WHO WE ARE: 

Woven History & Silk Road is a family-owned textile business located in the historic district of Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. We have been connecting our clients with rugs and other weavings from around the world since 1986, when we began as a vendor at the iconic Eastern Market Flea Market. Owned and operated by Dr. Mehmet Yalcin, a Turkish-American academic who specializes in the Central Asian region, Woven History & Silk Road is the result of his extensive travels and studies of the art, culture, and history of Central Asia. 

We specialize in new, semi-antique, antique, and collectible rugs from over 20 countries throughout South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus. As our name suggests, each piece tells a unique story- no two are alike. All of our textiles are handmade from either hand-spun, hand-carded, hand-combed, vegetable-dyed wool or silk, and are made traditionally to ensure longevity and sustainability. Although no two handmade rugs are alike, we have a wide selection and pride ourselves on having something for everyone. 

We are the direct source for all of our treasure. Each piece is hand-selected by our team. We have our own looms in Nepal working with Tibetan refugees, as well as in Pakistan and Afghanistan working with Hazara and Turkmen refugees, where we work to continue the dying art of weaving ethically and sustainably. The rest of our pieces are sourced by us from weavers or families of weavers. A select few of our rare, antique, collectible pieces are sourced from collectors. 

Aside from our rugs, we also carry a wide selection of furniture, jewelry, and gift items from along the ancient Silk Road, or what are now the countries between modern-day China and Turkey. We work with projects such as the Altai Women's Crafts Projects to source some items, such as our traditional clothing, accessories, and home décor items. 

ORGANIC MATERIALS:

A majority of our rugs are handmade from organic, vegetable-dyed wool. There are no chemicals or machinery used in the process of weaving our rugs, as our focus is the reviving traditional weaving methods. A select few of our pieces are made of silk or a combination of silk and wool. At Woven History & Silk Road, we source our products with you and your descendants in mind; when a handmade rug is woven by hand with organic materials, it can last for generations. 

WOVEN WITH LOVE BY TRIBAL ARTISANS: 

We source many of our pieces through our looms in Nepal, working with Tibetan refugees, and in Pakistan and Afghanistan, working with Turkmen and Hazara refugees, or by sourcing them directly from weavers or families of weavers who have been skilled at the craft for generations. By working directly with the weavers, we cut out the need for any middlemen and make sure that our weavers and their families are well taken care of by providing them with fair wages and ethical workspaces to ensure the continuation of textile crafts around the world. By having our looms, we are at the forefront of cultural and environmental sustainability within the textile industry, and we can make sure that our prices are fair for both the weavers and our valued customers.