emma gardner design (egd), llc is a design and development company that produces fine contemporary interior products including handmade rugs, luxurious alpaca/wool throws and superior quality pillows for use in residential, office and hospitality spaces. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Litchfield, Connecticut. Its products are available at showrooms throughout the United States. Because of a commitment to good labor practices and an active stance against the use of child labor, emma gardner design, llc is a proud member of the RugMark Foundation. 

Emma Gardner is a fine artist and has been designing rugs for interior designers and architects since 2002 from her Litchfield, Connecticut studio. After a successful career as an editor and illustrator, Emma began applying her celebrated sense of color and composition to create original rugs that are available through showrooms in 24 U.S. markets, and Toronto, Tokyo and Japan.

Emma’s designs have appeared in leading design and fashion magazines including Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Interior Design, Country Living, Traditional Home, Elle, O at Home, Glamour, Dwell, Western Interiors and In Style.

Emma moved to Litchfield in 2002 from Brooklyn, New York, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of PHYS.COM, Condé Nast's online health and fitness magazine. Prior to her tenure at Condé Nast, Emma served as managing editor of Better Health and producer of the Food Channel for publicly-traded iVillage.com. In 1996, she founded, designed and edited her own "e-zine" for young women, Smarty-Pants, featuring work by Ellen Lupton (former curator of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York) and Cindi Leive (presently editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine), among others.

Emma's handmade book, I View, was exhibited at Parson's Gimbell Library as part of a group show. In addition to her own books, she has created cover art and illustrations for numerous publishers, books and publications including Villard Books, Random House, Scholastic Inc., and The New York Times.

Her early education was at public schools, including New York’s prestigious Stuyvesant High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and attended Columbia University for English literature studies. Additionally, she studied textile design at Fashion Institute of Technology and painting and drawing at Cooper Union in New York.

Emma was born in Kyoto, Japan, and grew up in Wilton and Westport, Connecticut, before moving to New York City at age 11. She currently lives and works in Litchfield with her husband, daughter and son.

egd has partnered with the finest Nepalese producer of Tibetan carpets--a mill that keeps alive the tradition of a centuries-old native craft. Hand-carded, hand-spun and pot-dyed, Tibetan or New Zealand wool or silk is hand-knotted to produce rugs with a unique luster and lifelong durability. The mill has the largest loom in Nepal (30' x 50') and is able to make rugs of almost any size. Variations in pile height and knot count and combinations of wool and silk are also available.

Certified by RugMark, egd weaving partners never employ children and are recognized for their progressive employment practices, winning numerous awards for excellence from the Nepalese government.

At the forefront of contemporary rug making, egd’s mill is able to skillfully match colors and render designs in unexpected and original ways resulting in true works of art for the home.

For more information on emma gardner design, visit www.emmagardnerdesign.com.

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