
Mohammed Reza Rasoulian, carpet arts student, Islamic Azad University of Sabzevar
“My family has been in the rug business for 40 years. My father would not let any of his sons pursue anything other than rug business.
“I am the first in my family who has gone to college to learn about rugs. Things have changed. We have to bring science into the business.
“Before the [1979] revolution, Iran’s rug business was number one in the world [in terms of total sales]. Today, it is 17th or 18th .
“One reason is the culture of Iranians. As soon as they find a market for their product, instead of improving the product to stay ahead of competition, they cut corners to increase their profits.
“Iranians began exporting garbage so about eight or nine years ago the government passed a law requiring the bad carpets to be separated from the good ones before they leave the country. But that law was never enforced.
“Also different areas of the country began copying popular designs to benefit from their reputation but in the process ruined their reputation too.
“There are Persian carpets so poorly made that when you rub your hands on them, they feel like synthetic rugs.
“Today people don’t weave carpets unless they are truly desperate. We have a strange situation now. Both the supply and the wages for carpet weavers are low. And it is hard on the businessman because our money is tied up in the market for six months before we see it again.