It all started with a bout of pandemic boredom. Like many, when COVID-19 hit, recent graduate Carrie Xiao found herself stuck at home, with extra time on her hands. One day, while scrolling social media, she discovered tufting: a textile manufacturing technique that creates a garment or rug with a “pile,” or raised surface. After teaching herself, she got her husband, Joel Hendricks, into the craft, and in 2022, they launched Tuft Ruft, offering classes to the public.

“For someone who has never worked with fiber arts, it is a beginner-friendly craft to get into,” Xiao says. “It is a four-hour process to create a rug from scratch. As long as you have motivation and patience, everything will fall into place.”

For its first few years, Tuft Ruft had a basement-level space in Pioneer Square, but recently, after the owner decided to sell the building, Xiao and Hendricks relocated to a studio down the street on Occidental Avenue. According to Xiao, they have had students of all ages, including her nine-year-old brother. “He did such an amazing job at his age that it encouraged us to move forward with Tuft Ruft,” she says. In addition to workshops, the company also offers custom rug commissions.