Contemporary rug producer Christopher Farr has collaborated with The Courtauld Gallery on five hand-crafted rugs, available for sale, based on original designs by the Omega Workshops. They are currently on view at Somerset House, London, through June 24. After Bloomsbury: Rugs from the Omega Workshops, 1913-1916 presents the original designs alongside their new, contemporary counterparts.

Left: a design on paper attributed to Duncan Grant, 1913-1915; right: the Christopher Farr contemporary interpretation

Founded by artists and critic Roger Fry in 1913, Omega Workshops, though short in life coincided with one of the most creative periods in the modern British craft and design movement. Some of the artists involved included Bloomsbury members Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, who were inspired by the Fauvist and Cubist movements as well as African art. Their workshops closed in 1919, despite weathering World War I.

Left: a design on paper, 1913-1915; right: Christopher Farr's rug interpretation

The designs are defined by their used of bold colors and prevalence of black, creating both an organic and geometric pattern. The Courtauld Gallery has the largest surviving collection of Omega drawings, numbering roughly 100. Only a handful of the rugs were ever made, one of which is the Lady Hamilton Rug in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The new, hand-knotted Christopher Farr rugs were made in Turkey of wool and mohair. Each is available in a limited edition of fifteen.

Left: a Vanessa Bell-design on paper, 1913-1914; right: Christopher Farr's rug interpretation