TUFENKIAN ARTISTRY AND STYLE

by Lisa Boghosian


Move over Tabriz, Sarouk and Kashan, an old carpet has been reborn.

And what's all the fuss about? Armenian carpets known as Kazak, long recognized for their originality, expression and integrity of materials, have been revived, creating a renaissance in the great cottage industry of carpet-weaving in Armenia.

Born as the brain-child of James Tufenkian, one of the nation's premier carpet designers, manufacturers, wholesalers and founder of Tufenkian Import Export Ventures Inc. with subsidiaries Tufenkian Tibetan Carpets and Tufenkian Armenian Carpets, Kazak came back to life in 1993 after Tufenkian became inspired to combine the 1,000-year-old tradition of home-woven carpets in Armenia. Riding on the coat-tail of his very successful project in Tibet where artisans living in expatriate communities in Nepal were taught the time-honored craft of hand-spinning, carding and knotting carpets with contemporary and vibrant designs, Tufenkian set out for Yerevan during the darkest days of the energy embargo, blockade and economic collapse to grow and mature a similar type of carpet project there. Three years later, Tufenkian Armenian Carpets not only has revived cottage production of Kazak rugs, but with it, the brilliance of Armenia's weaving past.

"Until Soviet times," explains Tufenkian, "Armenia produced carpets with designs that were bold, abstract and geometric, using rich and striking colors. Warp, weft and pile were carded and spun by hand from the long, semi-coarse wool of the Caucasian mountain sheep. The carpets were objects of art created by individual weavers working in their homes. Then during the Stalinist period, production was centralized and controlled by the State, individual economic activity was discouraged, as was individual expression. Carpet-weaving by Armenians was destroyed and replaced by factory work, which for the past 50 years produced stiff and mechanical caricatures of the great carpets of pre-Soviet times."

Tufenkian Armenian Carpets brings back the individuality and style that was lost during years of communism. "We have organized gathering of wool from the remaining aboriginal sheep in the region," says Tufenkian. "We have taught groups of villagers how to handcard and handspin wool into yarn. In the beginning we even brought two Tibetans to Armenia from Nepal with their carding brushes and spinning wheels to teach different groups of women those lost skills. We have organized trained weavers who once worked for the State factories to work out of their homes, giving them a wide latitude in varying the design and colors they use. Finally, we have revived the old construction of the Kazak carpets, weaving them on a wool foundation, leaving only one side fringed." The results are highly textured, dynamic carpets, which like their predecessors are spontaneous, powerful, and bursting with color.

Today shipping between 100-200 Kazaks per month to the United States, Tufenkian is confident that he has indeed begun to make a dent in reversing the pattern of rug-making in Yerevan back to its original state. However, in developing and growing a fully integrated carpet production, Tufenkian has had to jump hurdles as high as Mount Ararat to overcome the obstacles of limited transportation and energy, and over 70 years of Soviet mentality.

"All the things you take for granted here in the United States when you are establishing a business, you begin to think about in Armenia," says Tufenkian. "Simple distribution such as how to move an item from one place to the next is more difficult because of Armenia's limited energy supply. Lack of fuel has been a problem because so much of our operation depends on transportation. Our wool is purchased from the countryside, and then transported to the yarn manager where it gets washed. Then it's distributed to women who handcard and spin it at home. After, the yarn is taken to the dyeing facility, and is later redistributed to the weaving managers to give to the weavers. Finally, once the carpets are complete, the weaving managers take them to Yerevan where they are exported to Switzerland to be cleaned and then flown to America.

"For the most part we've tried to keep the operation as local as possible in order to limit the problems we might encounter. Weaving managers try to hire weavers within their neighborhoods so they are not having to travel very far to distribute yarn or pick up the completed carpets. Fortunately all the labor itself is done by hand, and is not dependent on fuel."

But overcoming Armenia's energy situation has not been half as challenging for Tufenkian as trying to integrate Armenian workers with Western business values and management skills. "When I first went to Armenia people were reluctant to get involved," explains Tufenkian. "Everyone there told me my idea was impossible and that we couldn't organize such an operation and keep it honest. In the old State Carpet Company, workers were paid low wages with the expectation that they would steal from the company in order to make a living. People couldn't conceive that you could actually be paid enough to live without stealing or cheating.

"When we were looking to hire someone to manage the wool operation," he says, "we met a man who had been a director of the State Carpet Company in that region. When we first approached him, he was totally disinterested because he couldn't imagine that our business could be run differently. I told him that every month we'd pay him $100 to do the job. When he heard this, his attitude changed, and he became excited about the project."

But convincing workers that they will receive what they are promised is only one of the many ways Tufenkian has impacted the Armenian workforce. "I also want them to learn the values of discipline and initiative," says Tufenkian. "Currently the weavers work from their homes and are responsible for producing a set number of carpets. We provide them with guidelines, but they are free to choose the colors they use or to alter the design. Weavers are encouraged to sign their initials somewhere on the carpet as a symbol of their work. We've tried to empower workers and give them the opportunity to take pride in their work. But at the same time we demand honesty and responsibility. Anyone caught stealing will be fired."

"It seems to be working," says Tufenkian. "It hasn't been impossible to change people's thinking. It seems that workers are more educated now, know they can operate honestly, and will be rewarded for it. Many feel they are part of an important thing in Armenia since we are one of the few companies operating in a Western way. They feel as if they are serving the country and themselves by doing this."

Employing over 500 workers throughout Armenia, most of whom have had previous experience with the old State Carpet Company, Tufenkian has seen many changes since he established Tufenkian Armenian Carpets and not just in attitude. "When we originally were setting up the business, we had hoped to find entrepreneurs in Yerevan who would be willing to subcontract out parts of the business," says Tufenkian. "But it was impossible to find anyone who had the capacity to fulfill the orders, so we employed people to do the jobs directly. We structured our business in a pyramid with our central manager, Hampartsum Chilingarian, whom we found at the American University of Armenia (AUA), at the top, followed by sub-managers for areas such as wool gathering, yarn-making, yarn-dying, and weaving, followed by the workers. Now after several years, we are getting people coming to us interested in sub-contracting- locals wanting to supply us with looms and other materials."

Raised in Oregon as a stereotypic "American" type of guy, Tufenkian said, "it was the challenge of doing something totally foreign" that got him involved with carpets. Starting in the rug business during his third year in law school, Tufenkian began by slinging rugs in the warehouse of an import company, then importing Middle-Eastern rugs on his own after graduating from law school and passing the bar exam. More than a decade later, Tufenkian, established in the Tibetan market in the United States, as well as in heirloom-like floor coverings, says the Armenian project has been his "biggest challenge to date."

"On the surface," says Tufenkian, "the project looked impossible, but I'm glad we forged ahead. It's been rewarding to know that in a small way we've made a difference in Armenia- not just in terms of spreading money in the country, but showing workers how Western business works. I am also proud that the Kazak has been revived and think it will represent Armenia well on the market today. Lastly, I hope that in establishing this line, it will be an example for others to go in and work in Armenia. I always tell my managers to make it work so we can show others that Armenia is a place to do business."