Living + working in Bangalow, recently whacked by Cyclone Alfred we're reminded of how the traditional rugs survived the 2022 floods, and the copies didn't, when whole towns went under water. People were dropping off full ute’s of muddy, flood rugs for us to wash.
We were washing constantly for 3 months and not one “real” rug escaped being resurrected. We managed to wash, disinfect and return them to their owners. Sometimes the only possession that survived. We all had tears. They were so grateful that something of their old home survived, it was such a heart-warming pleasure.
Currently we are in the midst of washing from Cyclone Alfred.
What is The Rug Shop?
Simple yet seductive objects made by weavers using the most basic materials and crafts; wild plants for dyes, fibres from domestic animals, and the millennia-old skills of interweaving warps, wefts and knots.
And yet the world's 1% hunger after them as displays of extreme status, attracted by an authentic culture in a modern artificial world.
What is not The Rug Shop?
This living folklore is copied for the masses who resign themselves to the stagnation of a “look” in the unsustainable world of “Fast Fashion”.
