Little did Georgia Hoyler know that a quest to find 
carpets for her DC row house would eventually lead 
to the launch of her own rug emporium. It all started when she discovered a brown-and-blue Persian Shiraz at an estate sale and was smitten by its worn texture and soft color palette. She began seeking out similar creations.

“I wanted rugs in earth tones with simpler patterns 
and evidence of their age,” recalls Hoyler, a healthcare products strategist. “But what I found were either old rugs that looked new, or new rugs that were designed to look old. I knew there was a niche I could fill.”

After researching merchants through a web of referrals and working with a certified appraiser to hone her knowledge, Hoyler had amassed more handmade vintage rugs than her row house could possibly accommodate. “My husband joked that it wouldn’t be considered hoarding if I called it a business,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘why not?’”

In 2019, she founded Passerine, an online boutique focusing on heirloom-quality Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern tribal rugs. They range in price from $1,000 to $7,000, depending on size and age; most are almost 100 years old. A sampling is displayed at Sanabria & Co. The Shop on Capitol Hill.

Hoyler contends that Passerine’s curated rugs are not only a sustainable and less formal alternative to new carpets, but also convey lasting appeal. “We embrace and source old rugs that look their age—and ensure the durability needed for the next hundred years,” she says. passerinehome.com