Carpet weaving is a rich and beautiful art, and is one of the most spectacular crafts of Uzbekistan. Whilst in the city of Samarkand - I visited an award winning weaving studio ‘The Samarkand-Bukhara Silk Carpet Workshop’, who produce their own carpets using organic materials and natural dyes. Their business ethos is focused on positively supporting their employees and having a high moral focus. Indeed the workshop is very comfortable and has a friendly atmosphere.
Creating a hand woven carpet takes a lot of time! The process starts with unraveling silk worm cocoons and forming the thread. The thread is then dyed as an entire spool using organic natural dyes from plants, fruit or insects (They grown their own plants such as Madder; which is used to create the beige and brown colours in their spectacular carpets). Meanwhile, the loom is set up with the warp threads (running downwards), which form the base of the carpet. The weaving time itself can take up to one year for a large carpet! The weaver has to be comfortable with the design, and has a choice on what they will weave (fair enough!).
There are many intricate designs to choose from if you are in the market to purchase a carpet. The workshop are also happy to take on bespoke commissions from individual customers. Many people choose to have a woven portrait of their dog! I myself prefer the traditional designs connected to this fascinating region of Uzbekistan!
For more information please visit http://silkcarpets.uz
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