Weaving a Story: Couture Knots

THE FIRST QUESTION customers hear when they step into Couture Knots has nothing to do with rugs. “Would you like vanilla or hazelnut for your cappuccino?” Ali Nikrooz asks. “It’s all about service,” he says of his recently opened 700-square-foot rug showroom on Cleveland Avenue between Dilworth and South End. “Everything I have has a story, and it takes a little bit to share that story.” Nikrooz tells about high-quality Himalayan wool made when sheep produce more lanolin in cold climates, and callers in weaving rooms who sing out codes for each knot, and weavers who translate those codes into a rug’s pattern. The handmade rugs are high-end; a blue-and-white Jan Kath design on the back wall costs about $21,000. Each rug is customizable, though, and there are less expensive options. Nikrooz will explain them all, as long as you’ll stay for another cup.