This venture really started out as a labor of
love, and that still informs the way Classical Carpets does
business. “We have two main goals as a company, one is to make
and sell joyful, beautiful carpets, the other is to share our
joy and prosperity with all of our partners.” says Chris.
And by partners, he means all of those involved
in making and selling our rugs, including the shepherds, the
spinners, the dyers, the weavers, the shearers, the washers, and
the retail dealers.
When he first came up with the idea of the
Classical Carpets, Chris looked around the world to find who
might best manufacture these rugs for him. He looked at
companies in China, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
and Azerbaijan, among other places.
He started working with one manufacturer in
Azerbaijan and another one in Turkey. "Although
they both made excellent prototype carpets, the character of the
carpets was quite different, so we were challenged to establish
a consistent standard for our work." |
Now they are exclusively working with their
Turkish partner Ibrahim Tekin, who brings an extensive
background in high quality restoration. We utilize a network of small scale cooperative spinning, dying and weaving
workshops in the Central Anatolian villages around Ushak and
Konya. Each carpet literally takes a village to make.
And this is
where these particular designs
come from, and perhaps with an awareness of that, everyone there
has always gone the extra mile. Both the Master Dyer and
Workshop Manager spent some time the museums in Istanbul to
better study first hand the actual carpets Chris was initially inspired
by. “That was a major turning point, because then they really
understood what we were really aiming for, and enthusiastically
set out to help us figure out how to do it.”
So, on a deeper level all the partners are
emotionally invested in this venture. For these carpets are
not only incredibly beautiful and powerful designs, they are an
integral part of their Anatolian culture, something to aspire to and to be
proud of. |