For decades, the Hamburg family business IPEK, led by Doc. Ali-Reza Ipektchi, belongs to the large and established full-range retailers for high-quality handmade Persian carpets.

In January 2023, when DOMOTEX opens its doors again, visitors and exhibitors will be delighted. Many exhibitors, both new and regular attendees, will return to Hannover – already anticipating the event with excitement. IPEK can certainly counts as a loyal and outstanding exhibitor. For more than 100 years, the Hamburg family business with Iranian roots represents great expertise in the carpet trade and offers a brilliant range of hand-made Persian carpets. From fine city carpets like Tabris, Isfahan or Nain to colourful nomadic carpets of the Gashgai or Lori and flat weaves like Kelim Gashgai and Sumak Afshar, IPEK offers everything that defines the Persian art of carpets.

The team led by Doc. Ali-Reza Ipektchi, who runs the company in the fifth generation and is now supported by his son Amin Ipektchi and his daughter Vida ter Hazeborg, keeps around 20,000 carpets and kilims in stock at all times – ranging from new and contemporary to antique and authentic. This allows IPEK to respond quickly to any request, no matter how unique they may be. Whether it is the smallest rug or an oversized carpet: At IPEK, everyone can find the right carpet, regardless of the price range and quality. The company stands for unique, hand-knotted items as well as their professional guidance. IPEK is just as happy to advise shops, who want to build, expand or adapt their assortment as well as individuals, and always finds the most promising selection. On request, IPEK delivers the goods from Hamburg to almost any place in the world.

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IPEK - A. Ipektchi GmbH & Co.KG (D-22453 Hamburg)
Hall 2, Stand A08
Contact: Dr. Ali R. Ipektchi & Amin Ipektchi
Tel.: +49 40 514880-0
Fax: +49 40 514880-40
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In the four-country corner of Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Tisca cultivates a great passion: hand-woven unique carpets that not only dress living rooms comfortably. Skilled weavers create textile jewels in European factories that, despite their beauty, are also robust enough to withstand everyday wear and tear.

Basically, Tisca Austria GmbH from Thüringen in Vorarlberg also belongs to the generation of baby boomers, because the company has been producing hand-woven carpets since 1963. Each one of them is unique with its own character, different from all carpets created before or after it. It is distinguished by its colours and designs, by its size and shape, by the thousand small irregularities that usually combine to form a harmonious whole. Made by hand, it grows slowly and embodies the skill and passion of the person who created it. It is almost a privilege to be able to design a carpet according to one's own ideas. The customer determines the format, decides on materials, colours, designs and structures. Here, old artisanship should combine with modern design and become a personal interpretation whose beauty and harmony give rooms a new face.

Nevertheless, alongside so much lyricism, prose should not be neglected either. At DOMOTEX 2023 in Hannover, the Austrians will be showing, among other things, their diverse hand-woven carpet collection Olbia. As always, Tisca attaches great importance to tradition and draws on decades of experience and tried-and-tested techniques when weaving the carpets. The Olbia collection with 96 colours and 26 structures offers an infinite number of model variations for the individual living atmosphere. Experienced weavers process only high quality, predominantly New Zealand wool for Olbia. It is not without reason that Tisca products adorn the living rooms of people who appreciate fine, long-lasting artisanship.

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Tisca Textil GmbH & Co KG (AT-6712 Thüringen/Vorarlberg)
Hall 2, Stand B42
Contact: Andreas Honer
Tel.: +43 555023110
Fax: +43 5550231125
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With his new collection FADE, inspired by the colour fields of a Mark Rothko, the Italian carpet designer Maurizio Battilossi transforms DOMOTEX 2023 in Hannover into a vernissage.

La famiglia, the family, feels even more important in Italy than in the rest of the world. Therefore, Galleria Battilossi is a family business in the best sense of the word. With the active support of his sister Marina, Maurizio Battilossi from Turin dedicates himself to the fascinating world of hand-knotted carpets. On his website, he characterises himself as following: "My roots are in Turin and my heart beats in Asia, but my curiosity and desire for discovery know no bounds. I believe I am here to learn, and I do. I used to dedicate myself only to antique textile art, but now I have broadened my vision to understand vintage rugs and textiles from all over the world. The key words are always quality, originality and beauty. Age is no longer a discriminating element. My contemporary rugs are the result of the combination of inspired, talented designers and the craftsmanship in this field, which is unique in Asia."

At DOMOTEX, which will open its doors again in Hannover in January 2023, Battilossi will present examples that represent his constant quest to conquer new areas in the field of handmade carpets. For the FADE collection, Battilossi explored the relatively new weaving method called “hand-weaving” and, in his quest for excellence, was ultimately driven to push the boundaries of this technique to achieve an exceptional result in terms of both appearance and quality. According to Battilossi, every aspect of making these rugs is done with great care. Hand-cut pile and shaping the ends and edges of the rugs shows the special attention to detail. Inspired by Rothko's colour fields and the Persian Mazandaran textile aesthetic, the FADE collection is the result of very high quality hand-spun wool dyed in spectacular shades - and it is a proof of the profound knowledge of competent weavers.

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Galleria Battilossi Srl (IT-10123 Turin)
Hall 2, Stand C32
Contact: Maurizio Battilossi
Tel.: +39 01118951830
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The work of the NGO GoodWeave aims to end child labour in global supply chains - from the manufacturer to the end customer. The corresponding seal of quality is therefore one of the best assurances that a carpet has been produced without child labour.

If one follows the accounts of those involved at the time, the origins of GoodWeave lie in a live talk show broadcast in Germany in the early 1990s. In it, the Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi reported on grievances and circulating illegal child labour in the carpet industry. An elderly lady, rightly agitated by what she had just heard, called the broadcasting station to express her indignation and to announce that she wanted to throw away her own carpet, which might have been produced by children's hands. Moreover, she said, something absolutely had to change in the future. Turning to Kailash Satyarthi, she said, "I am very old, I have at most ten years to live. I can't wait any longer, but you look young and can cause me to buy a new carpet without child labour." This was the initial spark for the founding of GoodWeave in 1994, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which - along with many other initiatives to end child labour - earned Kailash Satyarthi the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, among others.

Today, the GoodWeave seal of quality is one of the best guarantees that a carpet has been produced without the involvement of children. The seal of quality is only awarded to manufacturers or exporters who adhere to contractually binding production standards - especially with regard to the outlawing of child labour. To guarantee the contractual obligations, local GoodWeave inspectors have and use the right to make spontaneous, unannounced visits to the licensed companies. The use of the GoodWeave label is linked to the payment of a licence fee, which is used to support the NGO in terms of monitoring production through inspections as well as training programmes.

According to GoodWeave, more than 6,700 children have been freed from forced labour, more than 26,000 rescued and threatened children have received quality education, and hundreds of thousands of children have been prevented from working illegally. GoodWeave has also expanded its traditional work in carpet production to other areas such as linen, home textiles, costume jewellery, bricks and tea. The positive effects of this work in the new areas are already making themselves felt. However, the impact of GoodWeave goes far beyond the figures mentioned here, because the NGO's actions have a generally positive influence on social norms and behaviour, which contributes to the sustainable eradication of child labour.

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GoodWeave International (US-Washington 20005)
Hall 2, Stand C49/1
Contact: Nina Smith
Tel.: +44 844 2437838
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Making its debut at DOMOTEX in January 2023 is S.U.RUGS, an Indian company specializing in sustainable, handmade carpets made from natural and recycled fibres.

Part of the essence of a trade fair, especially a leading global trade fair like DOMOTEX in Hannover, is to bring markets together in order to expand the spectrums of trade for the benefit of all involved - from producers to consumers. This aspect of "Connecting Markets" also includes premieres such as the first-time appearance of S.U. RUGS from Bhadohi in India at DOMOTEX. Since its foundation 40 years ago, the company has made a name for itself as a manufacturer and exporter of handmade and, above all, sustainable carpets.

Under the motto "Hands to Rugs", the Indians make their positive contribution to a healthy ecosystem. The carpets from S.U. RUGS are always made by hand from a wide variety of natural fibres such as jute, cotton, wool, chenille, seaweed or sisal, sometimes woven, sometimes tufted, sometimes knotted. Recently, yarns made from recycled plastics have also been used, for a long-lasting, meaningful new existence. S.U. RUGS attaches great importance to clearly defined standards regarding labour and human rights as well as the protection of the environment. In addition to its own Code of Conduct, which aims to ensure that people involved in the manufacture of its products can work safely and under healthy working conditions and are treated with dignity and respect, S.U. RUGS is also certified according to the following standards: BSCI, SEDEX, ISO 9001:2015 and GOODWEAVE & CARE & FAIR. At DOMOTEX in January 2023, the company will present the full range of its products to the international public for the first time.

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S.U. RUGS (IN-Bhadohi 221401)
Hall 4, Stand D90
Contact: Aasif Ansari
Tel.: +91 5414 356033
Fax: + 91 5414 227949
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