ping, which means “great peace” in Chinese, grace 5-star hotels, royal palaces, multinational corporate offices, private homes and yachts around the world. The company is publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

About House of Tai Ping:

Established in 1956 by the late Sir Lawrence Kadoorie, CBE, and six partners in Hong Kong, Tai Ping was initially founded to preserve China’s tradition of making exquisite custom carpets by hand. Headquartered in Hong Kong, with 14 showrooms across Europe, Asia and North America, House of Tai Ping creates bespoke rugs and floor coverings for every sphere of the residential and hospitality markets. The House of Tai Ping is globally renowned for its innovation and expertise steeped in a rich history, a celebrated archive, unparalleled design and service to the world’s most sophisticated clientele.

For additional information or high resolution images, contact:

Enoch To                                 

Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Asia   

Tai Ping              

33/F Global Trade Square                   

21 Wong Chuk Hang Road                          

Aberdeen, Hong Kong                   

Ph:  (852) 2848 7725               

Fax: (852) 2845 9363               

Email:    [email protected]

For purchase enquiries, contact:

Celia Yeung

Sales Director, Asia Tai Ping                

Ph: (852) 2848 7668

Email: [email protected]