Unique floor design solutions from FLAT'N

Cologne-based FLAT'N specialises in creating bespoke carpet designs, using innovative digital printing techniques to realise individual patterns, colour combinations and shapes.

By FLAT'N and Markus Hieke for

FLAT'N

October 18, 2021 | 10:00 pm CUT

For the Munich studio of interior designer Sebastian Zenker, FLAT'N created three differently-sized custom-made carpets. Photo: © Sebastian Zenker

Not by the metre and not hand-knotted either; not carpet art, but definitely unique: if you talk to Sascha Schiller about his company FLAT'N, something quickly crystallises that you might not suspect at first glance, but which makes the brand very special: namely, the possibility of practically limitless customisability – and that even with an order quantity of one.

One of the greatest advantages of the digital carpet printing process: with a manageable amount of effort, motifs can be colour-adjusted before printing and any colour artwork can be adjusted

As is so often the case, the idea for the initiative came as a result of his own needs. Schiller himself is a product designer and founded FLAT'N as a private label for his Cologne studio after looking for a customised floor covering for a project. That was in 2014. Since then, the collection has grown to include numerous carpet designs. And now the creative mind behind the brand wants to concentrate more on the contract business in order to exploit the advantages of customised carpet production, even more.

Zenker's studio logo provided the motif for the round, blue carpets. The largest of the three individual pieces has a diameter of 3.5 metres. Photo: © Sebastian Zenker

Cologne-based, he sees his role as designer, consultant and interface to production. Production takes place in Germany and the process used – Chromojet Print – ensures brilliant print results, for example on high-quality wool tufting velour. Depending on the area of application and expected wear and tear, there are more than two dozen material options to choose from as a print medium, from high virgin wool content to particularly hard-wearing polyamide. ‘For all carpets, FLAT'N guarantees a very high abrasion resistance, because the patterns are not just superficially applied, but rather dyed deep into the backing material,’ emphasises Schiller. After printing on the roll material, the carpets are cut into any shape and adjusted by warping.

Cologne-based FLAT'N is also happy to adapt the colour and size of carpets from the existing collection on request. Photo: © FLAT'N

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Finely-tuned flooring

One reference project that only used rectangular formats, but where FLAT'N has nevertheless exhausted all the advantages of customisability, is the Redefin State Stud Farm in the Mecklenburg, in the north of Germany. In the course of the restoration of the Landstallmeisterhaus, the stud's guesthouse, individual designs were created for each of 24 different rooms to match the wall and textile colours – each carpet is unique. The runners and floor coverings were produced after an inspection of the building and on the basis of floor plans and colour concepts in close cooperation with the planners on site. The entire implementation and production, including delivery and furnishing of the rooms, took just three months. In the case of more conventional-style carpet production, we would certainly be speaking of much longer periods of time and considerably higher costs.

Founder and managing director Sascha Schiller sees himself as a designer, consultant as well as interface to production. The designs he supplies are printed using the Chromojet process and then cut to size. Photo: © FLAT'N

Display product Shamrock 002 from manufacturer FLAT'N

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In contrast, the furnishing of Sebastian Zenker's Munich studio is much more manageable in scope. The interior designer approached FLAT'N with a design idea in the course of redesigning his prestigious space. The company's logo serves as the motif for the round carpets. Three carpets in different sizes were realised for the interior, ranging from around 2.5 to 3.5 metres in diameter – the manufacturer's roll material allows widths of up to four metres.

But FLAT'N is also quite open to adapting existing carpet designs from the collection. In Cologne, for example, a private client wanted existing designs from FLAT'N for his loft, which he had furnished in a converted industrial hall, entirely according to his own, personal colour concept. FLAT'N then designed the size and colour individually and produced the carpets in small batches.

The composition of the printing medium depends on the expected wear and tear. 80% wool and 20% polyamide are standard for FLAT'N tufted floors. Photo: © FLAT'N

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From single pieces to series

This is probably one of the greatest advantages of the digital carpet printing process in contrast to more traditional carpet-making crafts: with a manageable amount of effort, motifs can be colour-adjusted before printing and any colour artwork can be adjusted to the colour system of the Chromojet presses. Last but not least, this saves considerable costs and allows the carpets to impress both as one-offs as well as in series in larger projects.

By outsourcing the actual production to a partner company – in this respect, the label, in principle, again hardly differs at all from classic carpet weaving – and also having it delivered directly from the factory, FLAT'N can react flexibly and quickly to different order volumes. Schiller takes care of the individual consultation and conception in his studio in Cologne, and this with a surprisingly small team, as he reports.

The Chromojet process ensures brilliant print results and high abrasion resistance. The colours penetrate deep into the backing material, which is made of high-quality felt. Photo: © FLAT'N

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Put simply, FLAT'N is comparable to a print service provider. The only difference is that you don't have to deliver your graphic design ready-made, but are looked after every step of the way with expert knowledge and according to your own design ideas – and that's how simple it can be to bring unique carpet creations to life.

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FLAT'N

Manufacturer

Cologne, Germany