Floor Story presents a new rug collection designed by the French artist Camille Walala, famous for her ironic installations. A graduate in textile design from the University of Brighton, she established her namesake brand in East London in 2009, and continues to live and work there today.
Her practice has taken her all over the world to transform homes and workspaces with her signature tribal-pop style. Drawing on influences including the Memphis Movement, the Ndebele tribe and op-art master Victor Vasarely, Walala has an irrepressible enthusiasm for playful, graphic patterns that invoke a smile in all who view them. Her unmistakable work adorn Brooklyn’s Industry City and the Salt Boutique Hotel, Mauritius, as well as installations and exhibitions throughout the capital and overseas.
The first carpets designed for Floor Story are inspired by the wonderful houses of the Ndebele people of South Africa. For centuries they have painted their straw huts with bright graphic patterns inspired by their bead work, an art passed down through generations of women. The 100% wool kilims of Buildings Come True and Fixed, and the hand-tufted Aria, reproduce these geometric patterns.
The fourth rug, Congo, is actually a design that traces back to her time as a student in Brighton. Created in the final year at university, it owes a lot to the Memphis movement.
With Token, Ecliptic, Equilibrium and White Noise joining Camille’s previous creations for Floor Story, the collection is now one of the richest collaborative projects for the East London rug retailer and maker. White Noise is a sequence of geometric pattern in strict black and white; the design of Equilibrium presents a backdrop of random forms overlaid with high-contrast colors and patterns; for the Chroma Token and Royal Token Camille combines linear outlines with simple forms and brilliant colors.
