Weaving partners, not suppliers
The same families have been weaving for us for years. That means we can ask for a specific knot count, a narrower border, or a longer fringe, and know the answer before the loom is warped.
Visits are arranged by appointment, so each piece can be laid out on a neutral floor and read in daylight. You can put a 60-knot and a 100-knot surface side by side, feel how undyed natural greys sit next to a silk-blend highlight, and walk across the felted runners before deciding anything.
Most rugs arrive here after a long road: a cooperative in the Kathmandu valley, a wool batch from the upper Kali Gandaki, weeks on an upright loom. We handle the last part, which is the part you actually see and walk on.
The same families have been weaving for us for years. That means we can ask for a specific knot count, a narrower border, or a longer fringe, and know the answer before the loom is warped.
Every listing carries real centimetres, pile height, and fibre percentages taken from the finished rug, not from the cartoon. If a piece shrinks slightly in the wash, the number changes on the page.
Natural greys come from three sheep breeds, so the field shifts gently instead of sitting flat. We do not correct that in photographs. What you see in daylight is what arrives.
Send a floor plan and we will come back with a size, a knot density, and the weeks it takes on the loom. No vague estimates, no surprise changes halfway through the weave.
Washing, fringe binding, and selvedge work happen in our own studio. It is slower, but it means a rug leaves here the way it was meant to look after a decade of use, not just on delivery day.
Swatch cards, hold requests, and floor plans for client projects are part of the normal working day. If you are sourcing for a scheme in South Africa, start with the range and we will take it from there.
Curious how the studio handles sourcing, finishing, and sizing end to end? See the studio capabilities or get in touch about a project.
A showroom visit works better when the words mean the same thing to everyone in the room. These are the terms we use on the floor and in the catalogue, so nothing gets read two ways.
When we say 60-knot or 100-knot, we mean knots per square inch as counted on the loom, not a grade of quality. A 60-knot rug with well-spun wool can feel firmer and read cleaner than a loosely packed 100-knot weave. Compare the two surfaces side by side before deciding.
Every size is given in centimetres and taken from the finished piece, fringe excluded. Handknotted rugs can vary by a few centimetres across the length, and flatweaves can pull in slightly after the first damp clean. If a doorway or alcove has a tight tolerance, tell us before we cut the warp.
Natural greys come from the fleece itself, so a single kilim may shift from cool to warm across the field depending on the sheep and the batch. We photograph in daylight and note when a piece reads unevenly. That variation is the material, not a fault.
Made-to-measure pieces are quoted as an approximate number of weeks on the loom, counted from the day the wool batch is confirmed. Dyeing, drying and finishing sit outside that window. We give a range rather than a date, because monsoon humidity affects how fast a rug dries.
Indigo, walnut and oat read differently on every monitor, and raking light changes a pile rug more than a flatweave. Swatch cards are the honest reference. If a shade has to match a wall or a sofa, ask for a card before committing to a size.
Rotation, a thin underlay and dry cleaning of wool cover most situations, but traffic, sunlight and underfloor heating all change the picture. We describe what has worked for other pieces in South African homes. We do not promise how a rug will age in yours.