Mehmet Tamdeger learned his art from Mikhail Zilcan, the grandson of Kerope Zilcan, after whom the Zilcan K series is named. In the 1950s, he worked in the K. Zilcan factory in Istanbul. At the age of nine Mehmet Tamdeğer started to work for Mikhail Zilcan, grandson of Kerope Zilcan. Mikhail Zilcan and Kirkor Küçükyan taught him every aspect of this ancient Turkish art, based on a history that stems back to the early 17th century.