Producing carpets in India – Goodweave feature
Goodweave’s Spring 2011 newsletter features a “Spotlight on India”, highlighting the efforts to fight illegal child labor in that country. All of our stock collections (and most of our carpets, period) are produced in India – by adult artisans, of course. Read the newsletter online here.
$10M antique Persian carpet sets new record at auction
A 17th-century carpet previously in the renowned collection of Martine Marie Pol, Comtesse de Béhague, set a new world record at auction last month. The de Behague carpet, made in the Kirman region of south Persia, was hammered down at Christie’s for £6.2m (about $10m USD), almost doubled the previous record set by the Pearl Carpet of Baroda at Sotheby’s last year. Journalist Charles Recknagel did a much better job with the backstory that I could, so I’ll refer you to his post on the Tea and Carpets blog. [E]ven as Christie’s evaluators widely publicized the carpet’s pedigree before the auction, they badly underestimated what price the carpet might command.…
Arts and Crafts Movement reinterpreted
At New York Fashion Week in February, designer Anna Sui’s show paid a stunning and creative tribute to the Arts and Crafts Movement. I was intrigued to see the values and aesthetics of the movement re-interpreted in a completely different genre. I had planned to write about this when it was hot off the press, but my blog posts, like my fashion choices, seem to be just a little bit behind the times. This slideshow from the New York Times provides a visual overview of the collection. Style.com’s review of the show sets the tone: One of the many joys of an Anna Sui collection is the intro it gives…
Design trend predictions from Natural Home magazine
Choosing a GoodWeave certified rug is not only the right thing to do, it’s a design trend for 2010, says Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Editor-in-Chief of Natural Home. Seeing the clear connection between beautifully designed, high-quality rugs and the hands that wove them, she says: Purchase chic rugs from socially responsible companies. Look for the Goodweave label to ensure your new rug wasn’t made by children. We appreciate any media attention that raises the profile of GoodWeave and highlights the importance of the issue of child labor in our industry. This means more consumers have the information they need to choose the right rugs. And with each GoodWeave rug sold, there…
Help us fight illegal child labor in the rug industry.
Here’s a four-minute video about the work of GoodWeave (formerly RugMark) in its efforts to bring about an end to illegal child labor in the carpet industry. By purchasing a GoodWeave-certified carpet, you help support the work of rehabilitation, schooling, and training of former child slaves. We’ve always been strongly committed to the GoodWeave organization and its work. It is a fabulous non-profit organization, run in a lean and effective manner by people with a passion for their cause. Learn more here. Then please come back and order a rug! 🙂