Commentary

Context | Handknotted Nylon Part 2 of 5
What happens when the intrinsic appeal of handknotted carpets intersects with the technology of today?

26 September 2019 Michael Christie Commentary

Humanity does not, and likely will not ever know precisely when weaving and knotting of handknotted carpets first started. Certainly Persia played a role, as have other regions of the world, including of course Tibet. The latter being the origin of the technique now being employed by Sarawagi Rugs of Kathmandu, Nepal to create the first handknotted carpet made of ECONYL® regenerated nylon. Designed by Isobel Morris, it is a prototype which begs the question: ‘What more can be done to improve the environment of the planet, while satisfying the needs and wants of rug and carpet consumers?’

Handknotted Nylon? Part One/Five - The creation of a novel handknotted carpet made of ECONYL® regenerated nylon by Aquafil, Sarawagi Rugs, and Isobel Morris. | Photograph by The Ruggist.

Ideation | Handknotted Nylon Part 1 of 5
A collaborative project exploring the novel use of regenerated ECONYL® brand nylon in a handknotted carpet.

16 August 2019 Michael Christie Commentary

In collaboration with Aquafil, makers of ECONYL® regenerated nylon yarns; Sarawagi Rugs, makers of fine Nepali-Tibetan carpets; and Isobel Morris, designer of textiles and carpets, The Ruggist is contributing expertise – such that it is – as well as documenting the making of the first handknotted carpet to be made of ECONYL® regenerated nylon. This is the first of a five part series of articles documenting the prototype production of a novel handknotted carpet made of ECONYL® regenerated nylon. Without further ado, this is the backstory and a peek at the beginnings of the process.

In Consideration of Copyright - The Ruggist

In Consideration of Copyright
An essay on the importance of perspective in examining originators, copyists, and derivatists.

2 July 2018 Michael Christie Commentary

In the 1999 film ‘Dogma’ Salma Hayek plays ‘Serendipity’. Not simply a woman whose name happens to be Serendipity, but rather she plays the physical embodiment of serendipity itself, which is to say she is the ‘chance’ which brings about the occurrence and development of events in a happy or beneficial way. Except of course, there is no chance. While those without divinity perceive their interactions as random, or due to fate, or karma, or what have you, from the perspective of Serendipity, it is her will which causes events to happen as they do; for her the future is not fully unknown nor fully manifest rather its exists as any one of an endless number of permutations based upon her direct actions. In many ways the creation and success of a supposedly new rug or carpet design is a result of serendipity with the artist or designer creating something perceived as new as a result of the careful and equally serendipitous or Serendipitous work of those who have come before.

'Nine Million Stars' is a video project produced by Jan Kath and Label STEP that celebrates Nepali carpet weaving as a sustainable alternative to migrant labour. Staring famed Nepali actress Reecha Sharma and noted Nepali stage actor Tika Bhakta Jirel, directed by the award-winning Tsering Rhitar Sherpa. - The Ruggist | Image courtesy of Jan Kath.

Shine Brightly! | The Future of Weaving
A video by Jan Kath and Label STEP celebrates Nepali carpet weaving as a sustainable alternative to migrant labour.

23 June 2017 Michael Christie Commentary

There is a certain penchant on the part of carpet purveyors to romanticize the notion of carpet weaving as a storied, well respected, and almost nobel profession. Skills are extolled, the art and craft are professed as sublime, homage is paid to the hard work and talent of those who make carpets, and the resultant product is held as high example of handwork and human artistry. And why not? The ability to create woven cloth from fibre dates to time immemorial, with estimates dating this skill to some 27,000 years ago. And while pile carpet construction, as evidenced by the Pazyryk Carpet, dates to perhaps only the more recent but still sufficiently historic fifth century BCE, it is safe to state unequivocally that weaving has been important to the development of humandkind. But, for such a noble and profoundly important profession, ‘How many handweavers do you know here in the west?’ I ask rhetorically.

Tiger shown in colour Pink by Joseph Carini Carpets - 100% silk handknotted in Nepal. | Image courtesy of Joseph Carini Carpets. - Tiger Carpets on The Ruggist

They’re Great! | Tiger Rugs

5 September 2016 Michael Christie Commentary

Within the world of rugs and carpets if one is to mention ‘Tiger Rug’ the foremost thought aught to be that of Tibetan Tiger Rugs. Not because of any exclusive domain over the motif – which there most certainly is not, but rather because in the grand and storied history of tigers as inspiration for carpets Tibet has produced some of the most amazing, lively, and original versions of the design. Whether the motif originated in Tibet, in a geographically proximal region, or in Timbuktu as a metaphor for far-off unknown places, is a scholarly debate for another time. Regardless, know that amongst the collectable and pre-commercialized rug market, Tibetan Tiger Rugs are, if you’ll pardon the pun, the cat’s meow.