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HIGH POINT — The seeds for Jaipur’s big launch at the October High Point Market were planted here a few shows ago.
That’s when representatives for lifestyle brand Kate Spade New York visited the rug and soft goods producer’s Showplace 3300 showroom and liked what they saw.
“Kate Spade discovered us. They had been looking for partners in the home business for a while and they walked into our showroom three or four High Points ago,” said Jaipur President Asha Chaudhary. “They were impressed with what they saw and the quality of our products and we started a dialog shortly thereafter.”
The first rug, pillow and throw designs from the collaboration made their debut in High Point, and Chaudhary said she feels like Jaipur captured the essence of Kate Spade with the products.
“Going into this, some of these designs are iconic so you have a little hesitation wondering how they’re going to translate into a different medium,” she said. “Some of these designs, like the bow, the dots, the ‘Find the Hidden Meaning,’ the signature stripes, they’re signature looks across many categories. We’ve had 40 to 50 clients and about 80 reps look at the line and it’s exceeded everybody’s expectations.”
Plus, with 5 by 8 rug prices ranging from $399 for a jute rug or a flat-woven rug all the way to $10,000 for hand-knotted pieces, Chaudhary said this new rug brand offers retailers and designers a lot of flexibility.
“The brand is positioned to fill in holes with several types of great retailers, design stores, specialty boutiques, and higher-end furniture stores,” Chaudhary said. “They can pick and choose the different looks and price points. It’s meant to be broad but it has a distinct look and feel.”
And while the new Kate Spade looks reflect the brand’s point of view, Chaudhary said it meshes well with Jaipur’s product mix.
“Jaipur has a great mix of lots of amazing things. The Jaipur customer is somebody with a great eye for design and is quality conscious but wants to find good value at the same time. Kate Spade helps us elevate our own brand with a unique point of view,” Chaudhary said. “Their customer is the customer who mixes and matches different looks to put her room together and that’s how we’re set up here as an accessory brand. Kate Spade brings that great add-on elevated look that’s different from ours, but complements us very well.”
