Emmett Eiland's Oriental Rug Compa

The Story of Emmett Eiland's Rug Company Emmett Eiland and his brother Murray founded the Oriental Rug Company in 1969 in Berkeley, California. From the beginning, the Eilands made buying and research trips to Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus. Through newsletters, books, exhibitions, seminars, films and public talks, the Eilands helped create the fertile oriental rug scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1975 the brothers parted ways, and in 1979 Emmett's wife Natasha joined the business. Today, they're the proud owners of the oldest fully active rug store in Northern California, located in a spacious 8000 sq. ft. showroom in Berkeley. The Eilands continue to travel in search of excellent rugs — they are pioneers in the natural dye movement and groundbreakers in bringing the finest oriental rugs to online buyers. They've also written a successful novel, The Last Resort. Emmett is also publisher and editor of Oriental Rug Zine, an online collection of articles for oriental rug lovers. His rug book, Oriental Rugs Today, is now in its second edition, and continues to be the authoritative text on new oriental rugs made with traditional techniques. The Team Emmett and Natasha Eiland are proud of their staff. Richard manages the store with the equanimity of a boddhisatva. Lew, with the store for more than twenty years, is one of the nation's top rug experts. Sylvette is our resident financial & legal wizard: often invisible but always crucial. Nik is our digital rug photographer and tech support guru.