Why this master artist inspires a fierce following.
A rare talent by any measure, Artist-in-Residence Blair Bender brings mastery to the process of designing custom rugs. His exceptional designs—now numbering in the thousands—are prized throughout the wider design community.
Keenly attuned to the needs of interior designers, Blair’s gift for listening, questioning and translating objectives sparks memorable creative exchanges—and sometimes, blind trust. His professionalism, attention to detail, and respect for individual tastes has earned the loyalty of clients nationwide.
“Let’s create the woven version of your vision.”
— Blair Bender
Designer. Artist. Passionate gardener.
Although Blair chose to pursue his passion for rug design over three decades ago, he continues exercising the strategic, contextual thinking of an interior designer, his initial profession.
His artistry is refined and instinctive; he takes a painterly approach, viewing each rug as a canvas. Not surprisingly, he also paints to express himself, freely layering his brushwork, in contrast with the precise, two-dimensional discipline of rug design.
Themes inspired by the natural world often show up in Blair’s work, nurtured by the garden he tends in the summer, framed by the stone wall he built by hand.
Our shared process around these elements—blended with artisanship—underlies the alchemy of rug design.
Pattern & Scale
Often the starting point. By deploying pattern and scale with authority, you go directly to the heart of your intention, empowering unity, harmony, a frame, a solution for a quixotic area, a dramatic focal point— perhaps a deliberate touch of chaos.
Fiber
Consider the feeling and uses of pure wool or silk in clothing: warming or cooling, smooth or textured, casual or formal. Your rug may be viewed as clothing for the space. What does the setting call for or the environment demand?
Color
Like water, color may flow forcefully or gently, steadily or in staccato. Its infinite, mutable possibilities are constrained, released and directed, when subjected to the challenges of design, fiber, dye and loom.
Construction
Even the most innovative rug designs owe their structural integrity to techniques that skilled workers have honed for centuries. It is essential to select artisans trained to translate design ideas on their looms.
Transform your client’s space with the originality of a custom rug from Legacy Looms.
Custom Rugs