Welcome to the Oriental Rug Room

Welcome to the Ten Thousand Villages Oriental Rug Room where we are pleased to offer a large selection of hand-knotted, heirloom quality Oriental rugs made by fairly paid adults.

Ten Thousand Villages has carried rugs for over 20 years and we have a staff dedicated to educating customers about Oriental rugs and the fair trade difference -- both in quality of life and quality of product.

At Ten Thousand Villages we believe in preserving the rich cultural heritage of Oriental rug-making in all its myriad forms and styles. Based in Lahore, Pakistan, our rug artisan group has over 850 families from over 100 villages involved in handknotted rug production.

Part of the Ten Thousand Villages mission is to provide vital and fair income to Pakistani rug artisans who otherwise would have very few sustainable outlets for their craft and artistry.

One tradition of rug production is the process of artisans making their own artistic and technical decisions. At Ten Thousand Villages we believe in the inherent value of art for arts sake. And, just as we wouldn't ask a painter to make 150 copies of the same painting, we also wouldn't ask our knotters to knot 150 of the same rug.

Because of this unique approach to modern rug production, our selection and quality are unmatched. Our artisans are assured a fair wage for their labor, allowing them the peace of mind to focus on creativity, rather than speed, and quality, rather than expense.

The fibers used in our rugs are wool, cotton and silk. We have three different dyeing techniques, including hand gathered natural dyes, synthetic dyes and commercially produced natural dyes. All of our rugs are made with consistently high quality materials and dyeing techniques.

• To learn more about our rugs, please visit Rugs 101.
• To learn more about our Artisans and fair trade, please visit Fair Trade Difference.
• To learn more about Pakistani culture, please visit Culture.