Kilim's Life: An Interview with Hamit Balkir

We made an interview with Hamit Balkır. He has already owned a Kilim Carpet Shop, whose name is Motif Collection, in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Thank him for his answers.

You are a specialist in antique Turkish and Anatolian carpet and kilim repair. Could you please introduce yourself and your company? How did you start your job? How many are people working with you?
I started to learn repairing of carpets and kilims at an atelier when I was 12 years old. After 4 years later, I opened my own repair atelier. Now four people are working with me.

How many kilims or rugs did you repair until today?
More than 10,000.

Is there any difference between repairing kilims and carpets?
Very different. Kilim is flat woven. Turkish carpets are double knotted. Repairing of carpets is more difficult than that of kilims.

Is there any difference between hand woven old carpets and the new ones?
They are completely different. New carpets are tough like cardboard. Old ones are softer and more beautiful. In old times, people used to weave carpets and kilims for their family and themselves. They did all the processes like spinning, dyeing and weaving by their own hands with natural materials. Old ones are different from each other.



Does Repair Affect a Carpet’s Value?
Bad repair can affect. We usually use old threads for repair.

What kind of attention should you pay  when you're repairing antique carpets and kilims?
Old carpet and kilims are very delicate. They need more care.

How long does it take to repair a carpet? How do you determine the repairing time?
Depending on the conditions of carpets.


Is there any difference between repairing silk carpets and wool carpets?
Very different, of course. The repair of silk carpets is  more difficult than wool ones.

How should we protect our antique carpets and kilims after the restoration?
We shouldn't use them in the high traffic area.

What would you like to say to carpet and kilim lovers and to the readers?
All of the handmade tribal carpets and kilims are valuable. Most of them will have value as antique in the future.

Finally, how can the buyers reach to you?
I’ve been repairing kilims and carpets and selling them to local people and tourists at our shop in Istanbul for years. Today, all the people want to buy anything easily from all over the world.
Online sales are the future, we have to join it. Kilim Advisor was established only two months ago.


Now it’s our current e-commerce project on Etsy.com, which is the best web site for handmade and vintage. You can find many kilim and carpet pillows, bags, saddle bags, etc. in this online shop. We offer you elegant and special antique carpets and kilims at reasonable prices. We have some plans for next. Hope to see you again with the different projects.

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