Handmade rugs

Our handmade rugs represent the top tier of textile production. Unlike industrial rugs woven by machine, they are hand-tufted by experienced craftspeople, tuft by tuft, on a stretched canvas. The result: exceptional density, a rich and deep texture, durability measured in decades, and the singular soul of pieces that can never be reproduced exactly.

What is hand-tufting?

In hand-tufting, the craftsperson inserts the strands of wool (or Tencel, or viscose) one by one through a stretched canvas, using a hand tufting gun. Each strand is placed precisely to reproduce the design, then the pile is sheared and sometimes carved by hand to create relief effects: short and long pile coexisting on the same piece, bevelled edges, patterns in three dimensions. The back is then covered with a canvas to secure the work.

The technique calls for years of accumulated skill. It makes it possible to produce pieces with textures and designs far more sophisticated than industry can manage, including carved relief, gradations of material and contemporary compositions that mechanical production simply cannot achieve.

Which materials?

Our hand-tufted rugs use noble materials exclusively:

• Virgin wool: the traditional material par excellence. Hard-wearing, warm, naturally antistatic and flame-resistant
• Tencel (lyocell): an ecological fibre made from eucalyptus, very soft and silky to the touch, and more durable than viscose
• Viscose: a silky sheen that lifts the colours, though more delicate
• Wool + Tencel + viscose blends: they combine the strength of wool with the lustre of Tencel and viscose
• Cotton: used for the warp and the backing of the rug, giving it its structure

Which styles in hand-tufted?

Hand-tufting suits contemporary and design styles particularly well:

• Modern designs: graphic compositions, abstract forms, painterly works for the floor
• Plain textures: relief effects (loop plus cut pile), tone-on-tone stripes, carved textures
• Contemporary geometrics: Bauhaus, Memphis and minimalist compositions
• Gradations and mixed materials: wool plus viscose, to play with the light

For more traditional styles (Persian, oriental, Berber), we offer machine-produced versions with premium densities, including our 3M+ points/m² Persians.

Why invest in a handmade rug?

Several reasons justify the investment:

• Exceptional durability: a good hand-tufted rug lasts several decades
• Superior density: far more material per m² than a standard industrial rug
• Touch and texture: the richness of a hand-tufted natural fibre is impossible to imitate
• One of a kind: no two hand-tufted rugs are strictly identical, so your piece is yours alone
• Sculptural design: relief and material effects that industry cannot reproduce

How to recognise a genuine hand-tufted rug

A few things to check:

• Slight irregularities in the motifs: the mark of human work, never perfectly symmetrical
• A canvas-covered back: characteristic of hand-tufting
• Tangible density: a substantial weight, and firmness under the hand
• Relief effects: differences in pile height you can both see and feel