Design
Maker’s Spotlight: Brian Erden
ERDEN’s founder Brian Erden
Photo courtesy of Kneedler Fauchere
We love nothing more than to tout fellow Chicagoans… and there’s no one we’d like to feature more than Brian Erden of ERDEN. As the founder of one of the world’s most innovative rug companies, ERDEN is different in that they (courtesy of Business of Home) “conceptualize, design and weave pieces from a technical viewpoint, as opposed to a purely graphic one.”
“A patient practice. Each ERDEN rug is handwoven line by line in Nepal.”
Image courtesy of ERDEN
Brian founded the company in 2016 with the mission of doing things differently. Essentially, his mission is to incorporate the exotic materials he finds throughout his travels, weave them into textiles in innovative ways, and experiment further with new processes. Brian has proved quite successful at starting from scratch and forming a company that does things in contrast to industry norms. Travels have taken the designer around the world to meet with the leading fiber producers in many different continents: Peru in South America, South Africa in Africa, Australia, Mongolia in Asia, and Italy in Europe. Rather than employing fibers traditionally used for rugs, Brian sources fibers graded for couture textiles and reappropriates them for rugs. “From spinning yarn on a drill press to experimentation, innovation, and building bridges between crafts is his raison d’être.”
Detail of ERDEN’s ‘Emergent’ rug in alpaca studded with polished metal inlay.
Image courtesy of Kneedler Fauchere
Brian says it was “kismet” when he first realized his love for textiles. As the story goes, in his early twenties, Brian attended a black-tie function and struck up a conversation with someone who turned out was the Midwest’s largest dealer of hand-woven rugs. Taking the gentleman up on his invitation to stop by the showroom, one thing led to another and Brian soon had a job in the showroom… he stayed there for twelve years. The random conversation ended up leading to the designer’s life’s passion.
A custom ‘Etched’ rug installed in our Lincoln Park residence living room. This rug is hand-woven of superfine Australian Merino wool and embedded with hand-worked bronze inlays.
Photo by Steve Hall ©Hall+Merrick+McCaugherty Photographers
A drawing of the living room showing placement of the metal inlays as they relate to the placement of furniture.
Unique to ERDEN is the embedding of metal into the rugs’ woven backgrounds. Whether they are sewn in, screwed in, or woven… all the work is done by a small team of trusted metalworkers in the Chicago workshop. With all the work done in-house, it is possible to customize projects as well as have direct quality control over the entire process.
Progress! A custom ERDEN rug in Tibetan wool and silk for our Naples penthouse on the loom in Nepal!
Photo courtesy of ERDEN
Progress! A custom ERDEN rug in Tibetan wool and silk for our Naples penthouse on the loom in Nepal!
Photo courtesy of ERDEN
A process drawing as we worked out the shape and size of the rug as it relates to the overall space and furniture placement within the room.
Install day! We're excited to share finished photos of this room (and the whole project!) soon as we just completed a fantastic photoshoot at the residence!
ERDEN stands tiers above many competitors in the quality of the fiber and fiber types they source. The wool ERDEN uses is (courtesy of Kneedler Fauchere) “a merino that is only a half of a millionth of a meter less fine than cashmere- so fine that it is often pricier than silk!” The studio also uses two types of superfine alpaca which are known to be durable and cleanable. Finally, in regards to mohair, ERDEN uses “only the longest and finest (we use only kid mohair— that’s the first and second shearing).”
A custom Moroccan rug by ERDEN in the family room of our Lincoln Park residence. “Handwoven in Nepal using a traditional Moroccan weave, with a background of Tibetan wool. No dye was used; we simply carded various wools together to achieve the designed tone, not unlike mixing paints through a very limited set of starting colors.”
Photo by Steve Hall © Hall+Merrick+McCaugherty Photographers
And finally, the deep commitment from start to finish is a big part to ERDEN’s success: “from conception in Chicago to yarn spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing in Nepal, and the fabrication and embedding of the metal elements back in Chicago.” Brian essentially took out the middleman in Nepal by becoming his own manufacturer. This is in addition to imparting an American sensibility with regards to lead-time management, quality control, and relevant, timely status updates. For many, this particular aspect has been a “game-changer” and something to be envied in the competitive design industry.
Always happy to have Brian and his team at the office – especially when they bring farm-fresh gifts for us!!
Members of the alpaca heard on Brian’s farm!
Image courtesy of Kneedler Fauchere
A couple of years ago, Brian bought a farm outside of Chicago; it is there that he has been raising his herd of alpacas. Like everything else, Brian wanted to learn “hands on”. However he admits that as educational and satisfying as the daily care operations are, they are also exhausting. Luckily, there is an amazing full-time farmhand that has been able to step in as needed. The herd is a gregarious bunch and it is safe to say that each alpaca has a unique name to match her distinctive personality.
An Etched rug by Erden in our Chicago studio!
Photo by Mark La Rosa
Despite its success, ERDEN continues to experiment with new processes and innovate within the slow-to-change industry. We think this quote by from Brian sums it up beautifully, “[Rugs are] just not that innovative of a space. When you show people something new, I think they’re immediately drawn to it.”
For more inspiration visit ERDEN
