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SHELL ISSUE - n° 18 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
Custom Line Nav
etta 42
QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/03 /2019 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50- Poste Italian amento Postale e S.p.a. - 70% - LO/MI
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T E X T U R A L A R T I ST RY by Mary Hegarty -pct. courtesy by OT
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Shots below, Oliver Treutlein, his wife Elke and CEO/Project Manager Lisa Haase are a close knit team. This shot features some of OT’s creations. Every single carpet that leaves the Oliver Treutlein premises is 100% unique
They’ve been making bespoke carpets and rugs for the world’s most luxurious yachts for three decades. But ultra-luxe materials and the mastery of a great artist mean nothing is impossible for the OT team
“W
e do carpet Haute Couture,” laughs Oliver Treutlein, the owner and founder of the eponymous German-based
bespoke carpet-making business, often affectionately referred to simply as OT. “If a client wants an alpaca yarn we don’t stock, we organise this special fibre for them.” A rare individual who has managed to turn his passion for his craft into art, Treutlein has won the respect and dedication of a long series of superyacht yards across the world. He started hand-tufting his own carpet designs in 1985, having inherited a love of textiles from his salesman father. He was wife, Elke, and a close knit team comprising CEO/Project Manager Lisa Haase and Project manager Nadja Waljawin. OT is very much a family affair as his two daughters Katharina, 25, and Julia, 20,
ph. Rupert Peace
just 19 at the time but now heads a flourishing business with his
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help out too. Hand-tufting carpet may not have the same centuries-old tradition as knotting, but it is the perfect technique for producing modern bespoke designs as it is faster and more versatile yet produces a very strong, luxurious and, when required, textural result. Every single carpet that leaves the Oliver Treutlein premises is 100% unique. “Traditionally we recommend New Zealand Merino Wool, linen or viscose. Or the most luxurious of all carpet yarns: silk,” he explains. But uniqueness takes time, thought and skill. “We are normally involved in the creative process at a very early stage. About two years before we install the carpet, we meet with the designer in his studio or invite him to our showrooms for first briefings. Then we develop designs in our textile design department, send samples and fabrics back and forth, meet again, develop artwork and huge sample sets. It’s hard work but great fun,” OT generally recommends new Zealand Merino Wool,
says Oliver. The design process can be as unique
linen or viscose for their magnificent carpets: the result
as the resulting carpet. Most famously, however,
is that walking on them feels like walking on clouds
Fremantle-based designer Sam Sorgiovanni’s brief for the dining room carpet aboard the 88-metre
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Oceanco Nirvana came in the form of a
method we use is an old textile tradition,” he
pile of twigs and leaves from the Australian
tells us. “We stretch the carpet on gripper
rainforest. Treutlein jokes that the contents
bars. The result is that walking on one of
of his luggage took a bit of explaining to
our carpets feels like walking on clouds. The
customs officers on his return to Europe.
carpet is also protected against pressure in
He is, however, understandably tight-lipped
the long term and can easily be removed as
on his recent nautical projects as discretion
it is not glued down”. Texture is one of the
is part of the package when dealing with
signatures of Treutlein’s work and his hand-
notoriously private superyacht owners and
tufting method. Perhaps his most unusual
yards. But his carpets do adorn the likes
commission in this regard came from
of Abeking and Rasmussen’s Aviva and
Lürssen when it was refitting the 72.5-metre
Elandess, Oceanco‘s Barbara and Jubilee
Coral Ocean: “We had to create a new way
and Lürssen’s Shu and Kismet. Depending
to have up to 25 cm long wool ornaments
on the quantity of colors and the complexity
growing out of the carpets originally
of the design it can take about eight weeks
designed by the late Jon Bannenberg 30
to complete for instance one guest room
years ago….” But Treutlein loves a challenge
carpet. Then, the Treutlein team will either
and relishes engaging with each new client
drive or fly the finished product out to the
and each new project: “I need it like I need
yacht where they will spend a further three
to breathe,” he explains simply.
or four days, meticulously installing it. “The
www.olivertreutlein.com 131