April 25, 2020
Want a break from the 24 hour news cycle, “all the pandemic all the time”? Looking for a unique getaway in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown? Are you worried you may never be able to travel again?
Take a trip to the heart of the ancient Silk Road, for a live chat with Munira Akilova in Tajikistan. On April 23, 2020, we recorded our first ever Live Chat with the Artist video. We sat down on Zoom with Munira Akilova, handicraft designer and manager for Armughon Handicrafts and Ar...
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November 09, 2019
Have you every wondered about those dramatic turban-like headdresses worn by some Kyrgyz women? Learn a little bit about the culture and history behind the traditional Kyrgyz headdress for married women, known as the "Elechek."
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September 26, 2019
“Suzani” is one of the most prominent large- scale traditional Central Asian textile arts. In modern-day Central Asia, “suzani” refers to both the large wall-size traditional embroidered tapestry and the embroidery style, used on clothing, home decor and accessories. The ancient art of suzani embroidery continues to play an important role not only in the decoration of the Central Asian home, but also in the life of the people and the pride of traditional folk art. The term “suzani” has recen...
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July 31, 2016
One of the most prominent types of large-scale Tajik embroidery is Suzani. (In modern parlance, "Suzani" refers to both the large wall-size traditional embroidered tapestry and the embroidery style, used on clothing, home decor and accessories.)
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July 09, 2016
Salom, everyone. Last week's Feedback Friday survey included a question about which languages are spoken in Tajikistan. Most people knew that Tajik (or "Tajiki" as they say in Tajik) and Russian were the principal languages used in Tajikistan. Russian was the lingua franca and official government language during Soviet times. After independence (1991), Tajik became the official national language. In practice, Russian continues to be used for business,
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June 23, 2016
Suzani: Zerafshan to HoonArts, Part 1: Creating the Design
Hello. My name is Rikki Quintana and I am the founder of HoonArts Fair Trade. I’m often asked how do we get our products here to the U.S. from Tajikistan, which is landlocked in the middle of Central Asia.
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June 14, 2016
When I started HoonArts back in late 2014, I knew I didn’t know much of anything about retail, marketing or handicrafts. In fact, I dropped out of Girl Scouts at a young age because I hated selling Girl Scout cookies, and I gave up band in high school because
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May 31, 2016
Many of our textile products at HoonArts include authentic ikat fabrics from Uzbekistan in Central Asia. If you do a Google search, you fill find that “ikat” is a very trendy item. Not long ago, I saw a full page advertising spread in Travel and Leisure which was promoting all things “ikat,” with a focus on Central Asian patterns. What was most interesting to me, though,
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May 17, 2016
Traditionally Suzani refers to a wall-sized tapestry, but Americans don’t typically decorate their walls with small size tapestries so what they’ve done is they've taken the technique and created modern products to appeal to modern buyers
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April 04, 2016
I'm often asked how we choose products at HoonArts, especially since most of our products come from Tajikistan and have no established market and traditional "market research" is impossible. That is one of the great challenges of starting a new Fair Trade import business.
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September 14, 2015
One of the great joys of building the HoonArts business is having direct access to an insider's view of the people, culture, history and more associated with the business. Our new Beyond Tourism blog is designed to give you access to that insider's view. Each issue will contain an in-depth look at some aspect of life along the Great Silk Road. In this inaugural issue, we are delighted to provide a more detailed profile of Munira Akilova, our primary textile expert and coordinator in Tajiki...
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