cc-tapis CRISS CROSS RUNNER handmade rug by India Mahdavi

The cc-tapis rug company creates deep-piled, lustrous Himalayan wool rugs and carpets in a dizzying variety of modern designs, shapes and colors. Each intricate piece is hand-knotted in Nepal by expert Tibetan rug artists over several months. 

The cc-tapis tagline is “Born in France. Designed in Milan. Produced in Nepal.” Its founders — Fabrizio Cantoni and Nelcya Chamszadeh — met while studying hospitality management in Switzerland. While they pursued careers in the hotel industry, they ultimately decided on a change. Chamszadeh’s father owned a traditional Persian carpet shop in Strasbourg, Germany, and the idea for cc-tapis took shape. 

Their first shop opened in Strasbourg in 2001. They later relocated the company to Milan, Italy, in 2011. Cantoni enrolled in a master’s course in interior design and met fellow designer Daniele Lora. Lora became the couple’s business partner and the company’s creative director. Together, the three created the brand name; “cc” is the couple’s surname initials, and “tapis” is the French word for carpet.

At the company’s eponymous laboratory, the cc-tapis design lab, the trio’s love of experimentation allowed them to reach outside of the carpet-making world and promote the imaginations of designer Faye Toogood and architect Patricia Urquiola. Collaborations with designers Sabine Marcelis, Mae Engelgeer and Philippe Malouin also pushed the company into the interior design spotlight.

Today cc-tapis continues to partner with contemporary designers and draws on a broad base of expertise and creativity to make stunning rugs that are the embodiment of furniture as art.

On 1stDibs, find cc-tapis rugs and carpets, wall decorations and more.