By Prakash Bhandari

Jaipur: The world famous JaipurRugs, Indiaʼs most ethical producerof handmade carpets, and Italiandesigner Matteo Cibic have cometogether to bring out a vibrant col‑lection of handcrafted rugs that areinspired by Cibicʼs visit to Jaipur.

The city was recently designatedas a UNESCO World Heritage site.Cibic has taken cues from the cityʼsarchitecture, colors and the minia‑ture paintings and played on the cul‑ture and beauty of the historic city.This pop, graphical and colorful col‑lection depicts a phantasmagoricalIndia! Cibic has mixed geometricand decorative patterns together inthis bold, contemporary collectionand used the many shades of pink,rose, orange and peach that are typi‑cal to the city. He has used boldmotifs using iconic figures such theRajasthani moustachioed soldier, themonkeys, the triangular flag, andiconic views of Jaipur's buildingsand monuments. The collection isnamed after Wunderkammern,known as cabinets of curiosities thatcame into existence in the mid‑16thcentury in Europe. These room‑likecabinets were repositories for alltypes of wondrous and exoticobjects. Jaipur Rugs will also show‑case contemporary designs by in‑house designer Kavi and celebritydesigner Gauri Khan at the show.

Jaipur Rugs is a family businessstrengthened by the purpose of pro‑tecting ancestral know‑how andconnecting rural craftsmanship withglobal consumers. By placing thehuman aspect at its core, the compa‑ny has grown to become the largestnetwork of artisans in India. It usesthe age old art form of handmadecarpets as a tool to bring prosperityinto the homes of 40,000 rural arti‑sans of which 80% are women.Founded in 1978 by Nand KishoreChaudhary with just two looms, itnow has over 7000 looms and sellsin over 60 countries. Today the com‑pany creates contemporary works ofart by collaborating with creativetalents capable of showcasing thisancestral craft with a new vision.

Jaipur Rugs is the only Indiancompany to have ever won the bestmodern collection at the CarpetDesign Award as well as the onlyIndian company to have won theGerman Design Award in 2016,2017 and 2018.

The organization has also won anEDIDA (Elle Deco InternationalDesign Awards India, 2017) in theFlooring category with the ArtisanOriginals Collection, a range thatshowcases traditional Rajasthaniculture, motifs inspired by nature,and personal stories.

The year 2019 has started with abang with the Artisan Originals col‑lection bagging the If Design Awardand the European Product DesignAward.Creative social innovation:

Artisan OriginalsJaipur Rugs also supports its high‑

ly skilled artisans by giving them thechance to become designers them‑selves. Under the Artisan Originalsinitiative weavers from remote vil‑lages get to be the designers of theirown rugs. It taps into the untamedfashion from the villages of Indiaand experiments with the originalityof rural craftsmen. It helps nurturetheir creative potential, which isunexplored at a global stage. Eachrug, hand‑made with more than200,000 knots, is the story of itscreator – complete with emotions,dreams, and personality. This hasled to a transformation in the mindsof the consumers whereby theywant to engage with the weaversand know about their life story. Eachrug in the collection is a masterpiecefor the design inspiration it weaves.Through the Artisan Originals initia‑tive rural men and women whoeither had no education or just pri‑mary education, have stunned theworld with original designs compet‑ing with professional designers andmega design houses on the globalstage. This initiative has also solvedthe rug industryʼs constant chal‑lenge with surplus yarn. The ArtisanOriginals rugs are made using hand‑spun leftover yarn batches, whichcannot be used afresh, therebyreducing wastage and making thecolor palette of these rugs as uniqueas their design. This is a remarkableexample of sustainable production –reusing and reviving from waste.

Nearly 80% of Jaipur Rugsweavers are women who take pridein working from their own homes.From the tribal belts of Gujarat todiverse communities in five states ofIndia, these women represent whatthe company calls the ʻCreativeCasteʼ. They have not had a fairshare of opportunities but now havefound their voices and dignity with‑in their communities. Unlike thepractices of the standard carpetindustry, Jaipur Rugs womenweavers have now gone on tobecome Bunkar Sakhi (weaverʼsfriend) – a managerial and leader‑ship role emerging from grassroots,that was traditionally only executedby men. It takes one woman 54 daysto spin 60 kilometers of yarn, whichmakes up the average 9ʼ X 12ʼ rug.

Jaipur Rugs products are sold in60 countries and find themselves inthe window displays of retail

Jaipur Rugs FoundationTo be able to reach out to the mar‑

ginalized artisanal communi‑ties across the country andlay the foundation of a last‑ing relationship, the JaipurRugs Foundation (JRF) wasestablished in 2004. Itsvision is to create a societywhere equality, justice, andpeace prevail through socioe‑conomic development. Its keyaim is to provide opportuni‑ties for all, with the insurgentmission to serve as a socialinnovator promoting thecause of artisans (especiallywomen) by providing.

The colorful world of India'smost ethical rug producer

A new collection by famous Italian designer Matteo Cibic for Jaipur Rugscelebrates the beauty of the Pink City and the talents of Indian artisans.

It has been exhibited in Paris and Milan this year.

The facade of a Rajasthani house? No, it is a MatteoCibic carpet inspired by Rajasthan.

This looks like a nice carpet, but it is muchmore. It is food, electricity and school fee for

thousands of artisans in India. It is Durga Deviʼshope to build her childʼs future.

The man who revolutionized traditional carpet industry in India,

NK Chaudhary founded JaipurRugs in 1978 with just two looms

to enable economic prosperityamong destitute communities.

Today, it has over 7000 looms andsells in over 60 countries.

In his collection for Jaipur Rugs, Italian designer Matteo Cibic has incorporated bold motifs using iconic fig‑ures such the Rajasthani mustachioed soldier, the monkeys, the triangular flag, and iconic views of Jaipur's

buildings and monuments.

18 September 14-20, 2019 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoA R T & C R A F T