Year: 2017

#rugswithoutborders | A social media campaign of The Ruggist to raise awareness in support of all of our friends in any rug producing country.

Rugs Without Borders | Be the change…

Opinion

To show The Ruggist’s support of all of these carpet making peoples we are introducing the social media campaign #rugswithoutborders in order to highlight both the great diversity of rugs and carpets made all over the world and the vibrant cultures from which they come. ‘America (or any country) First’ is a con which fails to realize the interconnected nature of our modern world. While it is true some countries may excel where others may fail, it is our collective diversity which has given us the world in which we live. None of us – The Ruggist included of course – can claim to be omniscient or omnipotent, rather we all contribute as we are able to make this world, our world, a beautiful and vibrant place.

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Over Coffee Istanbul w/Carol Sebert of Creative Matters. | Image courtesy of The Ruggist.

Over (Turkish) Coffee in Istanbul

A candid conversation with Carol Sebert, President of Creative Matters set in the impossibly multicultural and historic city of Istanbul, Turkey.
Over Coffee

Nothing is better at giving you a glimpse into the persona of a friend than sitting next to them on an intercontinental flight. Shared hopes of our third seat mate not arriving (he did), wondering what culinary delights await on Turkish Airlines, and anticipation of an exciting week of rug and carpet presentations and buying as we both explore Istanbul for the first time, were all topics of idle conversation. As we settled into the flight I opted to ‘watch’ a series of lower concept action adventure and sci-fi movies, whereas Carol – in an ernest effort to truly define ‘binge consumption’ – set out to catch up on the final season of the more high-brow ‘Downton Abbey’; all of it. Ten (10) hours and innumerable disapproving remarks from the Dowager Countess later we arrive in Istanbul to begin our joint adventure in carpets, culture, food, history, camaraderie, and design. Join us now as we discuss the events of the week, Over (Turkish) Coffee in Istanbul.

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'Be Good Do Good' | Amy Helfand - The Ruggist

Over Coffee at ‘The House of Love’

A candid and casual conversation over coffee and breakfast at the home of Amy Helfand.
Over Coffee

Welcome to the first installment, of…, err, inaugural ‘Over Coffee’ interview. This is a new freeform feature on The Ruggist where we talk with luminaries, freshmen, legends, and otherwise from the world of rugs. Not necessarily only about rugs and carpets, Over Coffee’s only set premise is in the name. By introducing another more moderate passion of mine – coffee – it is my hope these conversations will be more casual, wide ranging, and interesting than an old school interview. I’m a casual guy, and I’d like to share a bit of that informality with you. So, to start us off I have asked my dear friend Amy Helfand – who is a real friend, not one just in that marketing terminology way. I’ve asked Amy to be my first…interviewee… as we talk at ‘The House of Love’.

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'Camara' in colour 'Oxblood' by New Moon shown on loom in Nepal. | Image courtesy of The Ruggist.

Inspiration to Presentation | ‘Camara’

An up close and behind the scenes look at the making of a New Moon carpet set in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Noteworthy

In November of 2016 we caught up with John Kurtz, his daughter Erika Kurtz, and Erika’s adorable six-month old daughter Izzy in Patan and Kathmandu in Nepal. Erika – who now runs the business as John is in active retirement – was more than happy to explain and illustrate first hand what constitutes this much touted difference as we all toured the various facilities used to produce New Moon carpets. From initial inspiration to final show presentation, follow along as we examine ‘Camara’ by New Moon which debuts during DOMOTEX in Hannover, Germany the 14-17 January 2017.

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