Commissioning 250 rugs without orders isn’t just unusual.It’s risky. Every rug ties up capital.Every loom needs planning.Every decision affects dozens of families. We at Understorey knew this going in. But letting skilled weavers drift into lower-quality work or worse, leave the craft altogether felt like a bigger risk. Each loom supports 3-4 weavers on average.Multiply […]
Running a handmade rug business at scale comes with one big responsibility:Growth should never come at the cost of integrity. People sometimes imagine factories, machines, or automated systems when they hear we operate 1,200 looms and work with 3,500+ artisans. But the reality is very different.Everything still depends on people. Every loom belongs to a […]
We recently commissioned 250 hand-knotted rugs without any client orders in place. Not as a collection launch.Not as a marketing experiment.But as a responsibility. The past year has been tough on the industry.With 50% tariffs, high-end rugs became harder to sell, and demand slowed especially for finer qualities like 11/11 knotting. For us, that raised […]
I’ve spent my life around looms.Fourth generation. 1,200 looms. 3,500 artisans. Numbers I say with pride but lately, with growing concern. 📌 Here’s the reality:Our handicraft sector contributes 7% to India’s GDP and employs over 7 million artisans. Yet we’re facing a crisis: master weavers in their 60s and 70s are creating magic with their […]
A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy or machinery, it’s human skill. And that’s exactly why the process is inherently sustainable. No mass production.No shortcuts.No industrial footprint. Just craft done at a pace that respects the material, the weaver, and the planet. 📌 Here’s what that actually […]
The Same Stadium, a Different Era Years later, the same client came back with another photograph. Same stadium.A completely different time. New cars.New crowds.New energy. This time, we made the rug in colour – still 9 × 6 feet, still 11/11 quality, still woven by the same level of master craftsmen. The detailing was intense:Every […]
We’ve been working with a client in Chicago for over 30 years.Like us, he comes from a multi-generation rug family.Craft runs in his blood. One day, he sent us an old black-and-white photograph of Wrigley Field – taken decades ago, when he was a child. No mood board.No design brief.Just one question: “Can you turn […]
As this year comes to a close, I’m reminded that beyond designs, deadlines, and deliveries, it’s the long standing relationship with our clients, team and family that truly matter. Grateful for the continued faith, the shared values, and the respect for craft that connects us across continents. Wishing everyone celebrating a Merry Christmas and a […]
There are people who shape a business quietly, without ever asking for credit.Iqbal Ahmed ji is one of them. He has been with our family since 1976. He started as a weaver, working alongside my grandfather on the loom. Over the years, as his understanding of weaving deepened, he naturally grew into managing looms and […]
For over a century, my family has been exporting hand-knotted rugs from India.S.N. Kapoor Exports began in 1916, and for most of that journey, almost 90% of what we produced was exported. That’s been the story of the Indian rug industry too — we’re one of the largest makers of handmade carpets globally, yet most […]
