My goal in life was to make a lot of money early on, and then use it, and the rest of my life, to make the world better." says James Tufenkian, founder of Tufenkian Carpets. True to his word, his company is one of America’s most successful carpet producers, a stalwart of modern rug design since its launch in 1986, and a name that any US interior designer will be familiar with. 　Its popular traditional, handmade rugs produced in Armenia and Nepal provide modern interpretations of the classical, such as Bidjar, Heriz and Donegal designs.　 Tufenkian is also a pioneer of the artist/designer carpet collaboration – a practice that is now omnipresent amongst modern carpet producers.

James Tufenkian has, as promised, used his time and financial muscles to aid philanthropic projects from an early stage in his career. Look at the Tufenkian website, and it’s difficult not to be impressed by his ambition and accomplishments, and this is not just publicity propaganda. His workers in Nepal and Armenia are provided with food, housing, education, health-care and clean drinking water. In Nepal, he has introduced a water recycling facility for washing and dyeing the carpets. He has built a bamboo garden for his Nepalese weavers, which helps to minimize erosion of the surrounding hillside during monsoon season. In 1988 he founded the Tufenkian Foundation which has been working hard "to promote social and democratic justice throughout Armenia", with long-term projects to alter the country’s economic and environmental landscape. His luxury Heritage Hotels have also helped to stimulate tourism in Armenia, whilst his Harvest Song Preserves help to increase farmers’ earnings and broadened demand for Armenian local produce.　 The list goes on...

Does this philanthropic work have an effect on the carpet industry as a whole, and does it translate into sales? I put this question to Tufenkian. "I think the industry is moving towards ethical behavior to the extent that it is profitable to do so. It has become a marketing point, and a matter of interest to consumers, although as many have discovered, much as they love social responsibility, they don’t necessarily want to pay more for it."

Clean, "green" products have enjoyed consumer success in a way that would be unimaginable a decade ago. From the outset, Tufenkian has been conscientious about the footprint that he makes on the countries where he produces, aiming to "leave the places we touch better than we found them". Has this long-standing commitment added to the company’s success? "It hasn’t hurt. But in the end, you sell based on quality, design and color, and perceived value. Green is one aspect of the value proposition, but it doesn’t come close to standing alone."

If the high-end of the carpet industry is inching towards better working practices, how can it deal with the tension between producing a rug that will last a lifetime or several, whilst also trying to create designs that reflect changing fashions and tastes? James Tufenkian has been forced to address this issue. "For years dealers asked me if I could shear down low our great Armenian decorative-traditional carpets. I refused. I had so much pride in the wool we used, the hand-carding and spinning, the dyeing, and the final wonderful textured look of it in the finished products. Now the demand is too strong, and we can’t resist, so I have started a new production all sheared down. Customers love it. I guess I should be happy those rugs won’t last for nearly as long as our normal production – customers will return sooner rather than later. But it still kind of hurts to concede to the market. Still, who says a rug has to last several lifetimes?"

Acceptance of the market’s fluidity is part of James’s success. He works regularly with artists and designers to bring fresh ideas to his repertoire of designs, choosing collaborations with those who can create designs that appeal to clients buying at the high-end of furnishings.　 The latest collaboration with interior designer Laura Kirar has produced a range made from a wool/hemp mix in simple, geometric patterns with a modernist, Bauhaus aesthetic. Predicting future trends is in part intuitive: "I find myself getting hungry for certain colors or combinations, and when I do, it’s pretty certain that within a year or so, people will be showing them.　 We all seem to be tuned into a collective consciousness, turning to what is new in sync, even though we don’t communicate about it."

The market for traditional carpets has been changing since he began in the business, becoming "increasingly decorative and designer driven. Customers who care about the provenance of a rug, and the history behind the weavings and designs are almost invisible to us. It is color, design and achieving a certain look in the product that excites the eye." He, however, has a collection of fifty Chinese, Tibetan, Armenian and Persian antique carpets that he will not part with.

I ask how the economic downturn has affected Tufenkian. "Designers are looking for immediate delivery.　 They want to close the deal and get it delivered and paid for, before their clients meet some unfortunate financial catastrophe."The communities he is involved with in Armenia and Nepal have also been affected, with rising unemployment, and migration abroad to earn money that can be sent home. Currently Tufenkian’s production is kept to stable levels, but sometimes volumes are high, and the cost of labor may have to increase to attract workers to deal with demand increases, which will add to the end price tag of the rug.

If Tufenkian continues to pay the price of ethical working practices, and the customer becomes resistant to the rising costs, I wonder how he will be able to continue to amass profits to infuse back into Armenia and Nepal. However small handcraftsmanship will always be present in Tufenkian’s products. His aims for the future? "Developing new productions that continue to embody our respect for the best materials, and show touch of the hand, while responding to the requirements of the design community." Indefatigable, and ever pragmatic, it seems that James Tufenkian is unstoppable.

Rugs pictured: Abstract Fall Color, Rukesh Mandarin, Coconino Magma, Wool Crack Up Pool, and Rag Weave Mardi Gras. View gallery below.