Sasha Dergousova talks about unique Home me handmade rugs

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If you look at it with humor, people can be divided into two types — those who love carpets and those who consider them "dust collectors." Some still associate them with times when carpets were everywhere — on walls, on floors, in the bathroom, and even in the hallway...

Sasha Dergousova wants to change this perception to a new one, where carpets are about comfort, a relaxed atmosphere, and the feeling of warmth in the home, with the help of a collection of handmade wool carpets from Home me.

How did the idea of creating handmade wool rugs come about?

My idea of creating something new, as is tradition, begins with renovations (laughs). This time, it's building our new house. Most of my attention is focused on finding interesting solutions and beautiful interior items to create a special home atmosphere. Quite by chance, I stumbled upon an English brand of cotton rugs on Instagram, which are handmade in India. I was so inspired by the beautiful presentation of their products that I immediately ordered rugs for all the rooms in the yet-to-be-built house (laughs). My decorator friend was shocked by such a spontaneous decision, but buying decor even before I've decided on the wall color and then building around it – that's just my style.

Why carpets?

I was so impressed with the handmade carpets I bought that I started telling my friends about them. One of them lives in Western Ukraine, and, as a result, he was the one who told me about the ancient Ukrainian carpet weaving technique and entire Ukrainian villages where excellent quality carpets are created - no worse, and even better (because now these are Home me brand carpets (laughs)) than those that impressed me so much. My acquaintance motivated me to study this issue in more detail, especially since I have long been interested in everything related to Ukrainian traditions and have long dreamed of driving through all of Western Ukraine by car. And I went!

What inspired you about your trip to Western Ukraine?

For me, any trip to Western Ukraine is always a powerful flow of positive energy. Clean air, delicious hearty food, and open people do their job — being in the Carpathians is truly inspiring.

And if you add to this my admiration for the process of creating woolen carpets using an ancient weaving technique that is hundreds of years old, seeing sheep grazing on green hills, and listening to the stories of friendly hosts over dinner, then it's impossible not to be inspired to create something new!

Share the secret of rug-making. Is it a complex process?

The process of creating handmade wool carpets definitely requires certain knowledge, skills, and, of course, patience (chuckles)! For me, the carpet-making process itself is like meditation, and I admire our craftswomen who skillfully work on a special wooden loom and can dedicate an entire day to creating a new pattern on a future carpet. But before wool yarn reaches the master's hands, it must go through several important stages.

It all starts with shearing sheep that are two years old. The obtained wool is boiled to clean it and remove any odors. After that, the wool is combed on a special machine and dyed using hypoallergenic dyes. And now, pay attention, one of my favorite moments: to get yarn from dyed wool, just like hundreds of years ago, a spindle is used! Only after this do our talented craftswomen start working with the yarn. But that's not all! After the carpet is woven, it is placed in a special house located right on a mountain river, where for several days the carpets settle, are cleaned of excess wool, and are charged with the energy of the Carpathians through the water. And only after the carpet dries outdoors does it come to us at Olesya Honchara, 26, and then to your home!

After you decided you wanted to launch a rug collection and found someone who could help you, what happened next? What else did it take to create the first collection?

I believe that in any business, it's crucial to maintain the following balance: understand what the customer needs, what the market offers, and combine this with your personal vision – that is, filter it through yourself, add creativity, and, of course, a touch of adventurousness; otherwise, you won't bring anything new.

For example, that's how it was with Home me bed linen: first, I understood what fabrics, sizes, and designs the market offered, and I realized that little had changed since Soviet times, both in terms of sizes and colors. The market hadn't reacted to the emergence of new bed and mattress sizes, so I decided to create a 260 x 280 cm sheet, which was previously impossible to find in Ukraine – just like simple yet stylish plain collections, which were sorely missing for modern, stylish people who value quality and comfort.

How did you design the rugs, choose colors, and sizes? Why do geometric patterns prevail in the first collection of rugs?

I wanted these to be not plain carpets, but rather a combination of several colors and shapes. Besides, we didn't yet know how ready our customers were for bold solutions, so we started with a collection that would perfectly fit into any interior. To understand which colors and shapes could be combined, we simply drew and tried various options until we found several excellent combinations.

Later, when we launched the first collection of carpets with a unique geometric design, Home me, and saw our customers' feedback, we decided to create a special collection of carpets with Ukrainian talismanic symbols, each of which has a specific meaning related to the power of lineage, life energy, and family prosperity.

How did your customers react to Home me's new "cozy" product?

We are very happy to have received so much positive feedback and direct declarations of "love at first sight" from many of our subscribers and clients. However, carpets are not about spontaneous decisions; it takes time for a person to commit to such a purchase. After all, a carpet can be the starting point for a bedroom renovation and even a new life!

And if the client wants to choose the color and shape of the rug themselves, would you be able to make a custom rug?

Yes, we are working on this option – we have already created a palette of over 60 shades of wool yarn that can be combined with each other and used for individual orders. In addition, we will offer this option to interior designers, with whom we have recently begun to collaborate closely.

How do you plan to surprise your clients in the near future?

We are already working on a new line of rugs with a new design, but for now, it's a secret! At the same time, we are finalizing a new collection of bedding — ten new sets made from updated fabrics. While all of this is being prepared for launch, visit our website home-me.ua and be sure to check out our handmade wool rugs. I'm sure you'll fall in love with them immediately — just like I did back in the day!

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