Saturday 5 September 2020, 12-2pm BST (British Summer Time, London, UK)

Virtual Workshop, hosted on Zoom, by Ruzanna Torozyan of Goris Women's Development Resource Centre Foundation (WDRCF)

Ruzanna Torozyan was born and lives in Goris community of Syunik region, South of Armenia. On her initiative,  the "Wool to Carpet" social enterprise was established in Shinuhayr village of Tatev community back in 2015 with the aim to create sustainable income opportunities for disadvantaged women in the region and stimulate economic development through developing wool value chain: from sheep to customers of woollen products. The "Wool to Carpet" social enterprise is a production space that acts as a resource and a hub for actively fostering local weaving practices via directly involved local craftswomen of the region it is established in. It has four sections: a wool processing room, wool spinning and weaving workshop, carpet(kilim) and rug making workshop and a tourist information center/gift shop.  

Being committed to the preservation and revival of all aspects of the cultural heritage of the Armenian weaving traditions, Ruzanna believes that using both traditional practices and modern design gives an opportunity to preserve the traditional weaving crafts and turn them into an income generation opportunity for local craftswomen and artisans.

Ruzanna and her team of artisans have presented the Armenian weaving and carpet making traditions during the Smithsonian Folklore Festival 2018  held in June, 2018 in Washington DC, USA.

Carpet( kilim) and rug weaving are one of the most important expression of Armenian culture. Since ancient times, in almost all communities of Armenia local masters wove carpets (kilims) and rugs, blankets, curtains, saddles, horse blankets and etc. Rugs and carpets (kilims) and different items made from those were usually given to the bride as a dowry. Today many fashion designers use carpet elements in modern fashion.

The raw materials for rug and carpet weaving are sheep wool, camel wool, soft goat hair, cotton and silk.  

These days, Ruzanna will be next to you as an expert and together with her colleagues will share her experience and knowledge in traditional weaving practices by facilitating the online carpet making workshop.

Find more about “Wool to Carpet” handicraft studio here: https://www.facebook.com/wooltocarpet/

Outline of the wool spinning workshop
The wool spinning workshop will be held in the Women Resource Center studio situated at a small little town of Armenia- Goris. During a 20 min introductory tour you will learn about the history of the studio as well as see the process of the traditional woolen yarn making (from the sheep shearing to the wool spinning).

Next learn about the Armenian yarn making traditions and tools used, while the masters at our center will showcase the wool spinning process on a spinning wheel. The masters will present the spinning principles and techniques.

Outline of the tapestry weaving workshop
Explore the history and traditions of Armenian carpet and rug making, tools and patterns used in the tapestry. Together with the master the participants will make their own small cardboard looms. (20min)

Using cotton yarns first the warp will be stretched on the looms in line with the first raw of weft (10 min). Throughout the next 40 minutes the participants will weave their own tapestry together with the trainer, ask questions and get guidance to finish their own test pieces.

In the end the cutting and securing process will be described (10 min).

Materials list (not provided):
A4 size cardboard
100g Woollen yarns (at least 2 colours)
50g cotton yarn (one colour for warp)

Workshop Cancellation Policy
All places reserved on workshops are non refundable, however, if you let us know you are not able to make a workshop you have booked at least two weeks prior to the event, we will re-advertise your place and refund your fee as long as we are able to sell your place and the workshop is fully booked.

If you require additional information about this workshop please contact Catherine Harris, events@selvedge.org.