Hi again Rohit,

Thanks for your email.

Maybe I'm missing the point, but from the very beginning, I've told you I want a carpet that looks something like this


and after almost six months of discussion, you sent me a design sample (cutout) that looks like this


(border)

Then you say: "All the changes for the colors that you have mentioned can be done - no problem about that."

To be honest, though, I'd like an explanation, even a brief one, of what the papers you sent me were supposed to show. I mean, if that's where we are after all the discussions we've had, I can hardly believe that your people really even begin to understand what I want, namely a green carpet.

I can't help but wonder why "All the changes for the colors"  weren't made
before your people went to all the trouble of making the new drawings and you went to all the expense of sending them to me?

And another basic problem is related to the design of the borders. Please look at the scan above (border), made from the sketch you just sent me. To me it clearly looks like a "corner", but I can't imagine where. Please compare it with this:



A basic problem in trying to "re-align" the colors is that your people have merely "put things together" rather than looking at the color distribution in the original.



It's obvious (at least to me) that the background color of the "Rosette" and the "Cartouche" in the original are different, whereas your people have made them the same.

I wanted to send you a simple "color replacement" concept and started with this comparison of the lantern in the original and yours.




It doesn't work, though. The changes can't be made by simply saying "exchange this color for that one" because, from the latest sketch - as you can see from what I've said about the borders - there's a basic problem related to the overall distribution of the colors.

Another basic problem in the design is that all the flowers and design elements your people have made are too big. Just take a look at the comparison of the lanterns. Even if we assume that the "white" in the sketch is dark green, the flowers, etc. are simply too big  - they need to be about 10% smaller. And the issue is not that the original Ardabil is more finely knotted. It's about the same as what you've proposed: It's 340 / sq. in. and ours is supposed to be 324. It's just that it was designed more "carefully".

In any case, yes, I definitely want to see a sketch before we proceed, but it can just be two small ones: of the lantern and the borders.

Regarding the "cartouche" I think the swatch color R-1 you sent will be OK.
As for the lantern, there, too, R-1 is good as the background color. The flowers can be  DG-1 and B2 with G2 and OW-1 as the framing / accent colors.

As for the borders, I'm completely puzzled. The original has four borders.




In the sketch I see, I think 3 and 4





But number 4 in the sketch doesn't look anything like the original.

Well, I think that's a lot for now. I know I haven't addressed the issue of the blues yet, but that will be easy once we get the basic problems we still appear to have settled.

You said in an earlier mail that the actual work "only" takes 12 weeks. The problem is that we're already in April, and 12 weeks is July. My deadline is the beginning of August.

Given the outstanding issues, I have to admit that I'm starting to wonder whether we're really going to make it.

I hope you'll find the time over the weekend to get back to me, or Monday at the latest.

Thanks very much and have a nice weekend.

-- 
Best regards,
Joe


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