Tuft the World, a small studio in Southwest Philadelphia, is transforming a century-old rug-making process, sparking a global revival in recent years, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Founded by Tim Eads and Tiernan Alexander, both local artists, the studio started selling tufting materials and offering workshops during the pandemic, hoping to make the craft more accessible. Soon thereafter, tufting took off, especially on social media, where artists shared their unique creations, from elaborate patterns to pop culture stars such as SpongeBob.

The rapid surge in popularity kept Tuft the World extremely busy as the studio expanded its shipping to 120 countries. The demand has lessened more recently as Amazon and other vendors started to pick up on the craft’s popularity and began selling more tufting guns and yarn. For the two business partners, that has made life somewhat easier.

In its next phase, the studio plans to expand its collaboration with artists to introduce them to tufting with a helpful tool for newcomers: a computer numerical control machine.

The $75,000 wonder robot can translate an artist’s ideas into a tangible reality.

“This is a fairly unique machine, and a lot of artists just don’t have access to something like this,” said Eads.

Read more about Tuft the World and how it is revolutionizing tufting in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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