For the past twenty five hundred years, the sheepherding tribes of Armenia and the Caucus Mountains have hand crafted beautifully patterned knotted rugs and kilims.
At first, the rugs were simply the weaver’s own personal household furnishings. Commercial looms weren’t set up until the fourteenth century, and then, only slowly over the next several hundred years, did the art and technology of weaving spread over the great trade routes between Europe and China.
By the sixteenth century, the Oriental rug, as it had become known in Europe, was a prized furnishing and design element in the noble houses of the Renaissance. The rug trade blossomed into its Golden Age in the 19th century, thriving on the growth of the industrial revolution.
At the turn of the century, as the engine of industry roared across America, boatloads of rugs steamed across the Atlantic.
Along with their rugs came Armenian refugees, struggling to escape the genocide of the Ottoman Empire. They brought not only their craft but perhaps more importantly, their knowledge of Oriental rug maintenance and repair.
By 1911, many Armenian rug merchants, like Manoog Isberian in Chicago, had opened shops to service the huge rug inventories of America’s booming cities. Cleaning was the most important business, with pick up and delivery a critical part of the service. A small showroom fronted the cleaning plant where customers could trade or purchase new rugs. Manoog Isberian was highly respected throughout his life, not only as an excellent businessman, but especially as the most knowledgeable and astute of his family in the subject of rugs.
Over the next forty years, despite wars and depression, the Oriental rug trade in America flourished. Suddenly, in the 1950’s, progress in the form of broad loom, machine-made wall-to-wall carpeting virtually eliminated the traditional rug trade. Americans literally threw away millions of heirlooms to make room for deep pile and shag.
In 1968, Manoog Isberian’s son Stephan, leaving the family’s thriving Chicago rug and carpet business in the hands of his brother Michael, moved on to Aspen Colorado, where he opened his own rug shop and cleaning service.
In Aspen, Stephan found a creative and progressive community, interested in art, investment and quality living.
Soon wall-to-wall carpeting was being replaced by more modern floor designs, often including Oriental rugs as an integral element. Today, homeowners, designers and builders have rediscovered the inherent values of Oriental rugs, and our homes and offices are once again graced with these warm, useful, inspiring works of art. Today, Isberian Rug Co is owned and operated by Stephan Isberian and his wife Heather. Their two daughters, Anahid and Taline Isberian, have recently joined the family business as the fifth generation in the rug trade.