Spotlight On: Concept Interiors
Minneapolis, Minnesota
For Julie Dasher, founder and lead designer of Concept Interiors, shifting careers from human resources consultant to rug designer wasn't that big a leap. "In my soul, I think I was an artist," she says. But it wasn't just in her soul: Julie was a mad quilter who learned the craft at the knee of her potato-farming grandmother in Idaho. Julie's love of classic American quilt patterns, her lifelong passion for textiles and an abiding respect for craftspeople brought her simultaneously to rug design and GoodWeave.
Julie's company specializes in custom, hand-knotted Tibetan wool and Chinese silk rugs crafted in Nepal. Julie works with interior designers to help them develop private label collections. "My mind is always spinning with ideas," she says. "Long before I had any thought of going into the rug business I kept a sketch book with rug designs." Some of those designs, such as "Bar Chart Bliss," which is in striped jewel tones, come from her years of quilting. "The stripe reminds me of a quilting technique called strip piecing," she explains. Other rug designs are influenced by her travels to destinations such as Ephesus, Turkey, where she visited traditional weavers and watched people harvest silk from cocoons. A recent favorite piece, a pink wool rug with a cream and burgundy border, is inspired by the national flower of Nepal.
Although Julie is rooted in tradition, she favors a "transitional style" that is at home in traditional or modern settings. "I love for the rug to be the focal point of the room. The rug is the star," she says.
Julie credits her daughter Lilly for helping point her company in GoodWeave's direction. After watching a YouTube video of children weaving rugs, the mother-daughter pair decided that it would be "really cool to help stop child labor." Julie laments, "It just breaks my heart thinking of children Lilly’s age on the loom for thirteen hours a day." Julie holds a master's in business administration and understands the marketing benefit of GoodWeave membership. "Marketing research does indicate that more people are loyal to a brand if the product is produced in a socially conscious way," she argues.
Though new to the business, Julie feels perfectly at home. Only one thing surprises her, she says. "The rugs are just so hard to let go. I never realized I would be so attached to them." She feels about rugs much the same as she feels about quilts. "They're handcrafted pieces of art that generate warmth for people." Then she adds with a grin, "Warmth is important, you know. I'm from Minnesota!"
Find out more about Concept Interiors at www.conceptinteriors-us.com.
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