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About Afarstar- Reason For Being- Purpose
I have long loved fine, hand woven textiles from natural materials.
While in college, I had the good fortune to take a class on textiles, and that
started me on my lifelong pursuit of finding out about textiles and the cultural
contexts in which they are woven. I have traveled to Scotland, Morocco,
throughout Europe, and Asia in search of all forms of knitting, crochet, lace
making, quilting, and weaving.
My love of textiles and wool led me to travel in Iran for the first time
in 1997. This rare opportunity transpired when visas finally
became available to Americans after years of refusal. I believe I was one of the first Americans
to travel there since the Revolution of 1979. I fell in love with the
place, its rich culture, deep artistic roots, and, of course, a carpet on every
floor, sheep in every field, wool everywhere! Since that first
marvelous trip, I've had the privilege of traveling to Iran regularly.
I've led tours into the country, and I've had
the joy of exploring many different areas. I have witnessed firsthand current
trends in carpet weaving and other related subjects.
After these subsequent journeys, the sanctions on Persian carpets were
finally lifted in March 2000. In September of that year, I started
importing rugs and textiles, and started selling them from this site and on E-bay
auctions.
I hope to bring fine, hand woven textiles from around the world to America
and find them good homes where they will be loved and
 appreciated
and enjoyed. During the summer of 2001, I was able to spend some time in
the villages of Iran where many of these fine textiles are woven. I was
deeply impressed by the village weavers who keep their looms
in their living rooms and work on them in between taking care of children
and cooking meals. For many of these women, their income from weaving
means the difference between their family living in poverty or being able to
survive the current instability of the Iranian economy. Weaving is
one of the few accepted jobs for women in the village, and the weavers are able
to maintain their home lives while working. Weaving can also become a
communal event with several women working on one large carpet. It makes
the progress faster and everyone knows that time flies when you're gossiping
about the men folk and match making for your daughters.
For me, carpets and other textiles are always tied to the people who weave them. Because I
am a weaver myself, I know how much time, sweat, thought and energy goes into
not only the weaving, but also the steps before and the finishing of each
piece. I have purposely gone to see as many weavers from different areas
as I can, and I realize that by buying their work, it gives them the means to
continue. As a woman, I also appreciate the voice this medium provides for
other women who would otherwise be voiceless.
I've also read a great deal about the glorious carpets of old. To me
the carpets that are woven today, though perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing,
are certainly as precious. Many new carpets are aesthetically pleasing to
me because they incorporate modern elements of design which the old ones do
not. The glorious carpets of old are way beyond my current budget and, for
myself, I like being able to walk on carpets of new without feeling like I'm
tromping on my hard earned life savings and cash. Wherever I can, I seek
quality and value, and I believe that what has always happened will continue to
happen, and that these new carpets will one day be old and glorious.
I appreciate the glorious carpets of old, but personally, I like my carpet to be
thick and plush with deep, rich colors. I don't really like holes,
either. Especially since I know now that there are a lot of good carpets
out there which do not have holes and which can be greatly enjoyed.
In Iran and throughout the Middle East, the carpet is the furniture. It
is the bed, the floor warmer, the table, the chair, the pillow, the
decoration. It points to heaven from earth. It is a place of
prayer. It was made to be used and used and used again for all
purposes. It is warm in winter and cool in the summer. It's all you
need next to shelter and food! It's part of the family and one of the main necessities for a newly
married couple. This is the main reason, in my mind, to buy what you
like. Really, Afarstar.com is an adoption agency for wayward
carpets. I found several beautiful ones which would not fit in my house,
so I hope to find them good homes where children can play on them, memories can
be made on them, and they can be enjoyed in your home.
If ever I can be of service in the realm of textiles, please feel free to
contact me,
Sincerely,
Heather Kramer- Owner!
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What's In A Name?
The name Afarstar came about
after much thought and pacing. I wanted a name which would speak for the
marvelous weavings it would represent. I chose Afarstar because, well,
Persia is afar from here and the star is one of the predominant symbols used in
carpet weaving. Also, once upon a time, there were three wise men from
Persia who followed an afarstar and ended up finding a great, incomparable
treasure in the form of a little king. I thought the name could hearken to
that theme as well.
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