We spend five extensive days surrounded by the French Alps to shoot Zakaria Rugs outside in nature. Captured by the majesty of the mountains, we wanted to connect our handmade rugs with nature, manifest our creative energies in order to create electrifying photography as a team.
The Carpet Design Awards give annual international distinctions to appreciate state-of-the-art hand-made rugs. Presented by COVER Magazine and Hali Publications at DOMOTEX, the Carpet Design Awards display the nominees to introduce the innovations and trends prevailing in the carpet industry today, with an international jury that assesses the rugs based on the design, concept, material, finish, structure, quality, sustainability, and branding. The jury consisted of Graham Head, Audrey Carden, Uwe Heublein, Irène Ribeiro, and Sacha Walkhoff - a team of accomplished and esteemed designers and creatives who have proved themselves as the leading experts in the field of design and carpets. Despite the jury's uncompromising scrutiny, Zakaria Rugs was shortlisted as one of the nominees for the category of Best...
Zakaria Rugs collaborated with Saana Mirzaie on the medium of a rug. This collaboration has been published in Het Parool, along with her story.
In the article, she shares her story as a model, who came as a refugee to The Netherlands and suffered from an eating disorder. She shares how art influenced her recovery. The ‘Saana’ rug is a symbol for finally being healthy and following her heart.
Philip met Saana during his role at Soho House, Amsterdam. Saana would come there often to sit and draw. They shared some words, became friends, and collaborated to produce a handmade rug.
The ‘Saana’ rug was presented the 2nd of May in 2021.
In the midst of the hurry that characterizes the 21st century, we should not forget to take a break to appreciate the way in which handcraft epitomizes our heritage, culture, and tradition. Handcraft's position has been challenged by the mechanization of production, resulting in a world of obscure supply chains where the notion of working with one's hands seems far removed from everyday life. Low-quality production, fast trends, and poor materials are forces that have come to obstruct the prominence of working by hand to create soulful and individual pieces. There is much to be seen in a handmade piece. The past and present become intertwined when traditional knowledge, passed on from an artisan to another through the course of time, meets each new generation of ideas and visions. A process...
Though oft-forgotten, textile designs and rugs have been the medium of self-expression for many of art history's great names. Artists such as Matisse, Bacon, and Arp have explored the unique place of textile design in the field of visual arts. True to his esteemed eccentrical style, Henri Matisse (1869-1954) designed a series of rugs to be hung as tapestries after his weakened health no longer allowed him to paint. Titled Mimosa after Cote D'Azur's abundant mimosa blossoms, the series of 500 hand-woven wool tapestries was produced by Alexander Smith Carpet Company. Matisse's rug design, much like his paintings, captured moods and lines in bold saturated colors. Two years before his death, he used paper cutouts to create the image for the rug he wanted to...
