Le Corbusier is credited with blowing some people's minds of his kindred pioneers to Berber weaving conventions. He utilized Beni Ourain floor coverings when he planned Villa La Roche in Paris in 1923–25. There are a few mats of a similar custom on the floor of Villa Mairea, Alvar Aalto's country retreat in Finland, and a photograph taken in 1938 of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Pennsylvania shows one more.
The Beni Ourain individuals are thought to have lived in the Atlas Mountains from the ninth century AD, and the name alludes to 17 Berber clans who principally live there. The thick pilewoven, cream-shaded floor coverings are generally produced using the fleece of the antiquated variety of Beni Ourain sheep and have flimsy dark lines confounding to frame a precious stone shape. "That image is really a 'X' to represent harmony and concordance," clarifies Amy Elad-Echariti, the organizer of the Marrakesh-based homewares name Laith and Leila. Elad-Echariti, who wedded into a group of Berber weavers, works legitimately with craftspeople across Morocco to advocate their craftsmanship.
