About Us:

Our Handmade Rugs:

Through history, different techniques of making rugs by hand developed and flourished in different regions of the world. The dedication, skill and artistry involved of the artisans in the production process and the functionality of the product, especially its role in home decor has rendered handmade rug very valuable. Today it is even more true because of the shrinking artisan population in traditional rug-making communities with the expansion of modern culture of machines and mass production.

Our rugs are made using the Tibetan hand-knotting technique following exactly the same processes and procedures that had been employed from ages. The only difference is the design that we create to suit the need of our modern clients. Because they are handmade, design and patterns are beautifully irregular, nothing matching exactly to another. Each piece will differ from another in texture and color striation, subtle organic variations in lines and motifs. In other words they do no have the bland look of the machine-made pieces that follow perfect symmetry and almost photocopied looking repeats.

An Artist's Aspirations:

Originally from Yolmo, a rural Himalayan community in Nepal, Karma Gyaltsen Lama has long affiliation with the art of carpet/rug making. As a child he saw his family and relatives engage in the craft which included spinning yarns from sheep wool, dyeing them into colorful hues, setting up looms and skillfully and meticulously hand-knotting the designs, one knot after another and one row after another, eventually producing some beautiful rugs after many hours and days of laborious work.  Although he never learned to be a carpet weaver he got to learn the workings and the different aspects of the craft right from those early days in the village.

At the meantime Karma was trained in the traditional art of Buddhist iconography, a very elaborate artwork done in scrolls or on temple walls as murals.  Upon finishing his formal schooling in college, eventually years after that he started his direct involvement in the field as a designer using his art skill and the fascination he developed towards it through years of being close to the craft.  Some two and half decades have passed and his passion in the work is the same.

Karma moved to the United States in 2006 with his family and has had jobs designing rugs with a couple of leading American rug companies since then. With the gradual urge to be fully in control of his own pursuit and to be able to stay even more connected with community of his former home he wanted to venture on his own starting a business. The outcome finally being the formation of Vermont Rug Studio, with its benefit being threefold.

First, the fact that rug making is a labor-intensive task it would help provide much needed jobs to the artisans in the other side of the globe, contributing to their family income.

Second, it would bring into the homes of discerning clients the value of beautiful handmade rugs in design and colors of their own choice.

And third, for the artist in Karma it would allow him to have the job that satisfies him most, playing with colors and forms while creating a economic and cultural bridge between his new found home and the former one across the globe.

We welcome you to be a part of it.