Inspire Bohemia: kelim

Showing posts with label kelim. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Blue Teddy's Bazaar: Suzanis and Kilims!

Hey hey hey!

As I mentioned a few weeks back there are several talented artists and decor sources that I want to share with you... well here goes the first...

Blue Teddy's Bazaar is a shop from the online community of artists called Etsy that sells vintage hand woven kilims and suzanis from Central Asia. The curator of this lovely bazaar full of vibrant tribal textiles, throws and rugs lives in York, England and her name is Rhonda - a creative soul with a degree in Art and Design specializing in ceramics. Rhonda has a great love for many creative things, particularly home decor, woven fabrics, crafted goods, wood and British, American and French retro style. It's no wonder she is drawn to the unique beauty and craftsmanship of kilims and suzanis! In fact, in her profile she says "...these treasures from the East can transform your home or your office, bringing it drama, colour, ambience and cosiness, regardless of whether you live in a spacious loft, a flat, a normal house or a country mansion." Well, that about sums it up - I couldn't have said it better myself Rhonda!

In case you don't know, a suzani is a hand-stitched/embroidered textile made in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries - its name derives from the Persian word Suzan, which means needle. A Kilim (or Kelim) is considered a woven tapestry or rug originating anywhere from the Balkans to Pakistan, and can be purely decorative or used as a prayer rug.

After dedicating a whole week of blog posts to suzanis in 2010, dubbed "Suzani and Ikat Week," I'm sure you've noticed how much I love ethnic textiles! Suzanis and kilims have a way of adding endless character and eclectic global vibes to any space! With that said, scroll on for some of my favorite suzanis and kilims (mostly suzani's, hehe) from Rhonda's beautiful store and be sure to drop by Blue Teddy's Bazaar and check out the rest of her inventory from Kurdistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan - she's adding new treasures all the time! For more posts and information on suzanis and kilims please see the related post links below.... Have a wonderful afternoon!

(Also pictured in detail in image at beginning of post)
This is my favorite suzani in the shop, gorgeous colors!
Suzani from Uzbekistan

Suzani from Uzbekistan

Suzani from Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan

Suzani from Boysun, Uzbekistan
This one is so fun!!

Suzani from Boysun, Uzbekistan

Suzani from Kosan, Uzbekistan

Another stunningly vibrant and amazing Suzani from Uzbekistan!

And now, for my two favorite kilims on Blue Teddy's Bazaar....

Another beautiful kilim design from Maimana, Afghanistan...

Great colors and a pretty ikat design!! This one hails from Afghanistan....

(All images sourced via Blue Teddy's Bazaar Etsy shop with permission from store owner, please do not use images without permission, contact Rhonda through her Etsy shop.)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

My Suzanis and Kilims

Persian hand woven Kilim

I just realized that I forgot to do a post on the two Suzani's and two Kilim's that my friend gave me for my birthday back in March.... As mentioned in my previous posts Suzani and Ikat Week and Pakobel, Inc.: Handmade Rugs and Tapestries from the East my good friend's family owns a carpet and tapestry business and he has a great online store called Pakobel Rugs on eBay that sells oodles of beautiful new and used eastern goods. Anyway, I bid on a bunch of'em and let me tell you, his store is really popular because the bidding wars on some of his Kilim rugs and Uzbek Suzani tapestries were insane! In the end I won four items, two Suzanis and two Kilims. I wanted to pay for them so bad, but he wouldn't let me! :) He is too sweet!

I have yet to hang the Suzanis, I'm still brainstorming on how to apply those two to my apartment design. The Kilim shown up top is currently under my coffee table and the one at the bottom is shown sprawled across my dining area (sans dining table - which was in the craft room, but over the weekend I rolled up this Kilim for use somewhere else and moved the dining table back to the dining area)... haha! Yes, my apartment is a constant (never-ending) work in progress, as is my life! It's more exciting that way!

Anyway, here they are.... (The two Kilims can be seen in photos of my apartment decor in my previous post Good Day! I'm back!

Uzbek hand embroidered Suzani

Persian hand woven Kilim rug (runner)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pakobel, Inc.: Handmade Rugs and Tapestries from the East

Uzbek Suzni 7'x5'

Given my affinity for interior design, architecture, decor and textiles of the Middle East (and beyond), as well as my latest interest in Suzani's and Kilim's, I am certainly very excited about Pakobel Rugs! Pakobel, Inc. is owned by one of my good friends from college, Salman Ali, and they sell a beautiful array of new and used/antique carpets in a variety of sizes from a multitude of designs, including: Persian, Kashmiri, Kelim, Chobi, Kazak, Herat, Khal Muhammadi, Kargai, Uzbek Bokhara, Gabbeh.... and my favorite, Suzani!

Pakobel Inc. is a renowned name in the handmade rug business for its quality rugs at affordable prices. They've been auctioning off rugs all over USA and Europe for over 25 years, as well as on eBay for seven years and have sold close to 300,000 (and counting)! If interested in these exotic beauties, please visit Pakobel Inc. on eBay, they update their listings daily. Pakobel, Inc. will have a website up and running soon, therefore stay tuned for an update post!

By the way, for those of you that don't know what a Suzani (or Suzni) is, it's basically a hand-stitched/embroidered textile made in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries and its name derives from the Persian word Suzan, which means needle. As for a Kilim (or Kelim), it is considered a woven tapestry or rug originating anywhere from the Balkans to Pakistan, and can be purely decorative or used as a prayer rug. Its name is Turkish, and I beat myself up constantly (in my mind of course) for not splurging on one while in Istanbul last year. Anyway, these exotic and expertly crafted textiles and rugs are the sparkling gems at the top of my design wish list!

With that said, I just might get myself one of these gems for Christmas this year since Salman has been kind enough to offer me a peek at his warehouse of handmade rugs and Suzanis... and as you may imagine - I am beyond thrilled! I will post pictures as soon as it happens!

Scroll down for some examples of Pakobel's current inventory: