We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Marina Begman about their original and creative Rug design work. Marina Begman is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original rug works.
Marina Begman ("MB") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Hair of Umay Rug. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
MB : Creating Umai's Hair Rug is a complex endeavor, following ancient techniques of shyrdak making. Wool, the primary material, is sheared from sheep in the spring. It is then washed, dried, colored, and pressed into sheets. The sheets are cut into beautiful patterns and stitched together, representing spiritual values and harmony between people and the natural world. These patterns are quilted onto a large piece of plain wool base, creating a soft, thick, high-quality carpet that can last for decades.The shyrdak, a distinctively designed wool rug, is an integral part of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Central Asia. The technique used to make shyrdaks has been perfected over centuries and passed down from generation to generation. Central Asian nomads use shyrdaks to insulate and decorate their yurts, keeping these moveable homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. A shyrdak is a highly valuable possession for nomadic people; it’s included in dowries for young brides, and presented as a gift for important life events and celebrations. Design was inspired by a legend of Turkic and Mongolian people, about ancient goddess Umai - a benevolent spirit, the patroness of children and women. The mother goddess was depicted with golden hair, with a comb-shaped hairstyle. The rug drawing is depicting her loose hair in the wind
MB : All design research and sketches took around 3 months
MB : I have always been fascinated by significant role of women in nomadic mythology, where women were treated with great respect and reverence. Unfortunately, in our time, the women are not treated the same in Central Asia. Through this design concept I wanted to remind how important women were for nomadic people
MB : Currently in production by partner production company
MB : I met Aliya, the founder of Nakta in 2017. She shared how she started a company to preserve nomadic heritage and empower women artisans in rural Kyrgyzstan. The nomadic handmade rugs are at the edge of disappearance, as younger people are moving to the cities and are not learning from their mothers how to make a traditional hand felted rug. Aliya had an idea of reviving this ancient rug making technique through connecting it to the market. Her story inspired me so much and I wanted to make a design for them. When I showed the first sketches, we realized that we think the same way and decided to make the first collection. Thus, our collaboration resulted in «Hair of Umay»rug
MB : Our target customer cares about the story of the product, conscious about the environment and social impact. Our customer is also appreciative of natural sustainable products, interior design, and appreciates hand made fabrics.
MB : The name was inspired by ancient nomadic goddess Umai - a benevolent spirit, the patroness of children and women.
MB : All sketches were made manually, then I used software to obtain exact dimensions for production
MB : The role of technology is not crucial for this project, all sketches were made manually, the rug was handmade using an ancient nomadic technique using only water, soap, wool, and herbs. Felted wool sheets were dyed by herbs, and hand stitched together by women artisans.
MB : The research was two-folds: First, I researched the technique itself. Secondly, I researched the ancient legends of central asian nomads to come up with a new design in shyrdak technique. The technique research included academic research about shyrdak making, traveling to Kyrgyzstan to remote mountainous region Naryn, where this technique is still kept by elder women, interviewing them, as well as participating in shyrdak making to experience and understand the technique firsthand. The research of central asian legends included interviewing the elder women artisans in Naryn, academic research, as well as interviewing a university professor on Kyrgyz literature.
MB : The main challenge was to get the right shades to combine when dyeing wool with herbs.
MB : I wanted people in the world to learn more about ancient techniques of rug making in Central Asia and nomadic cultural heritage
MB : While working on this project, I learned more about the ancient handmade rug making technique, and improved my communication skills with production company
