WHO WE ARE  (page 14 of 15)

Chris & Ibrahim with the "Mayor" of the village where the Star Ushak was woven
WE ARE OUR CARPETS ~1~

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. 

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