Month: <span>April 2015</span>
Month: April 2015

The Nepal Earthquake | Brief Commentary

The Sixth Opinion, my oft mentioned joke about any group of experts espousing more opinions than members of the group, is an inherent undercurrent in ours the world of rugs. Is a rug this? Is a rug that? What is the best quality? What makes a rug authentic? Crossed vs Uncrossed – if just to bring back to mind a fiery topic?  All great questions, some with definitive answers, others with, how do you say, more nuanced positions. It’s the nature of our existence as humans, especially creative humans. There are billions of us, yet we all seem to think we each know the solution to every problem, we all know “what’s right”, we all know what’s best for mankind. Well definitively, with 100% certainty (outside of scientifically provable facts – and even that is somewhat iffy depending on how advanced our knowledge is) I can tell you that position is wrong. Just try to get a group of friends to decide where to go to dinner, and you’ll see pleasing everyone just isn’t possible.

Give Back to Nepal | #givebacktonepal

Nota bene: This post was heavily revised on Tuesday, 28 April 2015 to reflect information available at that time. I spoke with a colleague in Kathmandu earlier this morning and while most of his family are safe, others remain yet to be located. He further reports their homes are destroyed, and the immediate concerns of shelter, food and medicine are top priorities.I would like to stress that many of the efforts listed here will have longer term benefits to Nepal, whereas others benefit the short term needs of the country. Consider donating to organizations with existing infrastructure and the ability to service these immediate needs first, then give to other efforts with longer term impact. Finally, please remember that the long term success of rebuilding will only be helped by your continued business with Nepal. So, to begin again as it were, an uncredited quote from our friends at floordesign in San Francisco via facebook…