about us

 “A funny thing happened in 1990…  we opened our eyes to the world…”

Himalayan Carpets was established in Denver, Colorado in 2001 by Melissa Koren.  In 1990, Melissa traveled to Nepal with her father and elder brother and spent a month trekking in the Himalayans and discovering the Tibetan culture, thanks to their host group.

Ms. Koren and her family were spellbound by the stories their hosts shared.  The story of their escape from Tibet to their new lives in Nepal, to the struggles they faced in a country which was providing them with no identity was completely unreal to those who have grown up in the West.  They spent days at the rug factory run by their friend, Sonam Gyaltsen and began to develop a very strong appreciation for their time honored tradition of the production of the exquisite area rugs for modern living.

They made friends that became their family.

In the years that followed, Ms. Koren worked with her father, Charles Connolly, to bring over two Tibetan family members of Mr. Gyaltsen.  With small grants from Whitman Corporation (now PepsiAmericas) they worked to put both children through university in Chicago, and develop a life within the US today. 

A third family member won the US Green Card lottery and promptly showed up in Chicago unannounced.  The family took her in and worked with her to obtain scholarships, housing and employment.

In 1995, the families started brainstorming and envisioning ways to bring the exquisite products developed by the Gyaltsen family in Nepal to the US.  The thought was not to try to bring each person over one by one and house and educate – that was too challenging and not practical.  Rather, they sought a way to help them to prosper from the US economy making all of their lives better back in Nepal.  They wanted to preserve their lives, their culture and their homes.  

When the internet took off in the late 90’s, Ms. Koren and her husband developed one of the pioneer websites to get the word out to the masses about the beautiful offering Mr. Gyaltsen’s family was providing.   Almost immediately they started taking orders.  Word of mouth took off and the business established itself quickly.  

Ms. Koren used her vast skills in design and art, technology and process management to create a  business model that is truly valued by designers in the US.  The goal is the ability to provide exquisite Tibetan area rugs, with beautiful contemporary designs numbering in the 1000's, and personalized customer service.  Just as her family worked to nourish the Tibetan family in the East, she now sought to nourish the design community in the West with an offering that would help both sides prosper and flourish.

To that end, Himalayan Carpets proudly has begun working with a new and additional Tibetan family - the Adhikari Family - whom they met in Denver and who weaves, manages and provides all of the In Stock rugs available through Himalayan Carpets, with showrooms in Omaha.  Himalayan Carpets is now proud to offer these rugs for immediate delivery in addition to the amazing custom work woven by the Gyaltsen Family. 

Today Himalayan Carpets operates strictly through the internet and with the Adhikari family's showroom in Omaha where the vast majority of the In Stock rugs are housed.  Their pricing structure is the lowest on the market – because there is limited overhead.  Most of the clientele comes through word of mouth referrals, or through searching engines on the internet.  Low pricing means more business for the weaving team in Nepal - and that's what this is all about.

And that’s good for business back in the US.  “Just as we took a strong interest in making sure the families prospered in Nepal, we also take an interest in each designer’s ability to flourish with our products.  It’s the one on one relationship that has taken us where we are today.”

Read about the weavers>>