There are infinite ways to hand weave a one-of-a-kind carpet. With hundreds of design, fibers, dyes, & weaving techniques, the process of rug creation is meticulous and collaborative, revealing within each step the remarkable ability of the human hand to communicate in texture & color.
abc carries the most expansive and diverse selection of handmade carpets in the world. With a hundred years of experience under our belt, we've learned the art of how to pair each and every person with the carpet of their dreams. Examining all of the variations takes years to learn, which is why we have in-house rug experts, but a little behind-the-scenes knowledge opens up a world of opportunity! So, let's take a spin around the world and piece together the elements of three essential abc styles: Swedish Style Flatweaves, Turkish Kilims, and Moroccan Rugs.
Swedish Style Flatweaves
At the core of Scandinavian design is a philosophy that places craftwork in the realm of art. Born out of the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s, mid century modern Swedish-style rugs are famed for illustrating the design power of geometric patterns. Outlined most articulately by one of the Bauhaus school founders, Walter Gropius: [the tradition] "organically creates objects according to their own inherent laws, without any embellishment or romantic flourishes." While authentic Swedish vintage rugs are quite hard to come by, we inspired a new production handwoven by individual artisans in the original style of Swedish Flatweaves tailor-made to fit an array of spaces.
Our collection of Swedish Style flatweaves are versatile, casual, and striking — a sure bet that will elevate bright, minimalist and modern interiors. They are composed using a variety of materials, often weaving wool — an inherently strong and glossy fiber — with silk, cotton, or cellulose silk to create an interplay of texture and multi-dimensional intrigue that lends itself to the geometric world of Scandinavian style. The coastal tonalities of sky blue, sage, and ivory soothe the palettes and like all flatweaves, there are no knots in the foundation — a quality that makes these rugs lighter than hand-knotted rugs. Whether the flatweave hangs on the wall or lays on the floor, our Swedish Style Flatweaves will imbue your space, bedside or beachside, with a minimalist and clever spirit.
Moroccan Rugs
abc carries a myriad of Moroccan rugs in our inventory, displaying a range of styles from the minimalist Beni Ourains and the authentic modern Casablancas to the dynamic spin-offs woven by the renowned Baluch weavers of Afghanistan. But, the thread that runs throughout all of abc's Moroccan rugs remains the same... fearless colorways and wild spontaneity — making these one-of-a-kind masterpieces a bohemian delight.
The Moroccan weaving tradition is renowned for its wild weaving ways. Moroccan artisans of the Beni Ourain tribes in the Atlas Mountains compose without a design graph, performing high levels of craftwork by respecting every knot as an essential piece of a greater, magnificent whole. Earthy sophisticated shades of cedar and crimson delight the eye, as the stories of the nomadic lives of the weavers are executed in tactile form with simple yet compelling geometric motifs.
Still weaving to this day, abc helps to uplift their weaving heritage by cultivating a stunning series of vintage mid century Moroccans and the modern Casablancas. The wild child of abc carpets, our Moroccan rugs are a match made in heaven for those who are tapped into the intelligence of color and the bold spirit of the minimalist design.
Turkish Kilim Rugs
Vintage Turkish kilims were woven during the early 20th century in the ancient dwellings of Konya and Malatya by nomadic Anatolian communities. A collection such as ours took years to put together, as each rug is a gem of a find. Together, they represent a language of a people's past, treasured and preserved. Passed down from one generation of weavers to the next, weaving techniques can be understood as languages — a tool of expression. Handmade by way of a slit weave technique, this collection produces bold, sharp patterns that carve space for creative expression within the weavers. Within each vintage Kilim exists a world of motifs codified with storied wisdom.
Handwoven with the wool collected and spun from their own flocks, these Kilims are naturally dyed with vegetation from different parts of roots, bark, leaves, berries and wildflowers — eucalyptus, madder red, indigo & iris — all are sustainably sourced from vegetable waste so that the living plant itself is left undamaged. The natural color-work is faded by time into dreamy earth-tones that provide a sense of warmth and soul that can only come from something cultured.
A portal into heritage
Handmade rugs mirror the depth of the vast cultural enterprise that is humankind. Like people, rugs have personality. Not because of some animated theory of matter, but because they were made with care and intention by real people. A carpet is a dose of heritage, whether you dive deep into the history of carpet design with Turkish Kilims, explore the Bauhaus philosophies of Swedish Flatweaves, or kick back and allow the bold pigments of the Moroccans wash over you.
