A client had come to us with a particular tartan design they’d selected from a well-known manufacturer, which we quickly discovered had been discontinued. With their heart set on the colour and design, and without masses of ready-made tartan designs to choose from, we knew that we had to pull out all the stops to create a bespoke carpet that they could fall in love with more than their original selection.
The “Fast Track” custom Axminster service from Gaskell Mackay was just the ticket – the first step was choosing the tartan design, using the original sample of the discontinued range as reference we worked with the design team to find a simple with fine stripes in each a lighter and darker shade than the background colour.
Once happy with the style of tartan, we took the customer through the “pom” boxes, which are yarn samples organised into collections where all colours for a design must be selected from within the same family. As the yarn in the original sample was a mixture of heather and plain, the client took the time to try out different pom combinations, and with each design the manufacturer created a colour PDF for reference.
From there, the client selected their favourite colour combination, and we went back to the manufacturer to order a “kibby” sample, which is a small piece of carpet made up in the chosen design, colours, and quality for final confirmation.
When it came to fitting, we had to make sure that the pattern was perfectly matched across all areas and the long landing meant that a join was required, so careful planning was required to ensure that the join fell in the best place on the landing from a visual and wear perspective. Cut piles can be tricky to join because of the movement in the pile, so we also had to consider where we could create a join within the pattern, to try and minimise the impact.
Quite an involved process but we were thrilled with the finish, as was our customer:
“The team at Avonvale Carpets were fantastic, from helping us design our carpet, to measuring and then fitting. All very helpful and we are delighted with the result. Many thanks indeed.”
Avonvale Carpets. Beautiful Flooring. Fitted Perfectly.