We’re extremely fortunate to have discovered Raimal, his wife and daughter, master quilt makers, from Gujarat.
They’ve been making quilts most of their adult lives, and their expert skills at piecing, layering and kantha stitching by hand are faultless. Their tiny stitches are close together in neat rows, which sets them apart from many cheaper kantha stitched pieces on the market.
The award-winning Vankar Vishram Valji weavers are some of the most respected and accomplished weavers in Kutch. Master weaver Shamji and his family train and employ around 90 weavers on pit looms they built after the earthquake of 2001.
Based on traditional radhi produced for the local market in Nepal, our radhi rugs are woven in the Himalayas by artisans using wool from local sheep, which is hand-spun. We use only the un-dyed wool in our designs - creamy white and a dark grey wool from black sheep.
Why is kala cotton special? The crop is purely rain fed, so unlike large scale industrialised cotton production, it doesn't require vast amounts of water to grow. It's organic, since this hardy species has a naturally high tolerance to disease and pests.
We chose to work with Bristol Weaving Mill to weave our Barley and Barton Throws because they are a small, dynamic, experimental and creative mill. Their expertise meant we could realise our rather complex designs. The throws are woven using the double cloth technique, which means they are reversible. For texture we chose a Donegal Tweed wool, spun in Ireland, and a little bit of alpaca ensures a very soft handle!