Surfing a wave of smashing success in London, rug sellers Chris and Suzanne Sharp ventured across the pond to set up a beachhead in New York two years ago. Continuing their winning ways in the former colonies, their new outpost has since doubled in size. Certainly the couple owes a bit of the credit for this stateside good fortune to strategic alliances with some of fashion's boldest personas—Paul Smith, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Lulu Guinness, to name a few. But Suzanne's marketing skills, which rival her design abilities, have also been a big part of the story. Known for her trademark oversized posy patterns in pop colors, Harlequin is a marked departure. While on holiday in Morocco, the designer says, "I fell in love with the shapes of the lanterns there." To create the piece, wool was carded, sorted, spun, dyed, and woven by hand in Nepal. G120A typical 100-knots-per-inch construction was needed to craft the distinctive curves, precise circles, and perfect delineation of colors. "Anything lower would have blurred the lines and ruined the grace of the rug," Suzanne explains. To highlight the unique contrast of colors and forms, she introduced silk yarns. Their glimmering silk tufts are juxtaposed with wool piles that absorb more light, infusing the rug with a shimmering luster. 88 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-274-0444; http://www.therugcompany.info/. circle 782