The Rarity Of The Career Woman In The Oriental Rug Business

I live and work in a world that is filled with beautiful color, design and texture. It is exotic, mysterious and largely unknown to most people. The earliest findings hail from Ancient Egypt and Central Asia. Creative imaginations are combined with technical skill which produce an art form that has existed for over 2500 years. This is the world of Oriental Rugs.

As a career, the importing, designing and selling of handmade Oriental carpets is largely dominated by men from the Middle East. It is rare to find a woman in this field, unless she has been brought in by her husband or father to join the family business.

Those of us who embraced this profession from non Middle Eastern lineage often began in Interior Design, Textiles, Antiques and Decorative Arts. From there we fine tuned our skills. I am one of those professionals who fell in love with the art form. It is a lifelong passion in an area where learning never stops. The intricacies of the weaving techniques, the dye lots used and the designs incorporated make it a never ending fantasy. It is fascinating to witness discussions among seasoned professionals in the rug trade who can still question and argue about the origin and age of a product. We never tire of looking at rugs, both new and old.

Contemporary, more relaxed styles of today have brought new designs and colors into the marketplace. More women have entered this field and fashion plays an important part on what we see in the trade. Although the intrigue and lore of the old carpets still remains, the choices available to consumers today is more diversified than ever. There is a size, color and style for every taste, still made with the time honored techniques of the past.