Fall Market Buzz: Anichini's Tribal Tales with Susan Gomersall (Part 1 of 3)

Vermont-based Anichini will host Tribal Tales, an introduction to a new collection of tribal rugs, at its DDB showroom during the upcoming Fall Market. In lieu of the event, we met the woman leading the event. An expert in the field of traditional textiles and the woman behind Anichini's newest collection, Susan Gombersall will discuss the use of tribal rugs in contemporary design. Susan frequently travels to Central Asia and Africa, returning with unique and hard-to-find pieces. Her collection is the culmination of the decades of world travel in her quest for unique and beautiful tribal and village carpets and textiles.

Susan sat down with us to tell us more about herself and her trade.

GDG: When did you initially start pursuing your love for tribal rugs?

SG: I'm originally from England, and in 1971 I left to purse my studies in the world of tribal rugs. I proceeded to study ancient stone carvings in the Middle East and after living with Kurdish nomads for years, I then traveled throughout Asia buying and trading rugs.

GDG: Can you tell us about your experience in the regions where tribal rugs are made?

SG: In the decade from 1970 to 1980 I was lucky enough to travel "The Orient" with a few nomadic groups. I witnessed first hand their amazing lifestyle and culture. It often amuses me to imagine finding the nomadic group again and showing them a photograph of their family's "sleeping rug" in its new home, maybe in a Tribeca loft or a wonderful farmhouse on Martha's Vineyard.

GDG: What inspires you most about tribal rugs?

SG: My passion and livelihood is buying and selling tribal rugs and my greatest pleasure is convincing people to embrace the oddness of a tribal piece--its shape, the talismanic imagery of it and most of all, why it was woven in the first place. A genuine tribal rug is made for a specific purpose: sleeping, eating, sitting, praying, getting married in front of or using as a screen to afford the newly married couples privacy in the tent—at least physiological privacy. They are the real deal.

Stay tuned to GoDesignGo for more about Susan Gomersall and her experience with tribal rugs. In the meantime, save the date for her Tribal Tales at Anichini (Suite 923) on Thursday, October 13 from noon to 12:45 p.m. at the DDB.