Emmett Eiland and his brother Murray founded the Oriental Rug Company in 1969 in Berkeley, California. From the beginning, the Eilands made buying and research trips to Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus. Through newsletters, books, exhibitions, seminars, films and public talks, the Eilands helped create the fertile Oriental rug scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Their intimate knowledge of the industry helps them ensure that child labor is not used in the production of the rugs they sell, and Eiland is especially proud of his work with RugMark.

In 1975 the brothers parted ways, and in 1979 Emmett's wife Natasha joined the business. Today, they're the proud owners of the oldest rug store in Northern California, located in a spacious 8,000-square foot showroom in Berkeley. They are pioneers in the natural dye movement and ground breakers in bringing the finest oriental rugs to online buyers. The Eilands continue to travel in search of excellent rugs.

Eiland has staged exhibitions of Oriental rugs, made films on the art of Oriental rug repair and on rug weaving in Afghanistan, traveled extensively in Central Asia, published a book on Oriental rugs (Oriental Rugs Today), and written a number of articles for Oriental rug journals. He and Natasha have also written a successful novel, The Last Resort.

Today he lives with Natasha and their Bernese Mountain dog, Lucy, in Oakland, California and is currently working on his fourth CD with his blues band, the Howlers.