About Us - The Story Behind Numi Global Curiosities
We specialize in vintage home decor goods and specialize in sourcing one-of-a-kind heirloom Berber rugs and pillows from artisans in over 20 countries. From the highest quality vintage collection pieces to contemporary creations, and custom designs. All our rugs and pillows are woven by hand using ancestral carding, spinning, and dyeing techniques. Equitably sourced directly from weavers and women's cooperatives.
Women from rural Moroccan communities barely participated in public life; they lived in a space of their own. Despite these social restrictions, they manifested themselves, in their textile art, as independent and daring artists. They have developed an art that radiates vigor and sensitivity and reveals a great imagination.
The weavers improvise structures, patterns, and motifs from a vast and varied repertoire. The result is astonishingly beautiful. It is pure poetry, pure abstract art - abstract, but loaded with a deep meaning.
Each Berber carpet is unique
One or two women sit next to each other on a bench at a vertical loom so that their hands always remain at the same level, the finished part of the carpet is gradually rolled round the lower beam disappearing the carpet from sight and the weaver sees only the last part of her work. This means that weaver must use forms drawn from her memory. In this way her creativity is given full scope. Although rooted in tradition she can continually incorporate into her work her own intuitions, feelings and imagination. She has the freedom which can make her a creative artist. This explains the surprising spontaneity and incomparable variety which characterize Berber carpets.
Meet Numi Dang
Her love of traveling and vintage rugs in particular took her to all of the tribal areas, from the rural areas in the desert to the magnificent Atlas Mountains and every other region from over 20 countries known for carpet weaving.
Our Story
Even as a child, Numi Dang was drawn to bright, happy fabrics. Born in Vietnam and raised in Los Angeles, Numi moved to New York City after college where she began her career as a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and eventually for ABC Carpet & Home.
While traveling the world sourcing products, Numi fell in love with textiles. It was her hope to one day open a store of her own that showcased the beautiful, often hard-to-find products she had discovered in far-flung locales around the globe. Numi also wanted her store to include something for everyone, at all price points.
The store, NUMI Global Curiosities, opened in May of 2018 in New York City with the goal of empowering women artisans, especially those economically marginalized. Numi understood that financial empowerment of women was the quickest way to lift women out of the poverty that disproportionately impacted them. All of the products curated for NUMI are artisan-made, ethically sourced, and fair trade. The countries represented in the store are Morocco, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Afghanistan, Mexico, Guatemala, Africa, Columbia, Ecuador, France, Turkey, and Ethiopia.
Numi lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with her eight-year-old son, Myles, and their betta fish, Sammie. She says this about parenting, “Myles has changed my life in so many amazing ways. He has taught me patience and I’m a stronger person as his mother than I ever imagined I could be. He fills my life with joy and laughter every single day and he’s shown me the true meaning of love.”