Carpets with Soul
In Carini Lang’s artful Tribeca studio, richly crafted carpets, collected objects and lively events converge to create a space brimming with soul, life and good vibrations.
For nearly three decades, Carini Lang has been creating luxurious, artistic hand-knotted carpets imbued with a sense of soul. “I actually want the carpets to have a soul feeling, and that comes through the people that make it, the materials, and then we can create something that feels living,” says Joseph Carini, president, designer and founder of Carini Lang.
Each Carini Lang carpet is created through traditional practices preserved through generations of cultural memory. Himalayan wool is handwoven in Nepal using ancient Tibetan hand-knotting techniques, while natural dyes made from roots, flowers and medicinal plants create colours with depth and subtlety. The hand of the maker is present in every piece, making each one unique.
The company’s Tribeca design studio, gallery and workshop is similarly full of life. Located in the former Hanover Bank building in the southern part of Manhattan, it was constructed in the late 1920s and retains a palpable sense of history. “A lot of artists have lived here throughout the years. It has a lot of character and charm,” he says.
The culture, music and objects of Carini’s childhood in 1970s New York underpin the space – including vintage motorcycles – alongside artwork and sculptures he has collected on his travels through India, Nepal and Africa. “My work has evolved out of my love of these different cultures, the art forms that came out of them,” he says. “I think of them as like power objects. They kind of transmit a certain vibration… it’s all part of the creative process.”
The space functions as a kind of ever-changing showroom, but Carini likens it more to an atelier or studio. “It’s where we do creative work. It’s collaborative. It’s where we do photography. It’s where we warehouse things.” The company’s second New York space is located on the 10th floor of the D&D Building in Midtown, and acts more as a traditional showroom, housing rich textiles, carpets and furniture.
Over the years, the Tribeca studio has also been home to many intriguing events, and Carini recalls meditation practices, concerts, readings by world-renowned authors and even UFO conferences taking place beneath its roof. “The space has a magical quality: the shape of it, the size of it,” he says. “We’ve had so many incredible events in this space that I feel like the vibrations of all those events are still in that space.” This sense of warmth, authenticity and life ultimately comes through in everything Carini Lang does.
