Ames Zipa Rug

The German designer found the inspiration for the rug’s irregular pattern and organic shape when he travelled through the Colombian Andes with ames founder Ana Marìa Calderon Kayser. They visited the famous Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, which is built in the tunnels of a former salt mine 200 metres underneath a mountain. Dramatically illuminated, religious carvings decorate the walls, glimmering in many colours and creating abstract reflections – which Sebastian Herkner transformed into the hand-tufted patterns of the Zipa rugs. ‘Seeing the cathedral was such a unique experience. The interaction between salt crystals and the light, the glistening of the light rays and the colour reflections, they all created something mystical’, recalls Sebastian Herkner of his visit. ‘That’s why I wanted the patterns of the Zipa rugs to feel almost alive, capturing the reflections, unique colours and crystal-like shapes. In a way, light has its own creativity and always keeps moving – and that’s what I express with these rugs.’