In my work, my endeavour has been to save the dying art of hand-woven carpets and provide employment to craftsmen.
In my work, my endeavour has been to save the dying art of hand-woven carpets and provide employment to craftsmen. My father was in the exports business and having travelled with him, I had seen carpets woven by Indian weavers adorn the floors of world’s best palaces, residences and hotels. Joining the family business would have been easy, but it never appealed me; neither did taking up a franchise for a European designer. That’s because I knew the ground reality — weavers here created beautiful rugs for a paltry sum while stores abroad made the profits. Importing those rugs back would have meant cheating Indian consumers by charging them an exorbitant sum for what belonged to our own country. That is when I decided to launch my store, with designs woven in rural India, offering customised, contemporary handmade rugs. I have always been an avid reader, and history is a very inspiring subject. My latest collection, Amalgamation, is inspired by Mughal architectural forms. Just as Mughal architecture is known for its geometric patterns and jaal forms, my rugs, carpets also have geometric patterns woven in cut and loop piles and wool and banana silk yarns. I like to use neutral colours and blend abstract patterns with traditional forms. I admire the work of Jan Kath and Esti Barnes. Though Kath specialises in handloom rugs, I really admire his sense of design, innovation and presentation. I love the simplicity of Barnes’ designs, her choice of colours and signature patterns.
