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Rug Insider Magazine
News for the Rug and Carpet Professional 
To talk rugs and carpets with Laura Parker is to enter into an atypical discussion encompassing far more than “Is the rug the right size?,” “Is it within budget?,” or “Can it be made with more orange in it?” In fact there is little typical about Laura Parker—particularly when it comes to rugs. Rug Insider set out to find out why.
More than marketing hype, the differences at New Moon are tangible.
Erika Kurtz is the second-generation principal of New Moon Rugs, an early pioneer of the modern era’s genre of hand-knotted Nepali-Tibetan rugs. Founded in 1993 by John Kurtz with an unwavering dedication to the highest standards of craftsmanship and design, New Moon continues to foster the deep-rooted commitment to socially responsible business practices upon which the firm was founded. Since 2004, John’s daughter Erika has been guiding the production, design, and management of the business. These are her thoughts on being a woman in the evolving rug and carpet industry.
Noted Interior Designer Meredith Heron has been utilizing rugs and carpets in her interiors for years. Yet time and again she’s found herself unable to find the right product in stock or from a vendor offering the services and accountability she required. She did what any determined and creative business person would do, she started her own rug company catering to those precise needs and wants.
We’re just mad about saffron, and gold, and yellow, and squash and … The myriad versions of the color described as yellow tend to delight, enliven, and beautify. Indeed, the particular hue created by the pigment yellow ochre is considered one of the first used in art; the Lascaux cave paintings discovered in France in 1940 feature a yellow horse dating to some 17,000 years ago.
A continued exploration of a new approach to rug making.
Purchasing a hand-knotted rug or carpet by first determining size, budget, and texture before even considering design or color seems antithetical to traditional rug sales models. In many ways it is. Yet, these same criteria have long been used to steer clients toward in-stock rug purchases. Ali Ghassemi considers these timeless questions as he embarks on redefining the craft of rug making for the modern consumer.
Whether it’s for the war rugs woven during the era of the Soviet invasion, or for weaving in exile in Pakistan during turbulent years under the Taliban, the weavers of Afghanistan are renown for two things: the quality of their craft and the inimitable qualities of the region’s Ghazni wool. Equally as unique is the will of its people, particularly its women—standard bearers of the Afghan carpet—as the country enters into a 21st century global economy.
Hindu and Buddhist traditions identify numerous chakras, or focal points in the psycho-spiritual subtle body, which not only reside within the physical human form but also influence the health and well-being thereof.
As both a leader in the fight to eliminate illegal-child-labor in global supply chains and an observer of the hand-knotted rug and carpet industry over the past twenty-five years, GoodWeave CEO Nina Smith has seen a lot. She shares with Rug Insider Magazine her thoughts on some of those who have affected real change within the industry.
