Material innovation Fairtrade & heritage Refined design
‘We really care. We care about the heritage and the thousands-of-years-old tradition of weaving in Anatolia that is slowly dying out. We care about reviving the art whilst catering to the trends and needs of the market’
Tovi Diler
It is not often that a rug collection comes along with a fresh innovative look that has everyone enthralled. This is what happened when Turkish brand Kirkit Rugs introduced the Moon and Galaxy Collections at Domotex Hanover in 2020. Designed by the artist and Kirkit in-house designer Muhammed Türk, the minimalist monochrome rugs are made of hemp and goat hair giving the well-balanced, calming compositions a fantastic haptic and visual texture.
The dynamic surface of these black (goat hair) and off-white (hemp) designs gives them a unique aesthetic. They are fully sustainable, as the hemp comes from old utilitarian flatweaves used in Anatolia to dry cereals or fruit, and the goat hair from recycled nomadic black tents no longer in use. The old textiles are unravelled, washed, treated and rewoven into new designs.
‘My ideas are influenced by my simple and modest lifestyle and by minimalism. When you look at the night sky, you don’t really notice the details. What stands out is the moon. This notion was the starting point for the Moon Collection.’
Muhammed Türk
Kirkit Rugs’ new recycled hemp and goat hair rugs carry on perfectly from where the Moon and Galaxy Collections left off. We see recurrent themes in the monochrome simplicity of these new designs, in the balanced compositions comprising simple shapes, and in the visual textures that add a deep richness to the rugs. As deep meditations in black and white, the rug Reflection has a pensive air while Other World is like a glimpse through a window. Beyond has a yin and yang quality, Focus does just that to the mind as the viewer’s eye is drawn to the central black spot and Peace is a minimalist expression in black goat hair.
Kirkit’s owner, Ahmet Diler is not only concerned with environmental issues but also fair trade business practices. Originating from Cappadocia, Diler can remember seeing his mother and grandmother being exploited as weavers, so has always treated his weavers with great respect. Today, he has two rug businesses—Kilims Ada and Kirkit Rugs—the latter he established in 1982. In April 2020 he opened a new workshop in Ushak with twenty-four weavers, who are paid three times more than the average weaver in Turkey, and who are provided with a retirement fund and access to health care. Diller comments: ‘The cost for us to make pile carpets there is 25 percent higher. It’s a big investment, we make less profit, but it doesn’t matter. We want to set an example.’
‘Looking ahead we are looking into developing new collections with different international designers using new fibres and creative designs. We are experimenting with dyeing hemp and linen, always looking to create new textures’
Ahmet Diler
Thanks to Ahmet Diler, the prospect of keeping rug weaving alive in Turkey is looking up. Every Kirkit rug bought is an investment in the future of weaving traditions.
kirkit-rug
Cankurtaran Mahallesi Kutlugün Sokak No: 37
34122 SULTANAHMET – ISTANBUL – TURKIYE
Phone: +90 212 516 80 45
E-mail: info@kirkit-rugs.com
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