The Ruggist

‘Possibilities’ ‘It was so lovely to re-listen to the NedTalks podcast I was on this past summer. Afterward I found myself revisiting many of the same emotions I had when it was initially published, or is that aired? Presented by Tamarian Social, it is produced, edited, et cetera by my friend Ned Baker who also runs Tamarian Social along with other staff at Tamarian. I think it is imperative to maintain this connection to who we are, not, if I’m being poetic, and I am, our ...cog-like role in the mechanizations of modern society. How essential is the work? I ask this deliberately and intentionally. So with those bloviating words I close the book on what The Ruggist had grown into, for it is time to reïnvent as I’ve written about much in recent issues of Rug Insider Magazine. It is time to reëxamine and not pine for the paths not taken, but rather look with excitement toward the possibilities ahead.’ This is a truncated version of a longer post which appears today on The Ruggist, link below. Please, if you actually enjoy my work, I encourage you to read it and to join me in parting ways with divisiveness, the elevation of ignorance and deception, and, if we are being frank, creating ‘content’ which only serves to enrich others. Good luck and godspeed.

‘I grow weary of this world.’ And we grow weary of this movie! - So goes the exchange between Magenta as played by Patricia Quinn in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ and the participatory audience as it dutifully replies in the irreverent manner so befitting the cult classic. It also sums up my feelings as of late toward more or less everything rug and carpet related. As a writer of rugs and carpets I’ve long espoused the importance of nuänce, of subtlety, of perspective, of ...various shades of grey when discussing the genre; rare it is that anything is ever truly black and white. Yet at the same time one cannot write a carefully thought out and reasoned argument, one replete with refinement and overtones, against the will of the masses, consumer apathy, or for that matter much in the world today. For lines have been drawn - exacerbated as they are by the very medium which brings you these words today. Nuänce is dead, killed by the contemporary American dichotomy of U(nited) S(tates) versus THEM trickling down and permeating all that would otherwise be good and more open to change. Of course all of this may now make life easier for someone who is often asked his opinion as to the merits - artistic, technical, or otherwise - of a rug or carpet. No longer must or will I demure to the special interests of advertisers who would rather I lie than tell the truth. No longer will I euphemistically say ‘It’s sellable,’ when I want to say ‘It’s a banal plain beige rug. Should I have an opinion?’ And no longer will I sugar coat it when asked about the latest so-called greatest rug from the allegorical Epitome Rugs. Instead, I’ll tell it like it is. Heed this as warning that should I be asked about a new introduction from Epitome Rugs, one which dutifully replicates the look of the past, I may just reply with: ‘How colonial of you to steal an ethnographic design and claim it as your own copyright. Explain to me again how self-entitled and myopic you are.’ Godspeed to us all as we embrace the ‘new normal.' #rugs #carpets #godspeed #fortheloveofcarpets #design #interiordesign #truth #weary #color #colour #handknotted #genchigenbutsu #luxe #luxury #stopexploitation

The modern era of carpetry has brought with it the ability to customize a handknotted and handmade carpet with great ease and confidence. Critical to this has been colour reference tools allowing the specifier to convey to the maker, with reasonable precision and accuracy, the colours to be used and their placement across the design. While colour poms made by ARS_Colors are now the most commonly used reference, proprietary systems do exist. Which is better? Aaaah! The $64,000... question. The answer: Proprietary. Only by utilizing a colour reference system from the maker who is actually making your rug or carpet will one know - with highest degree of certainty - the colour specified is precisely the colour received. This is simply because while standard systems form a basis for reference, they do not convey the formula, recipe, or technique required to produce a colour the same as the pom. Oh yes, a dye master may get close, but few colour formulas are the same from one master to the next, and moreover water quality, materials, and technique all influence the resultant hue. For ‘standard’ colour systems there is simply no soul, no understanding of nuänce, and certainly scant understanding of the full spectrum of colour. When I commissioned a magenta hued hanky rug from Noreen Seabrook Handmade Carpets, I sent four fabric samples which approximated the colour I desired. I then let Marko and his entire team work their magic so that the carpet I received reflected what I wanted, yet was still imbued with their particular approach to carpetry. Is it the magenta I would have picked? Who knows! Does it convey the essence, character, and feel I so desired? Absolutely. Perhaps this is why dye masters in Nepal are known to say ‘nineteen / twenty’ when discussing the precision of colour. Is it nineteen or is it twenty? Yes, yes it is and that’s the way I have always preferred it. #rugs #carpets #colour #color #dye #dyemaster #imdyeinghere #fortheloveofcarpets #design #custom #customrugs #bespoke #hankycode #nepal #carpetswithsoul #interiors #interiordesign

‘Le bon Dieu est dans le détail.’ Whether or (k)not God, god, or gods exist is no concern today as we contemplate the unknowns beyond our grasp and understanding. This is what the idiom ‘God is in the details,’ means to me. It conveys an appreciation for all manner of things we as humans marvel at while remaining simultaneously naïve as to the nature of their being. Likewise the darker perspective of ‘The Devil is in the details,’ conveys the same willingness to ascribe the i...ncomprehensible to mystic forces beyond our worldview, understanding, or quite frankly, willingness to learn. Two perspectives of but many, both incontrovertibly expressing the same sentiment: details matter. At the same time, these very details, while critical and integral to the nature of say perhaps a handknotted rug or carpet can, if exposed in a manner uncouth, present the attune and woke consumer with a quandary. How does one reconcile the true detailed nature of the exploitive practices of all manner of handwork against emerging modern day sensibilities of human worth, self-expression, and as it should always and forever be, the value of human labour - upon which countless civilisations have risen and fallen. This labour day, think not of your cottage weekend or BBQ, nor lament indulgences lost due to pandemic, but rather think of the impoverished labourer upon which your - and my - lavish and wasteful Western lifestyle is built. Then on Tuesday let’s start fixing it. : Farahan carpet - Submitted for the Rug Insider Magazine ‘Under the Rug’ virtual show and perfectly illustrative of the need to see details. Don’t miss the forest for the trees, but know there is no forest without them. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #design #labourday #laborday #neweranewthinking #iranian #handknotted #wool #vegetaldye #botanticaldye #slowmaking #itsnotluxurytobuyquality #themoreyouknow

Recently I had the pleasure of participating in a conference organized by the Kabul Carpet Export Center. Invited to speak by my friend and colleague Rob Leahy, I was excited, if not also trepidatious, about sharing my thoughts - in somewhat vague terms - about what the industry, such that it remains as a cohesive group, needs to do in order to adapt; several comments by other presenters as well as a few general observations now seem sharply in focus. An executive summary if ...you will follows: Supply chain disruptions are quite problematic. Freight costs, if freight can even be arranged, are currently quite high. Rug importers are looking toward Afghan rug making because labour conditions there are favourable. Read: Lower price. Cost on the other hand... . A sentiment I expressed during my ‘Showroom of the Future’ presentation at DOMOTEX this past January, that we must adapt technology to the industry not adapt the industry to technology was echoed by several people. This! After years of pretending the future does not arrive everyday. Covid has fostered a huge nesting instinct and the urge for safety and the known. This has lead to a popularity surge in classical Persian designs. However, this is not, despite what some might think, due to their endearing value. It is because for generations now that is what defined an oriental rug; it’s familiarity and nothing more - except perhaps a glut of extant supply as Leslie Stroh of Rug News and Design pointed out. Many people seem more concerned with convincing others they are experts as opposed to just being an expert. The Rug Show has no substantive plan. When prompted to speak about plans for the show by the astute Tim Steinert of Carpet Magazine, Jack Simantob provided a rambling statement that is best described as a ‘non-answer.’ Guarav Sharma of Obeetee quite rightly asks ‘What is a floorcovering?’ as the industry must face the reality that we’re in a period of great disruption. You still need the hand - to make, to feel, to do otherwise - in handknotted. #rugs #carpets #design #modernity #zoom #handknotted #fortheloveofcarpets #wool #colour #color #genchigenbutsu #themoreyouknow

To embrace modern design and all which it entails is to place oneself at the uneasy crux betwixt the past and the future; only by first examining thoroughly what has been done before prior to folding in the techniques, materials, and technology of today can the modernist craft something in tune with the requirements of this era. By discarding faux notions of aesthetics defined as traditional, modern, contemporary, or the most lazy minded transitional, et alia the modernist de...signs and crafts for the needs and wants of today - not falsely defined conformist visages meant to bind us to the past instead of lead us to the future. Modernity is not tied to style, looks, embellishments, ornamentations, nor the like. Rather it is an ephemeral moment which captures the zeitgeist of civilization. It’s like smoke from incense wafting delicately in the still air. One moment there, the next gone, forgotten except in memory or, if one was so fortunate, captured by photography or other media including, as it must, handknotted rugs or carpets. Philosophically and artistically one should then ponder if another piece can be made the same? If indeed impermanence adds perceived value, then does it not behoove the modern carpetor or carpetrix to strive to forge a newfound work in ones oeuvre as opposed to repetitively revisiting the past? Moreover, where is that line drawn? Are carpets as art - a noble and grand sentiment - Warholian in nature or are they more singular? I would like to think the great modernist carpets of this time - and truthfully any - resoundingly favour the latter. #rugs #carpets #handknotted #wool #ephemeral #design #modernity #modern #fortheloveofcarpets #smoke #interiordesign #luxe #homedecor #styleoftheday

‘Limited commercial value’ is a phrase one will undoubtably read or overhear if one is to spend any amount of time dealing within the antique and collectable segment of the rug and carpet trade. Its use, seemingly at once condescending and pompous, is oft part of a compliment sandwich akin to: ‘It’s a beautiful example of [BLANK], of limited commercial value, but serviceable and hard wearing. Keep it if you love it!’ The question I now ask somewhat rhetorically of these lear...ned aficionados of past glories is thus: ‘What, exactly, gives any old, worn, antique, vintage, or to be fully encompassing, extant rug or carpet its ‘commercial value?’ The whims of fashion and taste - le mode de le saison - of course, for it is certainly not intrinsic qualities such as durability nor artistic merit. The former far too practical for the concerns of those out for profit, the latter too subjective and oft manufactured to be of any discernible value. And so it is the rug and carpet trade of all manner is confronted with the age old dilemma of those who have and continue to craft enduring wares. With innumerable examples of objets de collection including but not limited to handknotted rugs and carpets which, for various and arbitrary reasons left uncounted, have both risen and fallen from desire and thus ‘commercial value,’ one is left to ponder the veracity of the oft preposterous notions of the rug and carpet trade - of which there are many. Without belabouring those finer and nuänced points of discussion, let us instead simply ask, ‘What do you think imbues a handknotted rug or carpet with value - commercial, intrinsic, or otherwise? And moreover, how or do these qualities mesh with the current and emerging needs and wants of modern society?’ #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #design #modernity #deluxe #luxe #handwork #handwerk #handknotted #handknottedrugs #hooked #wool #interiordesign #verigated #colour #color #rethinktherug #themoreyouknow

‘I am an artist-ornamentalist,’ said Pierre Marie when I interviewed him prior to publishing my article on his spectacular tapestry ‘Ras El Hanout.’ Defined by the adroit Pierre Marie as ‘Someone that has the talent and the knowledge to decorate any surface with a story, a pattern, a frieze,’ he further adds that ‘some media are more hungry for drawing than others; and textile is definitely one of them.’ Little did I know then in early 2019 how ornamentation would be the el...ixir necessary to calm the ennui brought about by a preponderance of mediocrity in rug and carpet design. Ornamentation, it seems, is what has been lacking and it is with wide eyes and and eager spirit that I now gaze toward the future of carpet design. I believe preëminent and insightful talents such as Pierre Marie are key to this future. Modern as is required by the times in which we live, and informed by a rich global history of handwork and ornamentation, work such as that of Pierre Marie invokes figurative representations of reality, transforming the natural and built world into one simultaneously newfound, yet familiar. This is no grand revelation; the masters of past eras of glorious and exalted carpetry - and indeed artistry of many forms - new this well as evidenced by their acclaimed extant works. And so it was that in November 2019 I joined Pierre Marie in Kathmandu, Nepal as he embarked on his carpet making journey. By joining forces with esteemed carpet makers, a marriage of art and craft if you will, Pierre Marie is melding past and present, much the same as was done during the creation of ‘Ras El Hanout,’ and likewise as has been done throughout the history of beautiful objects. I’m choosing to follow along for I believe in the necessity of singular ornamentation to rescue us from the banality that has become the vast majority of carpet design in the early 21st century. Perhaps you will as well. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #genchigenbutsu #design #kathmandu #handwork #handknotted #ornamentation

‘Questions asked, and questions answered,’ is an underlying theme to be found throughout my commentary and critique of the handknotted rug and carpet trade. Too often however we choose not to ask, or defer to false authorities instead of pressing for real answers. In many ways this reflects, en masse, civilization and the control thereof - all of this is inter-related after all. Say what? Well that, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary individuals is but merely a teaser of what ...is to be discovered listening to the latest episode of the NEDtalks podcast presented by Tamarian Social. My friend and ‘marketing generalist’ of Tamarian Carpets, Ned Baker and I sat down over Zoom for a lengthy and somewhat rambling, approximately three (3) hour chat about my career, the ‘actors’ I play, and the state and future of carpetry. Fortunately for you, Mr. Baker is a wizard of editing prowess so you need spare ONLY seventy (70) minutes of your time as Baker and I delve into the esoteric mind that is all mine, mine, mine. We talk technology (obviously), how we met (rugs naturally), Tamarian (as is required by the venue), Rug Insider Magazine (as is required by one of my gigs), and the changes - however one chooses to define this - now underfoot (as is required by the times). It’s less insight into rugs and carpets, more peek behind the veil that is ‘The Ruggist.’ Or perhaps it is a bit of both, all things being interconnected. Perhaps ironically unanswered by yours truly is the $64,000 question of gameshow fame, ‘What does the rug industry need to keep, and what do we cast aside?’ I do tease some thoughts in the podcast, but as Baker notes, ‘Your latest Instagram post really has me thinking.’ The true answers develop within us all over time and for those, I could only hope you follow along as we - royally, collectively, or otherwise - work collaboratively to change rugs and carpets, carpetry, for the better - whatever that means. In short, ‘Where do we draw the line?’ Listen to NEDtalks today on Anchor or Spotify. Enjoy! https://anchor.fm//NedTalks-Michael-Christie-aka-The-Ruggi

In a forthcoming NEDtalks Podcast presented by Tamarian Carpets the firm’s self-described ‘marketing generalist’ Ned Baker and I discuss the different hats I wear including, as it must, switching between opinionated and controversial commentator as The Ruggist (Thank you for saying so Ned, I am most honoured!), and more restrained work as Editor of Rug Insider Magazine. It is with this same singular duality I approached the creation of a Tamarian Social Spotify playlist (Link... below...) released just yesterday in anticipation of the podcast drop - assuming Mr. Baker gets it edited down from a rambling two plus hours of content. Selections by The Ruggist, order by Rug Insider Editor Michael Christie. Playlist #14 (Um, hello? Branding anyone?) is a fanciful, metaphor laden vainglorious exploration of themes influenced by seminal moments of my life, envious lyrical wordsmithing, and, inescapably so, the times in which we live. Could it be a fait accompli? Well, I’m so vain I do think the song is about me . Opening with ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ by Queen the tone is set for the two act assemlage as contrasting perspectives presented by blonde bombshells with sultry voices compete against exotically enchanting homosexuals, and Glaswegian dandies battle American country royalty as history repeats itself, again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Oh those Russians! Common People (like me?) take centre stage as act two resurrects, or is that reïncarnates, the soul and spirit. Jai Guru Deva Om, I fear no one learned from (y)our mistake. Then came the earthquake, birds, and snakes, and aeroplanes, but I feel fine for I was once, twice, thrice, et cetera in Istanbul, not Constantinople; though really, should we not leave that to the Turks? Like mountains, beyond mountains, I wonder if another artifact of the past will become covered with flowers? Bonus teaser! In the podcast Mr. Baker asks me ‘Beatles or Rolling Stones?’ The answer is somewhere in this playlist. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #rockoutwithyourxxxxout https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5svJeT1fgMdqoopj6TcdSI

I recently said the requirements of this era demand ‘new concepts of wealth, and new ideas about aesthetics and luxury,’ and gauging from a heated conversation initiated by an internet troll whose only rhetorical skills involved using the various ‘-isms’ of the world - socialism, communism, et alia - as pejoratives, I feel as though there is perhaps need to clarify and expound. In short, we - as civilization - must rethink our antiquated notions of luxury, bringing into shar...p focus, as the technology of this time allows, the reality of the rugs and carpets under our feet. Only by acknowledging that any rug or carpet, from the most mediocre moquette replete with banal corporate aesthetics to the most recherché handknotted tapis d’artiste crafted in exotic lands, is in fact a luxury underfoot can we even begin the discussion. While I do wish we all lived in the esoteric world of the latter, it is the former that brings luxury to the masses of civilization, a necessary and required equalization of comfort at accessible-to-many pricepoints, even if the aesthetics are not as refined as ‘we’ might wish. But then again, who are we to judge the subjective matters of taste? Regardless we must from this point, judge harshly any product which is not produced or crafted in harmony with humanity and the environment. ‘If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production,’ as activist Pete Seeger once said. Only when we equate indulgence with respect for others and our mother planet, can we truly appreciate and luxuriate with what we can have, and what we can leave for successive generations. As the fanciful appreciation of craft and handwork ebbs and flows with the currents of economics, history, and taste, we, as both civilization and those of us who work, design, and toil in carpetry, must create and accept new models for our craft so that everyone benefits. That my friends, is de luxe. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #deluxe #livableluxury #design #art #craft #carpetry #interiordesign #rethinktherug #oldhabitsdiehard #21stcenturyliving #selfeet

Who made the handknotted rug or carpet that graces the floor of your home? Do you even know or care? Perhaps a name familiar in Western design circles comes to mind, or perhaps it is the name of the gallery - the fancy 2020 marketing term for ‘showroom, store, or shop’ - from which you purchased said rug. In either case, and indubitably countless others, neither is likely the name of the firm or people who actually made the rug or carpet, but it is the one the former cohort w...ould prefer you know; because it benefits them. This scenario is not unique to the world of handknotted rugs and carpets, but in an industry that routinely espouses craftsmanship, artistry, uniqueness, and the so-called ‘mystique of handknotted rugs’ one is left to wonder if all of this is perhaps intentionally opaque as to benefit Western brands, those aforementioned design houses, galleries, and - increasingly so - online rug and carpet retailers of obscured authenticity and identity. Why do Western firms promote the name of the rug designer, the stylist, the photographer, the long dead architect of the carefully coifed setting, the property owner, and the like, but never the actual maker of the rug and carpet they promote? This is asked rhetorically, for the answer is self-apparent. If the handknotted and handwork rug and carpet industry truly cares about craftsmanship and artistry, which is to say carpetry itself, I posit that it should then supplant egocentric marketing and advertising with that which truly honours those who craft the rugs and carpets we so love and appreciate. Isn’t it time that we truly meet our maker(s)? : Carpet samples shown on loom at Ranta Carpets in Kathmandu, Nepal. This photograph was taken by Rupesh Maharjan for ECS Nepal for a feature article on carpetry in Nepal. Ranta was a seminal force in transforming the carpet industry in Nepal during the latter part of the 20th century. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #design #makers #makermovement #makermonday #handknotted #wool #nepal #kathmandu #interiordesign #luxe #luxury #allrugsareluxurious

I am so very honoured to be joining Ahmet Balkan - @rugologist - on Friday, 24 July 2020 at 16:00 CET for his inaugural ‘Rug Chat.’ For those of you with difficulties reconciling times zones and various unnecessary iterations of ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ time, firstly, you’re in good company, secondly, let me break it down for you. Rug Chat! 24 July 2020 08:00 Portland... 11:00 New York 12:00 The Ruggist Home Office 17:00 Hannover 18:00 Beirut 20:45 Kathmandu 01:00 +1 Sydney We’re talking tradition versus modernity by sharing our individual appreciation for Turkmen and Nepali-Tibetan carpets. There will juxtaposition, contrast, and perhaps - ahem, cough - a discussion about the ever advancing lens of tradition and indeed modernity. What is traditional and why do we respect and revere it? And, what is modern and need it necessarily vanquish the status quo? All of this and more as we talk rugs, rugs, rugs!! Join us on Instagram Live. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #tradition #modernity #rugchats #ruglove #design #traditional #modern #talk #aficionado #collector #futurism #timeless #casual #informal #themoreyouknow

‘The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.’ - Attributed to Confucius ‘She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment and to call each thing by its right name, or, if this were not within her power, to give birth out of love for life to successors who would do it in her place.’ - Boris Pasternak In apparent reaction to the redeveloping tone and stance of The Ruggist, I was asked recently what things I think are imperative for the rug ...industry to change during these times of Covid. After the paramount and equal concerns of humanity and environment, foremost is that we must embrace honesty. Advertising and marketing, salesmanship, and yes of course my own critique of rugs and carpets must not only welcome the truth, but must also champion it above what is often not-so-politely called ‘bullshit.’ That era my friends has past; unfortunate as that may be as I myself have been know to write some great bee-ess. Instead we must, as Confucius and Pasternak remind, call things by their proper name. Silk is silk. Period. ‘Bamboo Silk’ is not. Exclamation Mark! In fact, the later is simply rayon (or viscose if you must) and that is okay. It’s a fibre, made by man, and it has application. However let us not put lipstick on a pig and borrow the credibility of silk to promote a synthetic fibre. Rather let us embrace the fact that we - as a dangerously intelligent species - have created something with wide, debatable applications, across many industries. Let us call it rayon and let us take pride in the fact that we have willed into existence a fibre which brings lustrous charm to a wider audience that silk alone. The limitations of reality prevent us from providing de luxe natural fibres to all of civilization, but we can provide both natural and synthetic options to meet the needs and wants of a wide range of clientele. There is no shame in this, and moreover we should be humbled by what we can actually do by calling things as they actually are, by their ‘proper name.’ : Tibetan Highland Sheep’s Wool as seen in Kathmandu, Nepal of course! #rugs #carpets #kathmandu #nepal #nepalimade #fortheloveofcarpets #design #genchigenbutsu

‘the best carpets for a new era.’ What, pray tell, does this even mean? Reflecting upon this moment in history, and moreover the demands it has placed on all of humanity, it has become clear we truly have little idea how to take care of ourselves. Yes, it is true we marginally know how to take care of some of it, but we unequivocally do not know how to take care of the disparate demands of society, civilization, and the individual. Look around with open eyes and that much is... clear. Thus, for those who choose to work in the rug and carpet trade, there is - and perhaps there always was - a moral imperative to craft a luxurious product which respects not only the humans involved, but also the planet; the two are inextricably intertwined. That is what ‘best carpets’ means. Those which respect both humans and the earth. En masse, this will require new manners of distribution, new methods of production, new concepts of wealth, and new ideas about aesthetics and luxury. It will require treating workers of all levels equitably, and it must all be done so in a manner compatible with the needs of the planet and the environment. Simply put, no longer can we exploit impoverished workers to make a beautiful carpet that will simply be discarded at the whims of so-called fashionable society. So for those of you making and selling carpets which can be composted and returned to the earth, or are designed, crafted, and disposed of in accordance with the principles of circular design, I offer commendations, for you are leading the way. For the rest of you, particularly those firms making plastic rugs - cheap, expensive, or otherwise - whose only destiny is a landfill, or those making tufted (or any) rugs which cannot be readily deconstructed and recycled, or those feigning deference to the demands of customers, I say simply this, ‘Rethink what you are doing. You’re killing this planet in the name of vanity.’ #rugs #carpets #design #interiors #responsibledesign #reaponsibleluxury #circulareconomy #circulardesign #fortheloveofcarpets #interiordesign #colour #color #earth #saveourplanet #saveourselves #rethinktherug #interiordesigner #luxury #craftresponsibly #genchigenbutsu

‘I'm interested when things are upside down - because there are so many possibilities in that one moment. There is a lot that is exposed.' - Anna Deavere Smith The possibilities of this era, this perhaps untimely and certainly unprecedented moment, are profound and limitless; that they have manifest themselves during a period of pandemic, political posturing, and economic upheaval does not come as a surprise to those who have studied history. The book on the shelf is, after a...ll, always repeating itself. With so much now laid bare, made raw and exposed, we - as members of human civilization - have been asked to embrace a ‘new normal’ by those nominally in charge. Yet this so-called ‘new normal’ mistakenly assumes a dutiful adherence to old systems of power, influence, structure, and the like, all of which are equally bound to this period of turmoil and so it is I ask of the rug and carpet trade, ‘How it is that we can genuinely change? To make an actual new normal that accounts for all that has been exposed not only by the events of the past six months, but by our own internal reflections - past, present, and undoubtably ongoing? What will the future of the rug and carpet trade look like? And most importantly, how can the decisions made today positively impact the future?’ Certainly there will be those who cling to what has been, to power structures that favour themselves, to systematically unfair labour practices, to a world in which luxury wares such as handknotted rugs and carpets are often made as inexpensively as possible to thus ensure maximum exploitive profit for a select few. These ideas belong to some elitist elysian days of the past no longer suitable for modern man. This is now the raison d’être of The Ruggist, to align with those who see a different - and better - path forward. I look forward to sharing with you what I uncover on this journey of discovery. Godspeed. #rugs #carpets #fortheloveofcarpets #handknotted #design #newnormal #embracechange #colour #color #theupsidedown #design #luxury #livableluxury #wool #cotton #genchigenbutsu #circulareconomy #circularfashion #circularweaving #circulardesign