After a 25-year career in fashion and textile design, Bev Hisey began producing handmade rugs in India. But the shift from producing in Canada to India presented an ethical challenge: Bev had heard horror stories about poor working conditions abroad, with child labor as the main concern. How could she move production overseas? Upon learning about RugMark and the monitoring of factory employment and conditions, Bev had the confidence to launch a new line of rugs.

Bev started off in the fashion business, designing and producing art wear pieces in the 1980s. Her line evolved throughout the years, and she produced for her own retail shop up through 1991.

Not wanting to return to the demands of the fashion world after her daughter was born, Bev began producing soft furnishings for the home. She designed and produced for various retailers, as well as interior design and architectural companies.

In 1999 Bev focused solely on her line of colorfully graphic, felt-like floor coverings, complemented by a coordinated line of cushions, blankets and table runners. But the design limitations involved with this medium led her to begin working with hand tufting and hand knotting carpets in India.

Now that the handmade area rug line from India has launched, Bev is building her business. And she believes the fact that a percentage of the sale of each one of these carpets can assist in the monitoring of factories and working conditions, as well as the running of the RugMark schools for kids, is a huge bonus.

“I think of RugMark as a ‘frequent flyer program’ that young people in weaving communities can tap to go far in life,” Bev says.

For more information visit www.bevhisey.com.

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