Fine rugs on a roll

These days, the corporate-cog-to-creative-luminary pipeline holds steady, but Nand Kishore Chaudhary was decades ahead of the curve. He quit his job in banking in 1978, bought two looms and established Jaipur Rugs with a loan from his father. Fast forward almost 50 years and the name has become shorthand for craftsmanship, tradition and quality. Business acumen aside, Chaudhary’s success lies in transforming an ordinary household object into an heirloom; a collector’s item which now has a cult following.

The brand’s latest collection, released this month, is inspired by the mountains and valleys of Kashmir’s Gulmarg, whose name translates as “meadow of flowers”. Every rug is handmade by artisans in Jaipur (85% of whom are women); hand-knotted borders of dusty pink and poppy-red frame elaborate designs that depict lupines, daisies and wildflowers, but it’s the fine detail and timeless feel that elevates these rugs. To 2,690m to be exact: their latest campaign was the brainchild of the brand’s artistic director, Greg Foster, and shot in a ski resort in Gulmarg.

“We wanted to celebrate a region known for weaving some of the best carpets in the world,” he says, nodding to Kashmir’s rich heritage. Not only does the Gulmarg collection capture Jaipur Rugs’ timeless approach to textiles, but also the playful spirit behind a brand that takes craft and cultural preservation seriously; it also establishes Jaipur Rugs as one of the coolest brands under our feet.

For more information, go to jaipurrugs.com

Photograph by Ashish Shah