Behind the Scenes with Rugtales
Siblings Vida and Amin decided to follow the footsteps of a long family tradition and sell Persian rugs, but with their very own modern twist. Vida and Amin founded Rugtales with a mission to bring these unique traditionally made rugs into modern homes and inform a new generation about the artisanal work behind them.
Vida and Amin have had front row seats to the rug business since their early childhood. Their family originally comes from Tabriz, Iran, and both of their grandfathers were well established in the rug industry. Together with their sister Tara, Vida and Amin were born and raised in the charming and industrial city of Hamburg. Although the family business has existed since 1952, their father had not joined the business till the 90s, after reconnecting with his love and passion for Persian rugs. Ever since then, rugs have been the major part of their lives, as their childhood was spent jumping from rug pile to rug pile and hearing countless stories about the fascinating life of Persian nomads. The story they are now eager to share with the rest of us.
Much like their father, it took Vida and Amin quite a while to see how dear the family business actually was to them. Fortunately, there came a point when they both realised that the most precious thing had been right in front of them all along, quietly playing the strings in the background. Since 1952, society along with the needs and trends have changed, which is why they wanted to continue the family business by starting their own story with handpicked rugs that matched their taste. From beautifully knotted rugs to colourful nomadic Kelims, all of the rugs are carefully selected by themselves, allowing you to discover everything the Persian rug assortment has to offer.
It talks. It tells stories.
The most important message Vida and Amin want to share is that a rug is more than a rug. These outstanding products are full of mysteries and untold stories. It is a family tradition. It is history. The pattern, the identity of the rug tells us where the product was made – which village or town, city, province, or even tribe, it was created by. Rugs can even pass on stories of what was happening in the village while the rug was created. Handmade Persian rugs contain the weaver’s feelings, thoughts and wishes over time, it´s like reading a book about their history. Each rug is unique in design, colour, quality and size and a result of a century-long tradition combined with the weaver‘s individual taste. Pure and unique craftsmanship where human nature and the perfect imperfections come to light is something that machine made carpets just cannot compete with.
Every Rug is different and there are endless possibilities for patterns. Some patterns have a specific meaning in Persian culture. For example, rugs with flowers and plants incorporated into the pattern are communicating wealth and prestige. Gardens were considered a luxury, as tribes living in the desert areas often dreamt of streams, water fountains and greenery. Gardens were a paradise. You can often spot lotus flowers and lilies, and the frequent appearance of the Tree of Life means eternal life. Animal designs aren't uncommon either and as you might have guessed, nothing in the pattern is random. They all symbolize different things, such as courage, victory, glory, long life or protect the owner from evil. The superior skills of the weavers and their unique imagination is worth taking the time to discover every detail in these masterpieces.
All Rugtales rugs are handmade from natural sheep wool and cotton, crafted by Iranian weavers. The manufacturing of carpets as well as kelims, is an important contribution to the life of the nomads. A perfect example are nomadic women, who have their own sheep, they take the wool by themselves, hand spin the wool, colour the wool, and make the rug in their tents or small houses. The weavers pay great attention to using natural dyes, which could still be brilliant after years and years of use.
There is so much knowledge about the rugs to share and telling the story behind the brand and their products is the essence of Rugtales. The sad truth is, that if young people like Vida and Amin do not discuss the future of this product, its heritage, tradition and uniqueness will slowly disappear. Explaining the story to people who are interested and seeing how the details and little stories in each rug touch the hearts of people is what keeps them going.
