It’s official: Fish City rugs have gone into production, two designs are already on loom and more designs are in the works!

Jon Sarkin has been a part of the Gloucester community for many years; with his studio located centrally downtown he is well known among local artist and musicians. Jeff Arcari, also from Gloucester, has been part of the local music scene for many years so, it wasn’t long before the two creative types would become friends. And the friendship has turned into a collaboration.



Jeff Arcari wanted to start a rug production based on a local artist work, something that was unique and had direct ties to the area. John was an obvious choice. After a couple meetings with Sarkin at his studio it was clear to Jeff that John’s artwork would lend itself to beautiful rug designs. The giant fish painting hanging on the wall in the studio was where he would start.

To begin the process Jeff had Eric Brissette, Landry & Arcari’s in-house graphic artist, go out to John’s studio to photograph the art work and start a discussion with John about how he could make the fish painting work in a standard (8’x10’) rug size without changing the artists vision. They worked together for about a week and came up with the first Fish City Rug design.

Currently two designs are on loom and we should have the finished pieces in about four months. Jeff, Eric and Jon are working on new designs which will go into production later this month. Keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page for production pictures from Nepal and updates on new designs.

Sarkin’s work has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, ABC Primetime, as well as in galleries throughout the world. He has also been the subject of several documentaries.