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Rug Insider Magazine
News for the Rug and Carpet Professional 
Barclay Butera talks with Rug Insider's Alex Milstein about the inspiration behind his new book and his new Jaipur Living rug designs. Barclay Butera has built his name in the industry not only as an interior designer and founder of his own company and brand, but as a true collaborative partner to several well-known home furnishings brands like Lexington Home Brands, Castelle, Nourison, and Jaipur Living.
As people were forced to stay in due to the pandemic, it drove many to start making home improvements—and this benefitted the home furnishings industry greatly.
However, there’s one category that grew exponentially: outdoor furniture and accessories. According to research from the International Casual Furnishings Association, 90% of Americans with outdoor living space have been taking greater advantage of their decks, porches and patios, and consider their outdoor living space as more valuable than ever before.
David Samad, co-founder of the venerable wholesale rug firm, Samad, has been in the area rug industry his entire life. And while he hates to admit it, his 47 years in the business make him an industry veteran.
But rugs aren’t Samad’s whole life.
In 1994, David signed up to run the New York City Marathon in honor of Simon Banilevi, a dear friend of his who had lost his fight to cancer the year before. When it came time to run in November of ‘94, he completed the 26.2-mile feat—Samad‘s first marathon and the longest distance he‘d run to date.
“If you’d asked me to sign a waiver at the end of the race to say that was the first and last marathon I‘d ever do, I would have signed on the dotted line,” Samad says.
2004 HONOLULU — 2015 MELBOURNE — 2019 CANBERRA
But now, 28 years later, he‘s completed 82 marathons in 18 states across the U.S. and in 10 different countries around the world.
It became more of a challenge for Samad, and he wanted more. That led him to London, and eventually India, Australia, France, Israel, Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada.
“It was intriguing, and I started getting very serious about it,” he says. “I started running four to five marathons a year. And actually in 1995, I ran my personal best—3 hours, 21 minutes and 34 seconds.”
So, is he crazy?
“It’s just one of those personal challenges that I think I want to keep doing as long as I can,” Samad says. “Although I have to say it’s not getting any easier.”
While Samad is personally interested, he also says marathons have intrigued the minds of many people all over the world and have become a nice healthy hobby. He says that it became a personal goal for him and one that he loved accomplishing simply for himself.
With a diagnosis of Asthma in his twenties, running, as his doctor told him was the best thing he can do.
“In a way it’s been the best medicine for me, to keep my lungs healthy,” Samad says. And when I see my pulmonologist he says I’m defying what someone in my condition should actually be, and it‘s an amazing thing. So honestly, it’s for my own good.”
He also says there’s a connection between the rug industry and marathons.
“Marathoners say the race begins at mile 20 and endurance is key. Like the rug business, It’s not a race, it’s a journey.“
“There’‘s an old saying that seasoned marathoners say: the race begins at mile 20 and endurance is key,” Samad explains. “In many ways, I equate that to owning our own business and the ethic behind that. Like the rug business, the marathon is not a race, it’s a journey. It’s all about competing, and you want to do it right, but at the end of the day, it’s more about showing up! Am I ever going to win a marathon? Certainly not. But again, it’s a courageous thing to do to just compete—it is precious.”
Is there an ultimate goal Samad has in mind? “My goal is just to do one at a time, just get one more under my belt and keep crossing the finishing line with a smile on my face, it’s a long road but a really rewarding one.”
David is married to his lovely wife Johanna and they have three children and one grandson.
If there’s one thing everyone in the industry wants to know, it’s what styles and colors are trending this year. However, that’s not always an easy thing to pinpoint.
Luckily, interior designers offer a direct line to consumer’s wants and needs in terms of styles and trends, and their knowledge can help manufacturers create products that consumers are asking for.
Nourison and HGTV star Nicole Curtis partnered to create a line of vintage-inspired Persian rug designs for a new collection that debuted at the fall High Point Market. A few months back, Nourison announced it was partnering with Nicole Curtis, a designer and HGTV star of Rehab Addict Rescue and Rehab Addict, on a new collection of accent rugs, area rugs decorative pillows, and more.
In the early Fall of 2020 Rug Insider Magazine produced an experimental online virtual showing of rugs and carpets titled “Under the Rug.” As an extension of the walking tours I had previously given during prior installments of The Rug Show, it was as much “fill the void caused by cancelled shows” as it was learning experience—a veritable laboratory of presentation concepts and commentary. For those who missed it as it was aired, an archive of the entirety of the show can be found on Rug Insider’s Instagram account, @ruginsider.
There are rug people—those who love funky designs and bright colors—and then there are not rug people—people who enjoy a simple, solid design with a nice border. But regardless of the person, rugs have graduated from simply being an accent to being a full-on statement piece in most people’s homes; They change the entire look of a room.
There is a saying that one cannot know the future without first studying the past. This has been a recurring theme over the past several issues of RUG INSIDER Magazine; how we can learn from the past of the rug trade, and how it can help us foresee what the industry’s future holds. In the rug business, particularly in the vintage and antique rug sector, while the carpet dealers were traditionally the main purveyors of fine rugs to the buying public, another important area has long been that of auctions.
