Before a rug ever reaches our gallery floor in Los Gatos, it has already told us most of what we need to know about where it was made, how long it took, and how long it will last. You just have to know how to read it.
Start With the Back, Not the Front
Most buyers walk up to a rug and look at the pile — the color, the pattern, the softness underfoot. We start on the back. The reverse side of a hand-knotted rug shows every knot individually, uncovered by pile fiber, which is the only reliable way to judge density, consistency, and the skill of the weaver who made it.
“A rug that took eighteen months to knot will still be on the floor in eighty years. That’s the trade we’re making.”
Counting Knots Per Square Inch
Knot density is the clearest predictor of how a rug will age. A piece with 150 knots per square inch will hold its pattern and structure for generations; a coarser weave will flatten and blur within a decade of regular foot traffic. We count by hand on every piece we source, the same way it’s been done for centuries.
