I’m Ala Abdelhamdi, a baffling from childhood, in the rural heart of the province of Ilam, my life was tied to the colors and roles of the hands of local woven. My interest in the carpet, but the beginning was bitter and sad.

At age 12, I lost my father. To escape grief, I sought refuge in a carpet workshop that one of his family’s women ran. There, there was a world of girls who created flowers with their magical fingers. But, because of the little age, I could only vacuum and gather the workshop.
Every day I looked at those beautiful flowers on the carpet and I was skilled at the deceased. This regret became my motor.

It is not too late that I learned in silence and carefully. I was less skilled and became a girl who everyone was waiting to fill out empty holes. I even took the map and walking map quickly. Workshop inspectors, who had seen my cleverness and intelligence, offered me formal work.

Image 1: Abd al-Madiq is in the fabric of the rug.

The summer was over and I was the first class student. I brought the news home with enthusiasm, and after the family agreed, less than a week later, a rug in our home. My life was divided between the school and the rug. I wrote homework at school, and after helping housework, I continued to run through the night. My first rug was a smeared rug and a whole crack, with a field of cream and marginality. Every time the inspector on the “perfect” card, I continued to be more motivated.

It took me almost a year to finish my first hand. I loved my carpet so much that I did not allow anyone to get close. I didn’t believe this was my small hand. The inspector, who knew the end of the day, came and was surprised by the perfect and beautiful carpet. A while later, I was thrilled with the news: My rug in the province of Ilam earned the first place of texture and sold at a good price.

One afternoon, the inspector came and gave me the amount of fifty thousand tomans, which at the time was a considerable amount of money, and offered me the next rug. But my older brother, worried about the health of my eyes. My heart failed, but I was not optional. My only decision was to help the neighbor girl who was an orphan, and his family’s spending was funded through carpet tissue.

A few years passed. Before getting a diploma, I got married and drowned in my home life, but my mind and heart still beat the rug. One day, the neighbor of Isfahan, who knew my interest, gave me a half-part rug. I started with enthusiasm, but after the ten-ge textures, I saw all the rug flowers from the edges to the center had “failure.” No one, even the owner, knew the reason. I returned the carpet with the heart of the fracture, but the puzzle remained in my mind.

Image 2: Abd al-Madiq is coloring the woolly fibers.

For years, until one night, I dreamed of myself at the Concorcture session. The definition of this dream sparked my wife, and she encouraged me to return to school. Despite having two children, I decided to pursue a suspended dream. In high school for adults, I found the rare field of rugs and started with love from the beginning of high school. With lots of effort, I took the Bachelor of Arts and in Concorcture that same year, I was accepted by 18 in the hand-made rugs of Karaj Technical and Professional University.

At college, I tried with all. I was responsible for the carpet show and I took the tablets with various exhibitions. At the same time, in my hometown, I founded the first technical and professional school of hand-made rugs and registered a cooperative company to teach and produce both. After the Bachelor’s, I started working on large rugs (6 to 18 meters) in collaboration and introduced to a reputable producer.

After that, at the Master's degree at Ducks University, I continued to study immediately after graduation, as a lecturer at the university I started from, and even taught in a university in Tehran. For years, companies in exhibitions have expanded their relationships and successes. Now, with titles like “Top Entrepreneur” and “Top Training” and successful research contracts, I’m still eager to learn.

Figure 3 and 4: Participation in Tehran’s Handmade Carpet Show

My last achievement is to pass the formal justice test in the hands-on rug in 1402, and now I spend an internship.

I owe this long journey thanks to God, the support of family and the help of great friends and masters who were with me at every stage. The world of Iranian handmade carpets is an endless world, and I, a small student in this vast world.

Image 5: Mr. Abdelhammed at the top carpet festival