In a world where most anything can be customized, bought online, and then brought to your door, the rug industry hasn’t quite caught up. John Foley—the founder and former executive chairman of Peloton, the fitness platform that unlocked digital marketplaces for stationary bikes—hopes to change that with his new direct-to-consumer custom rug venture, Ernesta. Announced last November with an alpha phase that almost immediately reached capacity, the beta launch commences today with Ernesta, a collection of rugs ready to be custom-sized and delivered to 3,700 zip codes in New York, Dallas, Miami, and Chicago, with another 30,000 zip codes soon to come.
Though Foley might be new to the interior design industry, he’s no neophyte. “I’ve been getting Architectural Digest every month for at least 25 years,” he says with a laugh, “and long before Pinterest or Houzz or whatever, I’d cut pages out and create folders of different aesthetics and architectural elements and spaces. So I’ve been creating mood boards for my life for a couple decades.”
And he says he’s been looking for ways the industry could be improved. “I’ve been fascinated with the rug category and how kind of broken it is,” he says. “The store-bought model works, sometimes. But if you have a bigger space or want a better fit, often you wouldn’t know where to go to get a custom-cut rug that would look bespoke, well-designed, and well-executed. If you work with a high-end designer, you often get incredible execution. But the consumer largely didn’t know where to go if they want to do it themselves.”
He’s hoping they’ll go to Ernesta.com, where they can browse collections overseen by chief merchandising officer Rosa Glenn, who formerly led the charge on West Elm’s stocked and made-to-order rugs. “We’re focusing on elevated classics,” she says of Ernesta’s initial offerings, which include some 48 nubby solids, subtle stripes, and plaids in 38 total colorways, and largely in wool and sisal. Their restrained designs echo the terse prose of Ernest Hemingway, whose name inspired that of the company. (As did Bob Nesta Marley, one of Foley’s favorite musicians.) “I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find a prevalence of handloomed and hand-crafted products manufactured by the roll,” Glenn says, “which means we can get a full range of sizes to cut and surge.” Their factory in north Georgia will take care of all that and keep delivery centralized.
Other direct-to-consumer rug companies have already been transforming the sector, but Foley intends Ernesta to be a big leap forward—especially at the consumer touch points. After they’ve found a few favorites on the website, customers can follow the Warby Parker model and order up to five samples, which will arrive in a midnight-blue branded box. The box’s $50 cost is then applied as a credit towards purchase.