Fragment No. 14

...with Lucy Upward

As editor of a London-based magazine about carpets, I spend a lot of time talking about contemporary carpets with people from across the world. Putting together COVER magazine, I report on rugs being made today in places such as Nepal, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Peru, Morocco and I talk with people designing, commissioning and using rugs from Europe, America, Australia, Asia and beyond. In the past there was always an element of disconnect between the makers and those buying the rugs. However, I feel that today many people are more interested in who makes the products they buy. More companies are starting projects that let buyers know the story of the production of each rug and the weaver that produced it. More firms are bringing weavers to design shows to demonstrate the amazing skills required for making such a hand-knotted rug. In recent issues of the magazine I have illustrated days in the life of weavers, spoken to people fighting for the rights of rug workers in countries where the profession is not well respected and looked at the rug industry in countries such as Afghanistan. My aim is to always to highlight the amazing skill that goes into rug making today and also to demonstrate the vast scope of work that is being produced.