Authenticity, genuine patterns and natural materials are all the rage in interior design today. Current trends are all about handcrafted products that are beautiful to look at, do not pollute the environment and are not harmful to your health with microplastics and dust-generating synthetic materials. Finding such interior products is not easy. But in a small town in Bulgaria you can find a surviving tradition that for centuries has produced amazing hand-woven carpets in stunning designs, using real wool and natural dyes.

Tucked away on the slopes of the Stara Planina mountain range on the border with Serbia, Chiprovtsi is a quiet town still trying to recover from the shutdown of its lead, zinc and copper mines. However, a handful of women are doing their best to preserve the local carpet-making tradition, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. These beautiful traditional pure wool carpets are a rarity in Bulgarian homes, mainly because of their price and old-fashioned designs. Few foreigners are aware of their existence, and as a result the carpet-making "industry" is barely surviving. A few women in Chiprovtsi are able to make a living from their arduous craft, and some are reluctant to sell their carpets as they are made mainly for sons and daughters, as beautiful and expensive heirlooms that will last for generations and "bring happiness and good fortune."

From materials, to techniques to symbols: Chiprovtsi's museum is the best place to learn more about the town's emblematic craft

About 300 years ago, however, carpets became the saviour of Chiprovtsi's economy. In the 15th to 17th centuries, the now desolate town was a bustling community of Saxon settlers, merchants from Dubrovnik and Bulgarian Roman Catholics, who worked the local copper, silver and gold ores and sold their wares and jewellery throughout the Balkans. Wealthy Chiprovtsi flourished, had a sophisticated literary school and local boys grew up in the ranks of the Catholic Church. It all ended in 1688 when Chiprovtsi rebelled against the Sultan. The promised Austrian support never materialised and the rebellion was brutally crushed. Catholicism and mining were wiped out.

Carpet weaving began at around that time, allegedly introduced by settlers from nearby Pirot, a Bulgarian town now in eastern Serbia, which still maintains its own carpet-making tradition. By the 19th century, Chiprovtsi carpets were sold throughout the Ottoman Empire and were the source of local wealth and fame. In 1878, after Bulgaria regained its independence, Chiprovtsi presented the Russian Imperial Governor of Bulgaria, Prince Alexandr Dondoukov, with the largest carpet ever made in town: it was seven metres long and six metres wide.

This gold piece of jewellery, exhibited at Chiprovtsi's museum, is a reminder of the times when the town was the centre of gold production

Chiprovtsi carpets flourished in the new Bulgaria, finding customers among the growing urban population and winning prizes at industrial exhibitions in Antwerp, Brussels, Liège and London. This is how Felix Kanitz, the Austro-Hungarian traveller, historian and geographer, described Chiprovtsi carpet weaving in the 19th century in his seminal book Danube Bulgaria and the Balkan: "Today, Chiprovtsi is a beautiful small village with some three hundred houses, famous for its carpets export… Luck brought me to the hospitable home of a grocer, whose wife was masterfully weaving a carpet. This visit introduced me to local carpet manufacturing from within. That is where one discovers the rich Bulgarian creativity combined with the innate sense of rhythm of lines and colours… It is amazing to see how the monochrome or other models are created, in the manner of European manufacturers, shapes zigzagging up and down in multicoloured geometrical lines… These carpets were awarded first place at the Vienna fair. They are in such great demand that companies from Paris, Berlin, Rein and Austria – such as the world famous company Haas, are arguing which one must imitate these wonderful traditionally created chef-d'oeuvre tomes."

A diploma from the exhibition at Liège that recognises the qualities of Chiprovtsi carpets

Under Communism, the production of Chiprovtsi carpets boomed, organised by a state cooperative. Its building, another victim of ill-conceived economic policies during the transition to democracy and free market, still stands in the centre of Chiprovtsi, a ghost of its former self. The economic hardships of the post-1989 period all but killed carpet production as few Bulgarians had either the money to afford an expensive hand-woven rug or the taste to enjoy the traditional designs.

In recent years, several small companies have resumed production. Their Chiprovtsi carpets can even be bought online. Prices range from 1,500 to 7,000 leva, depending on design and size.

Despite all the historical twists and turns they have gone through, Chiprovtsi rugs are still made using a technique that has not changed over time. The women – no men have ever taken up the craft – use upright looms, just as the first weavers did in Neolithic times. The warp is pure cotton and the weft is pure wool. Weaving is a slow process, with a skilled weaver producing between two and three square metres of carpet in a month. A finished Chiprovtsi rug has two identical faces, each of which can last at least 30 years.

This carpet depicts the Tree of Life, a common Indo-European cosmological concept

The vibrant, long-lasting colours of Chiprovtsi carpets are made from natural dyes made from mineral and vegetable pigments. Bright red, ochre, beige and grey-brown dominate the palette, with smaller details in black, white, green, blue, orange and yellow. Since the 1700s, the colour palette of Chiprovtsi carpets has undergone a gentle evolution, reflecting the changing tastes and lifestyles of its customers. Dark red was the preferred main colour in the old Chiprovtsi carpets, while after the turn of the 19th century the carpets became lighter, in grey-brown and beige.

Bulgarians consider the decorative motifs of Chiprovtsi carpets to be unique, but many of the old designs are similar to those found in carpets throughout the Balkans, Asia Minor and the Middle East. These motifs are geometric, based on combinations of triangles and diamonds, each with its own name and symbolism.

Variation and combination: Chiprovtsi ornamental motifs can be mixed in countless ways – but they often have a hidden meaning and messages to the viewer

ne of the most popular motifs in Chiprovtsi carpets, which resembles a human being, is the so-called karakachka. The word literally means "black-eyed woman", but according to some interpretations the design symbolises the ancient Indo-European concept of the Mother Goddess. Of course, there are also theories that the karakachka is a dragon or a mythical bird.

The tree of life is another popular motif. It symbolises the idea that the world is divided into three parts – heaven, earth and the underworld. The makaz motif, which consists of two triangles with touching angles, represents the feminine and masculine elements in the universe. The oktsata is interpreted as the "eyes of God".

At the end of the 19th century, the weaver's repertory diversified and more elaborate motifs of vines, flowers and birds appeared.

Today, 27 different motifs are listed as typical of Chiprovtsi rugs. Each weaver knows them well; it is up to the customer to choose whether he wants a carpet with geometric karakachka, with oval, multicoloured bombichki, or small bombs, or with the flowering spirals of the spring vine motif.

The History Museum in Chiprovtsi is the best place in Bulgaria to see the bold designs and bright colours of local carpets. Founded in 1988 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Chiprovtsi Uprising, it is dedicated to the region's past from prehistory onwards, focusing on the most significant activities and events that took place there: from mining to the life of the Catholic community to local icon painting.