Hanging on a wall of the White House is a bespoke wall rug designed by a Maltese woman and her husband who were commissioned by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Suzanne and her British husband Christopher Sharp, owners of The Rug Company, designed the rug presented as a gift to US President Barack Obama during his state visit to the UK last week.
The special wall hanging features a Union Flag in the background and the American Eagle, Stars and Stripes, flowers and butterflies.
“As a British company completely committed to the verybest of British design andtraditional handmade craft, it was a great honour to produce this unique work for the Obamas tocommemorate their visit to Britain,” Mr Sharp said.
“We feel that the piece successfully celebrates the close union between our two countries and it gives us great pleasure to know that this tapestry will be making its home in the White House.”
Founded in 1997, the Rug Company is the brainchild of the Sharps who opened their flagship store in London when they left Malta after living on the island for six years.
While in Malta, they had two businesses – one selling handmade rugs, and the other selling contemporary furniture and homeware.
Their first London store was a success and The Rug Company now has 17 shops worldwide, including five in the US.
Each rug is handmade by skilled artisans using the best traditional rug-making skills and with the finest natural yarns.
In 2000 the company established its designer collection – a collaboration with world class designers including Vivienne Westwood, Diane von Furstenburg andAlexander McQueen.
Their celebrities’ client list is impressive – ranging from royalty, sports moguls and footballers, fashion designers, actors, directors, top models and music artists.
A quick scan of their star clients reveals the names of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, models JadeJagger, Christy Turlington, Heidi Klum and her husband Seal, Cameron Diaz, Colin Firth, Elton John, Ridley Scott and QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands.
However, Malta remains special to the Sharps who have very strong connections and affection for the island. In fact, they are planning to open a branch of The Rug Company in Malta in October.