In the 3rd of a 3 part series, publisher Leslie Stroh talks about the rug making business in Kabul Afghanistan. Part 1. Part 2.
The general market may find the jobbing market goods, good enough for the price and look. Not all buyers are cutting edge, quality aware. Copying the best is a millennial tradition as well.
[A version of this article was first published in January, 2011 in Volume 31, No. 4 of Rug News andDesign Magazine.]
In 2002, Fred Hazin moved his production to Kabul from Peshawar. In Kabul he uses vertical looms, up in the North, most of the goods are made on horizontal looms. Hazin washes in Kabul, and in January expects to open a wash plant in Mazar e Sharif on a 60,000 square foot property with an interior heated dry room for dusting, washing and finishing his rugs locally. He points out that Mazar e Sharif is much lower than Kabul, and winter less rugged so heating the dry room there is less costly. This he expects will allow him to expand production in Mazar e Sharif.
Aside from the fact that the principals of these three firms grew up together, their common bond is a commitment to Afghanistan, and a commitment to quality from wool (Afghan) to finishing under their control.
Traditional knotted rugs in Persian designs and other than Persian designs have a future in the high end rug business, just no longer from Iran, and not inexpensive. Increasingly the consumer will have to choose whether or not to support the weavers in the few remaining countries making high end knotted rugs. The supply of rugs is declining as more and more people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iran move into other occupations. (Persian rugs are currently embargoed—and that means damaged antique rugs cannot be exported for repair and then re-imported. Thus the supply of high end antique Persian pieces has been dramatically reduced.) There are however stocks of newer Persian pieces in the US, but no more coming in for the foreseeable future.
The Rug News Archive, online at www.rugnewsanddesign.com is an educational resource for readers who wish to know more about how rugs are made.
[A version of this article was first published in January, 2011 in Volume 31, No. 4 of Rug News andDesign Magazine.]
