In a new twist on the notion of “shabby chic” or pre-worn/antiqued jeans, carpet manufacturer Golran has found a way to make the new so very, very old. And that’s the best kind of old, as in a well-aged fine wine or a family crest. But Golran’s particular notion goes beyond mere mimicry of the real thing. In fact, the company’s Carpet Reloaded collection manifests in precise recapitulations of aged Oriental Carpets.

Carpet Reloaded. Manufactured by Golran.

Golran’s Carpet Reloaded Line Brings Antique Designs into the 21^st. Century

Connoisseurs will be forgiven for doubting that Golran can do what it claims, that is, “use new cutting-edge techniques to rework and reinterpret Oriental carpets from the first and second halves of the twentieth century.” But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Or, in this case, in the “decolorizing process and successive monochromatic dyeing stages.”

Golran offers Reloaded in two basic styles. The Decolorized Line takes traditional hand-knotted carpets and subjects them to a decolorizing wash. This process of subtraction gives the carpets a distinctive patina of age, which is then accentuated with multiple dyeing stages of monochromatic vegetable dyes.

The Patchwork Line is comprised of carpets that are handmade by cutting apart vintage carpets and then reconstructing them piece by patchwork piece. As with the Decolorized Lines, these new carpets are then subject to multiple rounds of vegetable dyeing, “allowing an array of colours ranging from bright shades to pale, natural ones.”

With both the Patchwork and Decolorized Lines the end result is as enigmatic as it is engaging. Indeed, the lovely carpets of the Reloaded line acknowledge the technology of the present while celebrating the exquisite craftsmanship of the past. These are handmade, one-of-a-kind carpets with a distinctive and alluring aesthetic—every bit the equal of their venerated antecedents.

About the Manufacturer: The story of carpet manufacturer Golran is, if you’ll pardon the pun, highly intertwined with the history of Persian carpets. Founder Hajizadeh Golran’s love affair with the art began in 1898 in Mashad, a Persian city now on the border between Iran and Russia. The locale was a nexus of luxurious fabrics, master weavers, and vibrant dyes—all the ingredients for the world’s most beautiful Oriental carpets. Today, Golran’s heirs and descendents continue to provide the world with these beautiful heirlooms, in antique as well as modern forms: “The teachings of the great master knotters of those days have become a precious cultural and artisanal background that continues to underpin today’s production of high-quality antique and contemporary Oriental carpets.”