Tamarian Carpets Takes Chicago Designers Deep into the World of Rug Making

An Oscar Isberian Blog by Diane Cotton Caplan

Did you know that an 8×10 hand-knotted carpet actually takes a village to create? From the sheep farmers, shearing experts, wool spinners and small-batch dyers to the pattern designers, master weavers, washers, rug finishers, import specialists and customs officers, upwards of 50 people can touch a single carpet.

This is just one of the many aspects of rug making that Tamarian Carpets’ Chris Saliga, Director of Sales, and Geoff Duckwork, Director of Custom Rugs, shared with invited guests at two pre-fall events at Oscar Isberian Rugs’ Chicago and Evanston locations, Sept. 18-19.

If you’re unfamiliar with award-winning Tamarian, the Baltimore-based company has been at the top of the hand-knotted Nepalese rug game for more than two decades. With a laser focus on design, color and texture, Tamarian execs not only care about the carpet-making process, but also have a deeply rooted passion and respect for Nepal and its people.

Chris Saliga began the seminar by showing images in and around Nepal, underscoring the three elements that inspire every Tamarian design: art, architecture and nature. Whether relics from a Buddhist temple, a native textile or even the Himalayan landscape, Saliga said, “Art occurs when you create something – throwing a pot, brushing a stroke or tying a knot.”

While Tamarian’s carpets are sold around the world, it really is a community endeavor, with the rug artisans given much latitude in terms of color and design. “Some of our most successful designs are the result of happy mistakes,” said Geoff Duckworth, who went on to reveal side-by-side images of architectural drawings turned into modern area rug designs; temple carvings and coin rubbings turned into rug designs; a digital image from a Photoshop smudging application turned into a cool graphic design; and even graffiti-looking shredded posters hanging askew on the side of a city building turned into an edgy, urban rug. “Inspiration is everywhere,” Duckworth said.

Saliga and Duckworth were joined by Tamarian sales executive, Jim Caserio, at the two-day Isberian event. For a personal Tamarian showing or more information, including how you can customize your own Tamarian rug and even get a photo of it on the loom in Nepal for your clients, call Oscar Isberian Rugs at: (888) 900-9595.