Meet the Showroom: Jaipur Rugs
Founded in 1978 by Nand Kishore ‘NK’ Chaudhary, Jaipur Rugs has grown from two looms to over 7,000 looms, working with more than 40,000 rural artisans in India, 85% of whom are women. Jaipur Rugs is a family-run business, with NK’s son Yogesh now director and his daughter Kavita design director. Marking the opening of the company’s UK showroom at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, all three of them sat down to talk about why London is a global hub, a new couture collaboration – and how the business is powered by love and respect.
What brought Jaipur Rugs to Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour?
Yogesh: A lot of our business comes from the trade – we work with more than 12,000 designers globally, many of them in London and the UK. So I took their advice and asked them where we should open – and everyone’s first answer was the Design Centre. So that was very encouraging.
We have a global presence, with showrooms all over the world. But I think London is one of the most exciting markets for us, because it’s such a global city, it’s amazing – 40% of the projects we’re quoting on [in London] are actually international.
NK: London is also the heart of art and culture – and our whole business is about art and culture. We’re working towards how we can connect with art and culture, and create innovation.
What should we expect from the showroom?
Yogesh: We wanted to bring a bit of our heritage and legacy to London. Jaipur is extremely well known for its arches, so at the entry we have built this beautiful arched gallery: it’s like bringing Jaipur to London. In terms of carpets we have a huge range, using all different techniques – from hand tufted to dhurries to very high-end hand-knotted silks. We have over 40,000 rugs in stock, but what we put on display in the showroom is informed by what we can see people in this market have been looking at on the website. Here, 80% of high-end projects are greys, beiges and whites; for the middle market, we see a lot of colour in play. So it’s almost like there are two segments.
Why should people visit in person as opposed to looking/buying online?
Kavita: Even more so than with fabrics, texture is massively important. We work with such a wide range of textures and yarns and constructions. On the website they can get a sense of the colour and the style. But the personality of the carpet will really come alive [in the showroom].
What’s Jaipur Rugs’ design philosophy?
NK: Our tagline is, we don’t sell carpet, we sell family blessings. We sell experiences. And if you want to buy the carpet, that is free. We charge for the experience.
I started 46 years ago, I borrowed $200 from my father and started with two looms and nine weavers. There are two ends to this business: the artisans at the grassroots, and the end consumer. I wanted to connect the creative capability of our grassroots artisans to the end consumer. And I realised my dream.
When I started this business, everyone in my family told me [that the weavers] were untouchable people. I would go to a party and people wouldn’t shake hands with me, they said I was working with the untouchables. All my friends, they told me, “you are a very good human being, but a bad businessman.” But I had so much love for the weavers, and weaving, and my love has gone global.
Is there a ‘hero’ product that encapsulates your brand, or that’s been a long-standing bestseller?
Kavita: We have this wonderful collection called Manchaha, where the artisans design their own carpets, and they’re one of a kind [pictured above]. We know that designers around the world now really want something unique and special, and each rug has had its own story. So we have many of those on display in London, because they distinguish us. Designers worldwide love using them in projects because they’re completely unique.
It took ten years to crystallise the idea. We had a lot of wastage in the industry, there are always a few kilograms of yarn left over. A normal commercial rug will have ten to 15 colours on average; with Manchaha, they start at 30 colours and go up to 60. Normally, artisans have to follow a drawing and it’s very tedious for them, but with Manchaha, are no restrictions, they’re so free to just keep going. So we only tell them to connect with their heart and connect with somebody they love.
NK: Creativity comes from the unknown, and the creativity starts with them: they allow nature to come into their hands. We are taking the creativity of our artisans to a level so that [these rugs] are more like museum pieces.
What can we expect from the latest collections?
Yogesh: The in-house studio designs three collections a year, and then we work with three global designers every year, so we typically launch four to six collections. Some are very global in nature, and some are regional. We have a very cool launch coming up that’s a collaboration with Chanel’s yarn factory, Vimar1991, using the same yarn that’s used to make Chanel’s tweed jackets [pictured above]. I think it’s one of the first collaborations they’ve ever done.
Do you work with designers on bespoke rugs?
Yogesh: Although we have about 40,000 rugs in stock – which is one of our biggest assets – we also make 4,000-5000 bespoke rugs every year, in different constructions and different price points. So when a designer comes in with a bespoke design, we typically ask them if they’re looking for a specific texture or material and we guide them and help them on what they want. It’s a very easy process, once the designer chooses a design intent. Sometimes designers are very clear on the design that they want, but if they’re not, we have a huge design team that can help them.
Is there anything else you’d like the Design Centre’s community know about Jaipur Rugs?
Kavita: We work with all kinds of communities, from Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes to Muslims and prisons. My father felt like he was rejected by his own family, because when he started he was a little too straightforward for his people to handle. So he found the people who were rejected and overlooked. [Jaipur Rugs] is all the outcome of him wanting connection.
The carpet industry is very commercial; even though it’s a fully handmade product, the artisan really doesn’t come into much consideration. So our foundation has developed the Back to the Roots programme. We realised that an artisan who had been working in the industry for ten, 20 or even 30 years had never seen a finished carpet. So, for three days, they come to our corporate office and for the first time they realise how they fit into the whole supply chain. Through the foundation, we bridge the gap for the artisans.
