“I started this company based on a handshake.
It represented a shared trust and commitment between me and another man from a distant culture and place. Out of that simple gesture grew all that is now Tufenkian Artisan Carpets.

In 1985 after finishing law school I wanted to take some time off and travel before going to work as an attorney. I had been nursing a big idea for a long time — to create a 21st century incarnation of the ancient Oriental rug business. I thought to pair modern design and branding with a production that embodied the virtues of great antique carpets. After all, machines had perfected sameness and our world was filled with their products. Wouldn’t people really love to live intimately with a few wonderful things that were perfectly imperfect, and reflected the touch of the human hands that created them?

So I ended up in Nepal and was introduced to a highly respected Tibetan carpet weaver. He was dedicated to making a few great carpets, when all the others simply wanted to make more. We sat in his simple home and talked over yak-butter tea. I shared my dream, and that I needed a partner in order to realize it. When he told me that any dream of his had to include improving the lives of the craftspeople we would employ I knew I had found the right guy. So I promised to do everything necessary to build the business in America, and he promised to support it with the finest production.

Tsetan Gyurman and I shook hands and began a 30 year partnership that revolutionized the Oriental rug business. Certainly an unusual way for a lawyer to seal a deal, but I am proud of it.”
James Tufenkian