The name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who has been described as '' a genius ahead of his time'', is now seen as synonymous with the Art Nouveau movement.

He began his working life in Glasgow, the city of his birth, as an articled apprentice architect with the firm of John Hutchinson. His mastery of the skills needed for architectural and technical drawing were soon noticed and he went on to win many awards and some of the highest prizes in the field at both local and national levels.

Mackintosh travelled around Scotland, England, and Italy, sketching historic architectural sites. It is believed that these field trip exercises nurtured the development of his latent expressive and artistic talents. His drawing became less rigidly technical and this became evident in his studies of flowers and plants. Mackintosh was to become much influenced by Japanese art and the stylised techniques used in drawing and painting plants and flowers.

The most architecturally outstanding and famos building by Charles Rennie Mackintosh was his design for the Glasgow School of Art, erected between 1897 and 1909. It was practical, functional and artistic, and the dynamic simplicity of its design became a model for many future architectural designs.

Mackintosh's talent for interior design can be seen in the now famous Cranston Tea Room of Glasgow and the Willow Tea Rooms. He succeeded in creating atmosheric interiors of such elegant sophistication that the Cranston Tea Rooms became some of the most popular and fashionable venues in Glasgow during the Edwardian era and onwards.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh has been described as a consummate designer and draughtsman who became to represent and typify the style of the Art Nouveau movement. His work is easily recognisable, with his frequent use of  motifs such as the stylised rose, seen in so many of his projects - a trademark of simplification, abstraction and symbolism.

The revival of interest in his work is a tribute to his skill as a designer in that his use of shape and form can be adapted to so many different modern items. They are still deceptively simple and yet so pleasing to the eye.

This Collection has been inspired by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Craigie Stockwell carpets commissioned Ian Spalding to create a number of rug designs drawn from several areas of mackintosh's work.

These can be re-created in any size, shape or colour combination by Craigie Stockwell Carpet's expert designers to enable them to work with your interior scheme.

These inspired, lively designs will sit well on any contemporary floor.