carpet hunting 101

Oi Yee brought, Robina, Airani and me to visit her usual carpet dealer in Robertson Walk on Saturday. Robina and I were very impressed by the thick, luxurious and intricate designs of Oi Yee's carpets at her place. All her carpets were bought from this shop. so we ask her to bring us to check out iranian/persian carpets. we were newbies at this so Oi Yee filled us in on the basics of carpets.

the boss of Ghazzal Carpets was away in Iran buying new stocks but his wife showed us some of the new wool and silk carpets. apparently, old and well-used carpets actually increase in value since the colours mature and designs stand out better. some pieces were signed by the weaver, just like paintings.some of the heavy duty use woolen carpets are affordable while silk carpets cost much more. viewing a variety of carpets from various Iranian towns gave us a pretty good introduction to the style and designs.

Robina was captivated by the soft texture of silk carpets and by the sheen and changes in colours viewed from different angles. we like the blue and ivory style of Nain carpets. we also saw designs from Oom, Tabriz, Isfahan and Bijar (all different carpet-producing cities in Iran).

Some of these exotic places sounded familiar to us who followed the adventures of two singaporeans (Alex and Jo) cycling thru Asia from London back to Singapore. They passed thru Iran and was amazed by the hospitality and friendliness of the Iranian people. They were practically waylaid on the highways by drivers offering tea and fruits(and in one case, cash!); and even bundled off to join in wedding festivities. (see their site and blog).

although Mr Hussein the boss was not around, we had some idea about what we prefer. will pop by the place next week to view more carpets and get down to some hardcore bargaining.