In a small Georgian village, 66-year-old Mehriban Safarova’s hands dance across a wooden loom, transforming wool into vibrant Borchalo carpets – a tradition as old as the Caucasus Mountains themselves. 🌄 'Each knot tells a story,' she says, recalling learning the craft from her mother before she could ride a bicycle.
More Than Just Rugs
These intricate textiles aren’t your average IKEA find. For centuries, Borchalo designs have encoded Georgian identity through symbolic patterns – from pomegranates (fertility) to zigzags (eternity). Mehriban’s current project? A wedding carpet featuring 25,000 hand-tied knots. 💍
The TikTok Generation’s Turn
While fast fashion dominates, Mehriban’s workshop now buzzes with teens filming 'Slow Craft Saturday' Reels. 'Young people crave real connection,' she observes, teaching her 14-year-old granddaughter geometric patterns between math homework. 📚✂️
