I am God’s grace. My career path in hand-made rug design began in 1905, which unlike many activists in the field had no family roots. My arrival into the world of hand-made rugs, not from the heart of an old workshop, not from the generations of carpets, but from the path of graphics..

I spent my student time in the field of photography, and the knowledge in Tehran. In those years, I met a few students in the garden. This simple, quiet acquaintance opened a new window on me. They needed to paint and point out to design their handmade rug maps, and I was seriously involved in design and painting, starting from interest to help them..

At least it came to a place where, along with my graphic projects, I also painted and pointing out my friends’ rug maps. At that time I could only do this from curiosity, but later I found that the same constant exercises were actually an unconscious education for me. Every time I painted a map, the principles of design, fit, and structure of the rug map were formed in my mind, without realizing it..

After the end of the student's era, something happened in July of 2011, which made my path more serious. In the province of Rashe, a production set of hand-made carpets accidentally offered me a project to design a hand-made rug map. At the time I had no independent experience of carpet design. I had previously worked with maps just alongside hand-made rug students, not to be a project designer. However, I accepted the offer. It was a simple reason to believe.And: I think graphic design and rug design are not far from each other, and both eventually work with image, composition and color..

In that project, I used the knowledge I had in design and drawing, and on the other hand, I consulted with friends who were educated in hand-made rugs. The result was an orderly satisfaction and that satisfaction became a serious motivation for me. Since then, there has been a spark in my mind that I may continue this path professionally..

Before that, I had taken a lot of private classes in my field of design and painting. I tried to learn different techniques of design and hand painting such as black pen, coal, Kent, Patel, Goa and acrylic oil color. I was also trained professionally with computer software. But now I had decided to enter the Iranian rug design world and I knew I had to learn the specialized principles of hand-made rug design..

For this reason, in Tehran, I learned the principle of Iranian rug design, and then I was a student of Master Ali Peggy and Master of Gold. Along with these high-performing professors, I learned very important points about the structure of rug design, the combination of traditional reviews and reviews to the hand-made rug map. A few months of intensive training passed, and then returned to the new knowledge..

From year to time, by combining the experiences I had in traditional design and drawing, and the knowledge of graphic software and training I had seen in graphic design and hand-made rug design, I started my independent activity in rug design and painting. The first plan I presented was a plan in size of the cynic, a plan that met a good reception in the market and the same design reached the production stage..

Image 1: Sample of the Silk Carpet map, the work of Habib God Reza, designed in 2014

But at the beginning of the journey, I decided not to limit my activity to design. From the beginning I had an economic mindset and always wanted to turn skill into a real economic flow. So along with the design for other manufacturers, I also entered the field of carpet production. For me, it was a special experience to see the plan I worked on for months, eventually becoming a real rug..

Perhaps if I continued the graphics route, this connection to the economy and the market would be more natural for me, because graphics directly correlates with advertising and business. But when I chose hand-made rug as my professional path, I felt that I had to take this art seriously. That’s why, along with the design I did for various productions, I also produced some of my own specific designs..

Market activity taught me an important fact.And: If we want to maintain Iranian rug value, we need to know the market needs..

In the design field, I have always tried to be new and updated. On the other hand, it is important for me to maintain the traditional principles of handmade rug design in the work, because these principles are what gives Iranian rug the identity, authenticity and cultural value. But along with it, I believe that modernity and innovation are essential in today’s world..

For this reason, if I want to explain my style of work, I have to say that the combination of tradition and modernity..
I think today neither tradition is enough, nor modernity without roots. If we want the Iranian rug to maintain its place in today’s world, we must also open innovation in design while loyalty to originality..

So, in my design, I’m going to look for more general designs than a quarter. In general design, the designer’s hand is open for more creativity and change, and it can create new combinations. One of the designs that was well-recognized in the market was also one of these types of universal designs, which I tried to preserve in those originals of hand-made rug design, but innovation is also seen..

Image 2: Habibullah Reza, in the design of the hand of the carpet.

In the hand-made rug market there is always an old debate.And: Should you design hand-made rug based on the personal taste of the designer or based on the needs of the market and customer.

I think the answer to this question depends on the nature of every art. In painting, the artist can work entirely based on his personal look, because painting is a free art and the artist finds his audience through his personal style. But hand-made rug is an applied art..

On the other hand, my background in graphics has made me always look at the order and need of the audience. In graphics, we have learned that design should respond to its audience and purpose of communication. For this reason, in the field of handmade rugs, I believe that if the tastes and needs of the market are not considered, the value of Iranian rug in the market is not properly defined..

From my perspective, the rug designer must balance three things.And: Traditional authenticity, personal creativity and real market needs. If these three are together, the Iranian rug can still speak on the global market to say. But if one of these is ignored, or we would fall into a repetition of tradition or go to designs that do not have a connection with Iranian rug identity..

I have always tried to move at this point of equilibrium, somewhere between the originality of the past and the need of today.. Because I believe that the real value of the Iranian rug is shaped in the same conversation between tradition and time..