COVER invites you to a Zoom event: Hand-Knotted Rugs: A Virtual Roundtable, August 25 2020

August 19, 2020

The global COVID-19 crisis creates an opportunity to challenge and change 'business as usual' thinking in the hand-knotted rug industry. To facilitate a global exchange of ideas, the Kabul Carpet Export Center (KCEC) is hosting ‘Hand-Knotted Rugs: A Virtual Roundtable‘, 25 August at 10.00 AM Eastern US time via Zoom. A link to join the Roundtable follows at the end of this article

Organised by Rob Leahy of KCEC, this two-hour event features industry experts in time zones from Los Angeles to Kabul who will discuss, debate, and listen via a structured format that includes time for Q&A. COVER’s Lucy Upward will host the Roundtable’s Design element. ‘In uncertain times the best solution is always communication,’ says Upward. ‘The cancellation of shows due to COVID-19 means online discussions and platforms are now a vital way to share our thoughts.’

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We reached out to Michael Christie, Editor of Rug Insider (familiar to many of you as The Ruggist), and host of the production section of the Roundtable to ask what factors he sees as critical to the Roundtable. ‘The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates what happens when money stops moving,’ says Christie. ‘Just like a gust of wind can disrupt the skipping stone you bounce across a lake, coronavirus has disrupted processes we all took for granted and introduced an unprecedented level of demand shock—the term economists use to describe a sudden event that temporarily increases or decreases demand for goods or services. One of the problems for the Roundtable to discuss is how long is ‘temporary’, and what can we as an industry do to mitigate it? In the short term our industry needs to survive, but Roundtable colleagues also need to be futurologists so we can map out the next five to ten years.’

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The Roundtable is an opportunity to engage with a diverse group of industry experts with unmatched levels of knowledge and experience. Both Christie and Upward agree the Roundtable allows participants to rethink how we do business, not only in the short-term, but with a long-term view that accommodates the imperative of addressing global warming and income inequality as they impact our industry. Please join KCEC, August 25 as the Roundtable and participants investigate how to reconsider ‘business as usual’ and create a better future.