Our Beginnings in Marrakech
The story of Les Nomades de Marrakech begins over a century ago in Marrakech, where our ancestor handcrafted traditional Moroccan blankets. Textile making was his livelihood, and the beginning of a craft that would remain part of our family for generations.
The generations that followed continued as blanket makers, passing their knowledge through daily work. Long before Les Nomades de Marrakech had a name, our family’s relationship with textiles was already taking shape through the making, handling, and understanding of woven pieces.
Over time, this inheritance opened the door to trade. One generation expanded the family business into a broader selection of textiles, rugs, and Moroccan handicrafts. As tourism grew in Morocco, the business brought our family into contact with visitors discovering the country’s craftsmanship, creating the setting for Abderrahim Namous to find his own direction.
Abderrahim Namous: A Collector’s Eye, a Trader’s Instinct
Abderrahim was drawn to both the craft and the exchange: finding a piece, recognizing its character, acquiring it, and eventually placing it with someone who would appreciate it. Within the family’s wider trade in Moroccan handicrafts, vintage rugs became his particular passion.
He gradually turned the business toward an exclusive focus on vintage Moroccan rugs. It was a field that demanded conviction. Buying individual pieces meant trusting his eye and making decisions without knowing when the right buyer would appear. That uncertainty was part of the trade, and discovering an exceptional rug made it worthwhile.
His enthusiasm extended beyond buying and selling. He loved being surrounded by rugs, studying them, comparing them, and building a collection of his own. The unusual pieces held a special attraction: an unexpected composition, an unfamiliar combination of colors, or a design unlike anything he had encountered before.
For Abderrahim, a rug trader’s reputation grew through the collection he assembled. Finding the most distinctive pieces, developing a recognizable eye, and continuing to search for something extraordinary became central to his work.
Giving the Family Legacy a Name
In 1993, Abderrahim established Les Nomades de Marrakech, giving a name and a lasting identity to his vision.
He wanted to build a business recognized for its selection of vintage rugs and the judgment behind each acquisition. The collection would express his taste, his experience, and his commitment to the craft, while creating something that future generations could continue.
Based in Marrakech’s Medina, Les Nomades de Marrakech became the expression of that ambition. Its identity grew around a deeply personal approach to choosing rugs, shaped by a family history in textiles and Abderrahim’s own curiosity as a collector and trader.
A New Chapter in Moroccan Rug Design
Relationships with interior designers, architects, and private clients have long been part of our story. Over the years, we have worked with them on custom rug projects, exploring possibilities together whenever a particular space called for larger dimensions, different colors, or a more tailored design.
Around 2010, these requests became increasingly frequent. Visitors appreciated the character and craftsmanship of vintage Moroccan rugs, but often needed sizes and palettes better suited to the interiors they were creating. Our experience with custom projects revealed an opportunity to anticipate those needs.
In 2011, we began developing our own production and creating collections of modern Moroccan rugs that customers could discover and purchase without waiting for a custom order. Drawing on our knowledge of vintage pieces, we explored their compositions, textures, and distinctive details as inspiration for new rugs in contemporary sizes and colors.
This marked an expansion of our work, bringing ready-made modern collections alongside our vintage selection and bespoke projects. Today, customers can choose an existing piece or work with us to create a rug for their particular space, continuing the spirit of collaboration that inspired this chapter.
The Next Generation
Today, Abderrahim’s son, Oualid Namous, is helping shape the next chapter of Les Nomades de Marrakech. Working alongside his father, he carries forward the family’s knowledge of rugs while developing new ways to create, present, and share the collection.
A central part of this work is the ambitious process of digitizing a collection of approximately 28,000 unique rugs. From organizing product information to developing photography and building the e-commerce operation, this ongoing undertaking brings decades of collecting to an international audience.
Each piece requires individual attention so that customers discovering it online can appreciate its character, craftsmanship, and proportions.
Oualid also contributes to the development of new rug designs, where creative exploration goes hand in hand with research into materials and finishing. This involves continually exploring wool qualities, dyes, and washing processes, considering how each choice influences a rug’s color, texture, feel, and final appearance. The work builds on the family’s experience while seeking new possibilities for contemporary Moroccan rugs.
That same attention extends to the Marrakech showroom, where the family has been developing an expansion to give the collection more room to be experienced. With such an extensive inventory, individual pieces need space for their details and compositions to be fully appreciated. The new extension is intended to offer a more generous setting for displaying rugs and welcoming visitors, allowing the craftsmanship of each piece to take its place at the center of the experience.
Together, these efforts continue the family’s legacy through the way rugs are made, documented, and presented—from the showroom in Marrakech to homes around the world.
A Collection That Continues to Grow
Our story has moved from blanket making to textile trading, from a passion for vintage rugs to the creation of contemporary designs. Each chapter has grown from the experience of the generation before it, adding new possibilities to the family’s work.
We have never stopped seeking out and acquiring vintage Moroccan rugs . These pieces remain at the heart of Les Nomades de Marrakech, and we continue to find customers who appreciate their individuality, history, and craftsmanship. Abderrahim’s pleasure in discovering an extraordinary rug still guides us: the excitement of looking closely, recognizing something unusual, and bringing it into the collection.
Alongside this enduring passion, the enthusiasm for modern and contemporary Moroccan rugs continues to inspire our creative work. There are materials to explore, colors to develop, and new designs to bring to life. With so many ideas and directions ahead, we see this chapter as only the beginning.
We invite you to discover our collections online, or visit our showroom in Marrakech to experience a collection that continues to grow with us.