There's something extremely special about rugs, especially in Scandinavia where hard wood floors are the norm. Not only do rugs help to add cosiness and warmth, when chosen well, they can also bring a room to life. There's something particularly special about handwoven rugs: they possess a unique quality that tell a story. This is one of the reasons I'm a big a fan of Austrian brand
Tisca.
Tisca has been making handwoven rugs from high quality wool for nearly 50 years. Every rug is unique - and if you take care of it, it can be passed from one generation to the next. It helps of course, that they are beautiful too! A few weeks ago fellow bloggers
Decor8,
Happy Interior Blog,
Vosgesparis,
Monster Circus,
Passion Shake and I were given the rare opportunity to visit Transylvania to discover more about the craftsmanship that goes into every rug, discover the historic centre steeped in the tradition of weaving - and of course go in search of Count Dracula!
We stayed at
Casa Belvedere in the small village of
Cisnadioara which is idyllically situated at the foot of the medieval Kirchenburg. It was the perfect base from which to explore the untouched beauty of the Transylvanian countryside, Romanian culture, history, food and crafts.
Tisca rugs are made in the lush, hilly district of Cisnădie - a historic centre for the manufacturing of textiles not far from our guesthouse. Although much of the industry has disappeared, local people remain steeped in the tradition of weaving and are highly skilled in crafting beautiful rugs by hand. I was fascinated to discover how Tisca combines cutting-edge knowledge with centuries old tradition to create a variety of unique rugs.
The Beauty of Wool
Wool has been the preferred raw material used to make rugs thanks to its strength, beauty and that it's easy to clean. When Tisca rugs are woven with a plain weave, wool rugs can be used on both sides - perfect when you have little kids running around - or friends who are occasionally a little unsteady with a red wine!
Weaving techniques
Tisca use two different weaving techniques - either woven or braided. With the handwoven rugs in Transylvania, the classic plain weave approach is used - which allowed for two-sided use with both flat-woven and pile rugs.
96 colours!
If the pictures above are anything to go by it would appear you can have any rug you like as long as it's white, blue or grey - but that's far from reality! In fact, with Tisca you can design your own rug - choosing from 96 colours, a variety of yarn thickness and 26 possible textures - yielding never-ending possibilities! And then of course there's the size and configuration (the colours and the weaving techniques can be freely chosen!) with a width up to 6 metres and any length. So handy!
Social projects
I loved that Tisca textile maintains two small workshops near the factory in Cisnadie. In Bogatu Roman, around 12 women make high quality rugs from waste yarn (from the main plant). The women take pride in running the site themselves, managing their work and holiday schedules. The rugs are incredibly popular thanks to the excellent quality and reasonable prices. In 2014 Tisca opened another small workshop in Tichindeal, a small Roma village as part of the 'Elijah' social project in collaboration with Father Sporschill, where high quality woollen yarns are woven into standard-sized rugs.
Weaving our own rugs!
Towards the end of our factory visit we got the opportunity to weave our own rug. It was such a satisfying, mindful process. It also gave me a glimpse into what's required to weave a rug - and a new-found respect for the skill of the craftspeople working for Tisca. Weaving a rug requires attention to detail, skill and concentration that I found I didn't quite possess! And the craftspeople I met were always cheerful and passionate about their work. It was wonderful to see!
Visiting Sibiu
Our trip wouldn't have been complete without visiting the beautiful city of Sibiu. It's not somewhere I would have thought about going, and I was mesmerised by the beauty of it, don't you love it when that happens? It's known for it's Germanic architecture - the legacy of 12th century Saxon settlers. We strolled passed the remains of medieval walls and towers and took in the atmosphere while sipping coffee at one of the many cafés.
Bran castle
What would a visit to Transylvania be without a visit to Dracula's '
Bran castle'? Despite the journey, it was well a visit (just make sure you're loaded with garlic first - Mwah ha ha haaaa!). But if your schedule is tight, I also recommend Brukenthal Palace which is nearer to Sibiu (and has a great hotel and restaurant attached to it!).
Thank you so much to
Tisca for an amazing trip. I hope to return one day to see more of Romania with my family. What a beautiful country!
You can read more about Tisca rugs and commission your own one
here. I'm sure you will enjoy it for decades to come!
Niki
This is a paid partnership with Tisca, however all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible.
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