To The Floor - Launch of the Collection

Designer Ashley Rose Oswin took her family on a spontaneous adventure through the South Island of New Zealand from the Middleearth™ magic of Glenorchy to the stunning Farewell Spit. During their trip the weather was wild and brooding, even in typically sunny Golden Bay, leaving Ashley struck by the power and majesty of these incredible natural landscapes and was compelled to capture the shapes, forms and essence of these remarkable locales in ink.

Ashley Rose Oswin, is a textile designer and artist based in Wellington who is currently sharing her wealth of knowledge and expertise as a Textile Technical Demonstrator at Massey University College of Creative Arts. Ashley loves to create original artworks in ink and uses a technique called Swiss Repeat to create intricate repeating patterns.

Ashley was the winner of the inaugural To the Floor competition themed: The Life Force; a joint initiative with The Designers Institute of New Zealand and Milliken, showcasing the very high calibre of talent from the New Zealand design community. Designers from all over New Zealand were invited to enter their Life Force design concepts which were judged by prominent designers in the industry. The design theme for this competition was inspired by the circular flow of our living systems. Creating a rhythm between all living things, restoring and regenerating with each flow. The winner had the opportunity to work with Milliken Design Studio to develop a carpet tile collection that will be manufactured and sold globally.

Drawing by hand was an important part of her design process and the organic nature of ink on paper also fits with the theme of the collection. It's often the unexpected results of brush on paper that offer the ephemeral feel Ashley was looking for.

This collaboration with designer Ashley Rose Oswin and Milliken brings the essence of this unpredictable but beautifully everchanging landscape inside. Circular Relationships is a collection of rich and textural carpets infused with the patterns and colours of nature, visualising the interconnectedness and circularity throughout our environment. Comprising six unique organic patterns and six colourways inspired by this trip through New Zealand’s wild and dramatic South Island, the collection captures everything from the vibrant blue and lapping waves of Lake Tekapo to surprising rusty red foliage reflecting off the Glenorchy Lagoon. The range of colours, textures and tile sizes mean you can combine these to create the perfect look and feel in your project.

The collection boasts of moody skies and brooding landscapes.  It is about the effect of the wind and the seasons, light and shadow, rustling and reflections. It captures the breathtaking beauty of nature and the constant changes swirling through the landscape creating a kaleidoscope of light, movement and colour that's as captivating as it is eternal. Circular Relationships captures the raw beauty, texture and spirit of nature and its ever-changing cycles.

Bring the spirit of the landscape inside with the Circular Relationships collection.

Dunes
A sandy outcrop, the buffer between beach and coastal wetland. A constantly evolving pattern of sand and grasses, creating intrigue and movement. The swirls and billows of Dunes speaks of the breathtaking beauty of the ocean and the rich pattern play that nature delights us with. A bold pattern of organic swirls, Dunes allows you to soften a space and bring the benefits of biophilic pattern to your project.

Wave Break
A breeze sends soft ripples across the mirrored sea, liquifying what was, just a few minutes ago, a perfect pane of glass. Wave Break evokes that magical moment with subtle, flowing movement, depth and contrast that lets you enjoy every ebb and flow. The long, flowing pattern of Wave Break allows you to create a sense of direction and movement in any setting.

Rock Grain
Rock Grain is a million years in the making. It tells the story of power of time: Rock Grain is a record of every season as it carves a myriad of unique and intricate patterns from the rock face, naturally sculpturing the landscape. Rock Grain may, at first, feel simple, but that's its secret. This unique pattern brings a richness of texture and a play on light to any room.

Tussock
You stand in the middle of a grassy field and glimpse an invisible artist sculpting, long wisps of grass into swirling eddies all around. In that moment, you can see the wind. Tussock is inspired by the art of the wind, the soft swirls and scapes created as the wind runs its fingers through the field. Bring that same softness and mesmerising pattern to your space.

Loop Track
You wander along a hidden track, sand hugging your toes. Surrounded by wild bush, the path winding its way through scrub and wetlands. Loop Track captures the changing shadows when trees and branches lose their form and become a beautiful blur of light and dark as you wander along this peaceful path in the long afternoon light. Trees turn to silhouettes and colours surprise you with their vibrancy. As a carpet, Loop Track is like an artwork for the floor, with fluid, natural strokes creating a rich patternscape in your special space.

Fossil Point
Mementos of the past line the shore. Fossils of ancient lava flows now broken, jagged epitaphs of a distant world. All around, change is in a constant flurry of activity, but these stone remnants remain. Fossil Point is inspired by the contrast between the circular seasons and the timeless constants in nature, the balance between movement and stillness. It's designed to bring harmony and balance to any room, with just the right amount of subtle curves and bracing solidity.