Tufenkian Opening London Showroom

Tufenkian's New York flagship, which the London location will mimic in design.

James Tufenkian, the manufacturing maestro known for his exquisite, handmade Tibetan and Armenian rugs, is taking his Big Apple-based Tufenkian Artisan Carpets across the drink, opening their newest showroom in London’s spiffy Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour.

Opening on September 25, the day before London’s big annual Decorex International design show, the showroom will be Tufenkian’s first flagship location in Europe, following a smaller second location serving several dealers in Hamburg, Germany and stateside outposts in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.

A shot from Tufenkian's New York location.

“London has become a very important market for us with its designers serving clients from all over the world while shopping for product in the local market,” says Tufenkian, the company’s owner and CEO. “And, after our first successful wave of showroom openings in North America in the recent years, we are now positioned to begin our second wave of expansion of Tufenkian showrooms internationally.”

John Erkelens, the company’s sales director, will be running the daily biz at the 1,000-square-foot space, which will house Tufenkian’s core Tibetan and Armenian collections as well as their collaborations with top designers like Barbara Barry, Mark Pollack, Kevin Walz, and Vicente Wolf.