Interiors
Kiran Soulful Carpets and Kilims
Map
Monday till Saturday 10.00-19.00
Kiran Kelim & Teppich Kunst
Kantstrasse 17
10623 Berlin-Charlottenburg
.How to get there
It’s been 16 years since I first discovered Kiran on Charlottenburg’s Bleibstreustraße. I worked right across the street and fell in love immediately with that little shop that had the most beautiful carpets and kilims I had ever seen. A year later, we bought one of the store’s traditionally made pieces that has been an integral and much loved part of our home ever since. As store owner Orhan Kiranoglu often says, the kilim is the soul of any room.
Kiran’s story began when Kiranoglu, who used to be a stage actor, acquired his first vintage carpet on a trip through Turkey at just 22 years old. He opened up his first shop selling old and new kilims in his hometown of Ankara, formerly known as Angora, also home to the angora goat. He then moved to Rome to work as a wholesaler and consultant to architects, followed by stays in Milan, Geneva, Zurich, Munich and Hamburg.
But finally, it was love that brought him to Berlin and freed him of his restlessness. He opened up a showroom on Bleibtreustraße that has been relocated to Stilwerk for 13 years now. Along with old and new kilims, he sells classic and highly decorative design carpets. He has his own collection, makes customized pieces and goes into rhapsodies when he talks about antique designs.
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New pieces are being made traditionally in small family businesses, the wool is woven by hand and dyed with natural colors of the region. His professional weavers have their own workshops in Turkey and Persia and have learnt their craft from previous generations. As a member of Label Step, Kiranoglu does not only care about the highest quality, but also about fair treatment of everyone involved.
One of his top priorities is to keep the ancient craft alive. Unique textures, shapes and colors, that are impossible to imitate industrially, make every piece come to life and adorn their environment each in their very own way. Design labels like Minimum, Vitra and Thonet have realised that as well, and have been decorating their own showrooms with selected pieces by Kiran.
Towards the end of our talk, Kiranoglu pulls out a book from his shelf and shows me a painting from the 14th century. It was a naïve painting, but the kilim shown on it resembled the one of a contemporary artist. Life with carpets is in fashion now more than ever for a reason!
Beitrag Constanze Hallensleben
