" Carpet weaving is a dying art in Iran."

There is a sadness in Hadi Nishaburi’s voice as he talks of the fading group of artisans from his homeland. But he expresses some optimism, as he now plays an active role in keeping the art of Persian carpet-making alive.

Hadi is the latest in a long family line of carpet weavers that stretches back 270 years. In 1986, his father, Abbas, came to Singapore to open Jehan Gallery on Outram Road. “My family saw Singapore as a booming, new place, a cosmopolitan city that offered a lot of opportunity,” he says. “It just seemed like a natural place to showcase our carpets to buyers and dealers from around the world.”

Today, the Jehan showroom moves tens of thousands of carpets every year, most of them handmade in individuals’ homes. This is why a Jehan carpet is different. Whereas it’s common in Pakistan or India for carpets to be manufactured in factories, Hadi’s father and brother, Nasser, maintain relationships with hundreds of independent weavers throughout Iran who work from home-based looms.

“These weavers incorporate their own traditional styles and patterns into the carpets,” Hadi relates. “This is what makes Iranian carpets unique in character. Because they don’t come from a factory, each one will be infused with a bit of the weaver’s history.”

The expertise gathered over generations is the key in taking care of weavers scattered throughout cities and villages. The family provides for these suppliers, not just financially, but personally, such as with helping them relocate when families want to send their children to schools in another town or city. “We have even helped build schools and renovate medical clinics,” Hadi says.
      
Old techniques of using high-quality wool and vegetable dyes are being revived by the Nishaburis. Chemical dyes, Hadi explains, became cheap alternatives after World War II. But they don’t age well. “The colours in vegetable dyes mature over time. Some reds, for instance, become darker while other colours lighten. But this process of using vegetable dyes has been forgotten over generations.”

Jehan Carpets is back in its first location on Outram Road, after 15 years on Dempsey Hill. The recent spike in property rentals led Hadi and a group of other Dempsey shops to band together and form The 3rd Storey, named so for their location in the Tan Boon Liat building. “We really wanted to stay on Dempsey, but it was more important for us to offer our customers the best prices. To do that, we have to keep our overhead costs reasonable.”

Today, Jehan offers the option of custom-made carpets to all of its customers. Once the prerogative of hotels, resorts, and large-scale clients, custom-designs are now becoming popular with the general public. Anyone can bring in a design or even a photo to be woven into a carpet. If customers have only a vague idea of the pattern, they would like, the Jehan designers will work with them to perfect it.

One of the latest innovations in carpet making that Jehan is taking advantage of is the use of bamboo fibre, which is naturally anti-fungal, hygienic, environmentally friendly – and feels as soft as natural wool.

A curious thing I learn about Jehan is that it’s one of the biggest suppliers of carpets in South America. “We have an office in Chile,” Hadi says. Why there, of all far-flung places? “The lifestyle and tastes in décor are similar to those in Iran. And it was just one of those different places we’d never been to.”

The love of going to new places to do business – something many of us can relate to.

 Jehan Gallery is located beside the Holiday Inn Atrium in the Tan Boon Liat Building, 315 Outram Road #03-08. Call (+65) 6334 5333 or visit www.jehan.com.sg.