Armenia has a rich rug-weaving tradition, dating back more than 4,000 years. However, rug making is currently at risk of disappearing from Armenia’s villages. The Rug Code is a collective of Armenian weavers, dyers, artists, historians, ethnographers and storytellers on a mission to breathe new life into this craft, while also creating meaningful employment for rural weavers — all this, while sharing Armenian rugs and the coded meanings of their ornaments.
“I fell in love with Armenian rugs when I moved to Armenia in 2015,” Kyle Khandikian, The Rug Code’s founder, told the Weekly. “I would often go to the Vernissage market in Yerevan in search of rugs… Unfortunately, Vernissage is saturated with non-Armenian and non-handmade rugs from other countries where it’s less expensive to produce rugs. They’re brought to Armenia and resold as ‘Armenian’ to unsuspecting buyers who have not studied rugs and cannot tell the difference between an Armenian and a Turkish or Persian rug.” This frustration at having been lied to, combined with the lack of transparency and trust when searching for Armenian rugs, sparked the initial idea for The Rug Code, which launched in February 2024.
This desire to start a rug business became more urgent once Khandikian learned that many locals no longer weave rugs in Armenia, because it’s not a profitable trade. “In just one generation, the culture of hand-making rugs in villages and towns for families’ personal use and as commemorative gifts for major life events like weddings and births has nearly completely disappeared,” he said. “That is not an exaggeration. Traditional rug making will disappear from Armenia’s villages in my lifetime if something isn’t done about it. At the level of the individual weaver who knows how to make a rug, the explanation is simple: «Ուր հաց՝ հոն կաց» — ‘Go where there is bread.’”
Khandikian further explained, “Rug making is not a profitable trade in Armenia because local weavers cannot find clients — not without the right tools and know-how, particularly when it comes to digital marketing, so it’ll soon no longer be a trade at all.” In response, he created The Rug Code to make purchasing a handmade rug directly from the remaining professional rug makers in Armenia’s villages an easy and transparent process.
The “coders” or weavers at The Rug Code range in age from 18-53 and represent three generations of weavers. Nearly all of them are also engaged in other full-time work, as rug making is not yet profitable, and weave at nights and on weekends to supplement their incomes. The Rug Code works with two women-focused collectives. One is Goris Handmade, a social enterprise in the Syunik province dedicated to revitalizing traditional Armenian textiles and creating economic opportunities for unemployed women. The other is Noyemberyan House of Culture, who are engaging with commercial rug making through The Rug Code for the first time. “These women put their spirit and energy into every rug they make, and despite the many challenges placed in front of handmade creators in Armenia, they are keeping traditional weaving practices alive,” said Khandikian. “They are heroes.”
“These women put their spirit and energy into every rug they make, and despite the many challenges placed in front of handmade creators in Armenia, they are keeping traditional weaving practices alive,” said Khandikian. “They are heroes.”
The Rug Code encourages its weavers to create their own original designs, while also connecting them with local artists who create designs they can turn into handmade pieces. Their recent Barana collection was designed by Gyumri-born artist Gohar Martirosyan, inspired by a traditional 19th century Utik rug from the north of Armenia.
“The weavers of the collection are also based in the north, in and around the town of Noyemberyan,” Khandikian explained. “We decided to do a contemporary collection, rather than a traditional one, making use of the natural colors of local wool without any color dyeing, as it was common to use undyed wool for rugs in Noyemberyan in the past.” He hopes to continue collaborating with contemporary artists in Armenia to create new designs that are still rooted in tradition. “Our ancestors created fantastic rugs in the past,” he said. “I personally believe that we should be striving to create new rugs that are just as fantastic today, not just recreating what was done in the past.”
In addition to ensuring the Armenian rug making tradition survives, The Rug Code also has an educational side. On every product page, visitors to their website can learn the meanings of the ornaments in their rugs, all of which have been researched and reviewed by leading experts in Armenian rugs. “One of the reasons why I was deceived at Vernissage was because I couldn’t identify an Armenian rug,” Khandikian said. “It takes years and years of study to truly understand what differentiates an Armenian rug from those produced by Armenia’s neighbors.”
“The beauty of handmade rugs is that they’re made by people, not machines, and people have stories. They have dreams. They have challenges. They are imperfect, and no two rugs the same person weaves are ever the same,” Khandikian said.
Khandikian explained that it is all about understanding the “code” to deciphering Armenian rugs and their ornaments. “The great challenge of our lives as Armenians is unburying the cultural legacy of our ancestors that we’ve been denied, mainly due to genocide,” he said. “I’ve chosen rugs as the legacy I’m trying to unbury for myself and hopefully for others, and I have to mention the invaluable work so many have done before me in this regard, like the Armenian Rugs Society, an organization dedicated to the identification, preservation and dissemination of knowledge on Armenian rugs.”
“The beauty of handmade rugs is that they’re made by people, not machines, and people have stories. They have dreams. They have challenges. They are imperfect, and no two rugs the same person weaves are ever the same,” Khandikian said. He has big dreams for The Rug Code, hoping to represent every rug maker in every province of Armenia who wants to make a living through rug making, no matter where they live.
“First and foremost, rug making has to be a profitable trade in Armenia — if it is to continue for another 4,000 years,” he said. “That means paying everyone involved in the production of a rug fairly and creating a resilient and effective value chain of local shepherds, spinners, dyers, weavers, washers, shavers, stretchers and designers.” The Rug Code is revitalizing that chain with each of its orders, in collaboration with local partners who also see the potential in handmade rugs.
In 2025, The Rug Code will launch its first kids’ carpets, as well as a collection of felt rugs made using recycled scrap threads from their production. “I launched The Rug Code in February 2024, and in less than a year, we’ve fulfilled 40 orders,” Khandikian said. These were mostly from the U.S., with no advertising spent and while Khandikian still had another full-time job. “The potential is there and I’m so excited to see what the future will bring for Armenian rug making,” he stated.
Lizzy Vartanian
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