<span class="vcard">Michael Christie</span>
Michael Christie

Open Studio Spring 2024 | Monologue

‘Open Studio’ condenses and distils all I know, all my partners at Karnor and Zekö know, into a course designed to educate participants about the circumstances of this era, introducing them to the realities of carpetry in order to provide genuine authenticity in salesmanship, service, and design. After all, how best to design and/or sell something than by understanding how it is made?

Time | Monologue

Carpets have soul because someone, somewhere, imbued a carpet with it by trading away a portion of their time in existence. The most aesthetically and technically laudable handknotted carpets have soul, simply because they – like wisdom – take time to develop.

Proper Names | Monologue

In the trade of handknotted, no check that, in the trade of all manner of rugs and carpets, the advertising and marketing, the salesmanship, the press which self-interests itself, and yes of course my own critique of rugs and carpets must not only welcome honesty, but must also champion it above what is often not-so-politely called bullshit.

Open Studio | Monologue

Welcome to the first instalment of a new feature I call ‘Monologue.’ Short, concise, micro-pod-casts in which I, not surprisingly, share my opinions and thoughts about myriad topics as they relate to and intersect with the trade of handknotted and handmade rugs and carpets. It’s a – wait for it – monologue in its simplest, albeit truncated, form.

NCMEA Annual Meeting 2023

These extemporaneous remarks were originally delivered to honoured guests, attendees, and the Executive Committee of the Nepal Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (NCMEA) during the organization’s annual meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal on Wednesday, 29 March 2023. They have been automatically transcribed by artificial intelligence and lightly edited for syntax and clarity.

Transcending the Kathmandu Valley

The production of carpets in Kathmandu has had a transformative effect on both the Tibetan refugee population and the native Nepali people. It is an industry which during its ascent, golden years, and decline – in volume – provided much needed foreign exchange for a country dependent upon such transactions. It created wealth both in Nepal and abroad, and it has undoubtably contributed to an increased standard of living in the country of Nepal.