Market Micro: Wild and Woolly

-- Interior Design, 6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

manufacturer: Lama.

product: Cell.

standout: Because this rug is made of individual wool-felt strips, it's easy to expand and, eventually, to repair.

The Cell rug didn't start out as flooring. Asked by a textile museum, Weverijmuseum Geldrop, to present product ideas involving wool felt, Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel started to experiment with the naturally self-extinguishing, breathable, water-resistant material. When early efforts yielded thin room dividers, the designers, attracted to the material's pliability, kept playing with denser versions, eventually moving on to the industrial grade used for Cell. The felt is pressed, cut into strips, and glued randomly to a net backing. To prevent pilling, the side typically thought of as the back is face-up. Cell can also be used as an acoustical wall treatment. For twinkle, LEDs are applied between the felt and the backing. 31-20-412-17-98; lamaconcept.nl. circle 415