Mara Yin Yang Polar Bear Rug Small
€99,-
Aanyoung Yeh
Behind the Design of Our Mara Yin Yang Rug
Published: 01 October 2026
As a longtime designer, a lot of Aanyoung’s stories go untold. From beloved samples that didn’t make the collection to last-minute additions that have to make their way from India in a hurry. You quickly learn that thinking one step ahead isn’t enough, sometimes you need to think three steps ahead.
And it’s those “why,” “yes,” and “no” questions that make the process so exciting. Discover the treasure from our new collection that got Aanyoung’s biggest “yes please.”
Leading up to our new collection, Carnival of Curiosities, there are back-and-forth discussions, late nights, and one too many coffees. Tough choices and industry wisdoms naturally come with the job. So Aanyoung, when do you know a design is the one?
“Over the years, you build this enormous library in your head. Mine is pretty full by now. Flea markets, my time in fashion, travels, antiques, vintage textiles, ancient techniques. Things I saw 15 years ago can suddenly pop back up when I’m working on something completely different.
I’ve never really seen myself as a designer sitting behind an easel creating something from scratch. I’m much more of a collector. I constantly gather ideas, colours, techniques, old things and new things, and somehow throw them all together until something good comes out.”
“That library combined with gut feeling means I usually know very quickly. I don’t doubt new designs that much. It’s either there or it isn’t.
The Mara Yin Yang Polar Bear was exactly like that. We were working in black and white and somehow those two things clicked in my head: Yin Yang and a polar bear. Old symbolism, a Doing Goods Tapis Amis character, put together in a new way. I could see it immediately. And when that happens, I am sure it will succeed!
Seeing the visuals of a new collection finally come together is always a moment for me. Because I don’t just see the finished products. I see all the discussions that came before them.
Is this the right green?
Do we really need both?
Is this one strong enough?
Does the collection need more calm, or more character?”
“And the hardest one: which design do we let go? Back when I worked in fashion, we used to call it “kill your darlings.”
You can love a design and still decide not to add it to the collection. Because a collection can’t just be a collection of everything you love. It needs balance. It needs to make sense visually, commercially and in production.
And sometimes the one you personally love most simply has to go.
That part of designing never gets easier. But then the samples arrive, the shoot comes together and suddenly all those tiny decisions become one collection.
Our newest Doing Goods collection is here. And I’m very happy we kept the darlings we did.”
Carnival of Curiosities became a universe where nothing matches, yet everything belongs. Our Mara Yin Yang Polar Bear Rug captures that playful, perfectly imperfect spirit just right. After all that back-and-forth, this one is right at home among our Tapis Amis family of hand-tufted rugs.
