SEATTLE — An old art form is having a renaissance in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.
Tuft Ruft teaches students how to design and create custom rugs using yarn and a tufting gun.
"We get excited waking up every day just to come to work,” said Carrie Xiao, who runs the business with her husband Joel Hendricks. "We definitely love it. It's just such an easy medium, anyone can use it."
She discovered the craft during COVID lockdown.
"It was not good,” she said, laughing. "I got a gun and did not know how to use it. I ripped the frame so many times, and I was like, 'Maybe we need an instructor.'"
The experience planted a seed that grew into their small business.
Located inside the large basement of an historic building, Tuft Ruft features an art gallery in the front and functional workshop in the back.
"We can turn any image into a rug,” Hendricks said. "When we see people make their own custom rugs with their own design, it really makes us happy because we like to see original art.”
Customers send Xiao and Hendricks the image they want to create and choose from more than 60 shades of yarn. Hendricks provides a step-by-step tutorial for operating the tufting gun, and students do the work themselves.
"Tufting brings people together and we want to create a little tufting community in Seattle,” Hendricks said. "We like to be able to see the joy in people's faces when they take their art home that they were able to create in our space."
The entire process takes four hours and students leave with their customized rug.
"It's amazing,” Xiao said. “You can put it on the floor, you can put it on the wall, and it will last forever."
Workshops can be booked online are available to anyone age 10 and older. Costs vary depending on the size of rug.
Tuft Ruft is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon – 4 p.m. It’s located at 210 S. Washington Street.
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