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Understorey Tales

Unveiling our vibrant journey through the buzz, stories, and behind the scenes

12 Jan 2026

Commissioning 250 rugs without orders isn’t just unusual
LinkedIn

05 Jan 2026

I've spent my life around looms
LinkedIn

29 Dec 2025

We’ve been working with a client in Chicago for over 30 years
LinkedIn

25 Dec 2025

As this year comes to a close, I’m reminded that beyond designs, deadlines...
LinkedIn

19 Dec 2025

Running a legacy business has been a blessing for me
LinkedIn

12 Dec 2025

Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving
LinkedIn

03 Dec 2025

Hand-knotting isn’t a skill you pick up casually
LinkedIn

26 Nov 2025

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy or machinery, it’s human skill
LinkedIn

19 Nov 2025

From loom to living space
Instagram

17 Nov 2025

Woven by Jaipur’s master weavers and designed with intention
Instagram

13 Nov 2025

The hardest part of leading a heritage craft business?
LinkedIn

05 Nov 2025

What makes a rug an heirloom
LinkedIn

23 Oct 2025

If someone asked me where my design journey began, I wouldn’t say the boardroom
LinkedIn

15 Oct 2025

Weaving is not just a profession — it’s a lifetime craft
LinkedIn

06 Oct 2025

I’ve never been someone who enjoys reading much
LinkedIn

05 Jul 2024

understoreyrugs is born at the intersection of art and craftsmanship
Instagram

25 Jun 2024

The art of rug-making traverses mere weaving
Instagram

12 Jun 2024

'Echoes’ from Understorey’s Moirai Collection vividly captures its essence
LinkedIn

Explore our collections

View Our Collections
Explore the nuances of colour psychology as we unveil the art of crafting atmospheres through the magic of rugs

31 May 2024

Five reasons to own an Understorey rug
LinkedIn

24 May 2024

As the vibrant hues of spring breathe new life into the world...
LinkedIn

15 May 2024

At understoreyrugs we believe in empowering visions to turn into reality
Instagram

08 May 2024

Radiance

Explore our collections

Instagram

01 May 2024

Experience the magic of ethereal craftsmanship
Instagram

23 Apr 2024

Mythos
Instagram

Explore our collections

16 Apr 2024

Celebrating tradition: Interview with Rahul Kapoor, co-founder of Understorey

Exploring the art and vision behind handcrafted rug-making in a modern world.

Media

12 Feb 2024

Embrace the Japanese philosophy of making broken beautiful in this rug collection
Media

Explore our collections

10 Jan 2026

Running a handmade rug business at scale comes with one big responsibility
LinkedIn

02 Jan 2026

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy...
LinkedIn

24 Dec 2025

There are people who shape a business quietly, without ever asking for credit
LinkedIn

17 Dec 2025

“Once a rug is in place, how do you actually take care of it?”
LinkedIn

10 Dec 2025

Once the planning was done, the real test began
LinkedIn

01 Dec 2025

What guided craftsmanship before technology existed?
LinkedIn

24 Nov 2025

What Does the Back of a Rug Tell You?
LinkedIn

19 Nov 2025

What is a Hand-Knotted Rug, and How Is It Different from Everything Else?
LinkedIn

17 Nov 2025

Sometimes sustainability isn’t a strategy
LinkedIn

10 Nov 2025

The recent 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian carpets have hit the entire industry hard
LinkedIn

03 Nov 2025

Nearly 70% of India’s hand-knotted rug weavers are women
LinkedIn

30 Oct 2025

I’ve had dogs around me for as long as I can remember
LinkedIn

20 Oct 2025

Wishing everyone a Diwali filled with light, love, and peace
LinkedIn

13 Oct 2025

Great rugs don’t begin at the loom; they begin long before that, where raw yarn is born
LinkedIn

03 Oct 2025

The oldest surviving rug in the world is over 2,500 years old
LinkedIn
View Our Collections
Feel the handcrafted excellence in your every step and embrace a legacy of timeless personalised luxury

21 Jun 2024

Reviving craft in Contemporary times
Instagram

12 Jun 2024

Decoding colour psychology in rug selection
Instagram

06 Jun 2024

From the mystique of Orientalism in the 19th century...
Instagram

30 May 2024

Amidst the interplay of hues and textures, comfort unfolds
Instagram

23 May 2024

luxurious handmade rugs into Indian homes
Instagram

11 May 2024

Rahul Kapoor transforms art into artisanal decor with Rex Ray-Inspired rugs

Understorey reimagines contemporary artist Rex Ray’s psychedelic artworks through a new range of rugs

Media

06 May 2024

Coloured rugs, when chosen with care, have the power...
LinkedIn

24 Apr 2024

Unfiltered bespoke luxury
Instagram

23 Apr 2024

Understorey crafting ethical luxury one knot at a time
Media

21 Mar 2024

Our Rex Ray Collection is a canvas of its own, inviting you to explore this artistic alchemy

15 Mar 2024

Join Manu Mansheet in a captivating Heirloom Story behind his treasured 85-year-old Bukhara carpet

23 Jan 2024

Rex Ray’s artistry: from canvas to rug
LinkedIn

Explore our collections

08 Jan 2026

We recently commissioned 250 hand-knotted rugs...
LinkedIn

31 Dec 2025

The Same Stadium, a Different Era
LinkedIn

22 Dec 2025

For over a century, my family has been exporting hand-knotted rugs from India
LinkedIn

15 Dec 2025

Every rug we make at Understorey has a story
LinkedIn

08 Dec 2025

Every company has that one project that forces you to test everything you know
LinkedIn

28 Nov 2025

Most people don’t realise a photograph can become a hand-knotted rug
LinkedIn

21 Nov 2025

Every collaboration begins from the ground up, quite literally
Instagram

21 Nov 2025

We don’t label our rugs “sustainable.”
LinkedIn

15 Nov 2025

I know this might surprise some, but I’ve never really believed in the idea of “work–life balance”
LinkedIn

07 Nov 2025

AI and automation are changing every industry
LinkedIn

01 Nov 2025

I made my first loom when I was in school
LinkedIn

27 Oct 2025

People often ask me, “What makes a rug truly luxurious?”
LinkedIn

18 Oct 2025

It started as a bet with friends
LinkedIn

10 Oct 2025

Today is my grandfather’s birthday. And as I sit in his old office, now mine...
LinkedIn

01 Oct 2025

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that legacy is not something you inherit, it’s something you build...
LinkedIn
Carpet in garden

05 Jul 2024

Understorey, as an atelier of bespoke rugs
LinkedIn

18 Jun 2024

Summer hues with Understorey
LinkedIn
View Our Collections
Feel the handcrafted excellence in your every step and embrace a legacy of timeless personalised luxury

14 Jun 2024

Neutral or muted tones offer our living spaces an unspoken...
LinkedIn

05 Jun 2024

What are transitional rugs?
LinkedIn

27 May 2024

At Understorey, we recognise our artisans as the heart of our craft...
LinkedIn

17 May 2024

Experience the timelessness of rug weaving during the Renaissance...
Instagram

09 May 2024

Our culture is built around “bespoke” which fosters creativity
Instagram

01 May 2024

Celebrating the imperfections in every intricate weave
LinkedIn

24 Apr 2024

Luxurious Living: Transforming Spaces with Bespoke Hand-Knotted Rugs
LinkedIn

Explore our collections

19 Apr 2024

Secret to Supreme Comfort and Well-being: The Difference a Rug Can Make
LinkedIn

20 Mar 2024

A cherished chapter of Heirloom Stories with Devika Khosla

14 Mar 2024

A captivating chapter of HeirloomStories with Danny Mehra, a devoted Rug Collector for 40 years

21 Oct 2023

Luxe Underfoot: Jaipur-based atelier of bespoke rugs

Rug brand Understorey launches bespoke collections of carpets rooted in traditional craftsmanship and sustainable practices

Media
LinkedIn

12 Jan 2026

Commissioning 250 rugs without orders isn’t just unusual
LinkedIn

10 Jan 2026

Running a handmade rug business at scale comes with one big responsibility
LinkedIn

08 Jan 2026

We recently commissioned 250 hand-knotted rugs...
LinkedIn

05 Jan 2026

I've spent my life around looms
LinkedIn

02 Jan 2026

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy...
LinkedIn

31 Dec 2025

The Same Stadium, a Different Era
LinkedIn

29 Dec 2025

We’ve been working with a client in Chicago for over 30 years
LinkedIn

25 Dec 2025

As this year comes to a close, I’m reminded that beyond designs, deadlines...
LinkedIn

24 Dec 2025

There are people who shape a business quietly, without ever asking for credit
LinkedIn

22 Dec 2025

For over a century, my family has been exporting hand-knotted rugs from India
LinkedIn

19 Dec 2025

Running a legacy business has been a blessing for me
LinkedIn

17 Dec 2025

“Once a rug is in place, how do you actually take care of it?”
LinkedIn

15 Dec 2025

Every rug we make at Understorey has a story
LinkedIn

12 Dec 2025

Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving
LinkedIn

10 Dec 2025

Once the planning was done, the real test began
LinkedIn

08 Dec 2025

Every company has that one project that forces you to test everything you know
LinkedIn

03 Dec 2025

Hand-knotting isn’t a skill you pick up casually
LinkedIn

01 Dec 2025

What guided craftsmanship before technology existed?
LinkedIn

28 Nov 2025

Most people don’t realise a photograph can become a hand-knotted rug
LinkedIn

26 Nov 2025

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy or machinery, it’s human skill
LinkedIn

24 Nov 2025

What Does the Back of a Rug Tell You?
LinkedIn

21 Nov 2025

We don’t label our rugs “sustainable.”
Instagram

21 Nov 2025

Every collaboration begins from the ground up, quite literally
LinkedIn

19 Nov 2025

What is a Hand-Knotted Rug, and How Is It Different from Everything Else?
Instagram

19 Nov 2025

From loom to living space
LinkedIn

17 Nov 2025

Sometimes sustainability isn’t a strategy
Instagram

17 Nov 2025

Woven by Jaipur’s master weavers and designed with intention
LinkedIn

15 Nov 2025

I know this might surprise some, but I’ve never really believed in the idea of “work–life balance”
LinkedIn

13 Nov 2025

The hardest part of leading a heritage craft business?
LinkedIn

10 Nov 2025

The recent 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian carpets have hit the entire industry hard
LinkedIn

07 Nov 2025

AI and automation are changing every industry
LinkedIn

05 Nov 2025

What makes a rug an heirloom
LinkedIn

03 Nov 2025

Nearly 70% of India’s hand-knotted rug weavers are women
LinkedIn

01 Nov 2025

I made my first loom when I was in school
LinkedIn

30 Oct 2025

I’ve had dogs around me for as long as I can remember
LinkedIn

27 Oct 2025

People often ask me, “What makes a rug truly luxurious?”
LinkedIn

23 Oct 2025

If someone asked me where my design journey began, I wouldn’t say the boardroom
LinkedIn

20 Oct 2025

Wishing everyone a Diwali filled with light, love, and peace
LinkedIn

18 Oct 2025

It started as a bet with friends
LinkedIn

15 Oct 2025

Weaving is not just a profession — it’s a lifetime craft
LinkedIn

13 Oct 2025

Great rugs don’t begin at the loom; they begin long before that, where raw yarn is born
LinkedIn

10 Oct 2025

Today is my grandfather’s birthday. And as I sit in his old office, now mine...
LinkedIn

06 Oct 2025

I’ve never been someone who enjoys reading much
LinkedIn

03 Oct 2025

The oldest surviving rug in the world is over 2,500 years old
LinkedIn

01 Oct 2025

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that legacy is not something you inherit, it’s something you build...
Instagram

05 Jul 2024

understoreyrugs is born at the intersection of art and craftsmanship
Carpet in garden
LinkedIn

05 Jul 2024

Understorey, as an atelier of bespoke rugs
Instagram

25 Jun 2024

The art of rug-making traverses mere weaving
Instagram

21 Jun 2024

Reviving craft in Contemporary times
View Our Collections
Feel the handcrafted excellence in your every step and embrace a legacy of timeless personalised luxury
LinkedIn

18 Jun 2024

Summer hues with Understorey
LinkedIn

14 Jun 2024

Neutral or muted tones offer our living spaces an unspoken...
LinkedIn

12 Jun 2024

'Echoes’ from Understorey’s Moirai Collection vividly captures its essence

Explore our collections

Instagram

12 Jun 2024

Decoding colour psychology in rug selection
Instagram

06 Jun 2024

From the mystique of Orientalism in the 19th century to the intricate motifs
View Our Collections
Feel the handcrafted excellence in your every step and embrace a legacy of timeless personalised luxury
LinkedIn

05 Jun 2024

What are transitional rugs?
LinkedIn

31 May 2024

Five reasons to own an Understorey rug
Instagram

30 May 2024

Amidst the interplay of hues and textures, comfort unfolds
LinkedIn

27 May 2024

At Understorey, we recognise our artisans as the heart of our craft...
LinkedIn

24 May 2024

As the vibrant hues of spring breathe new life into the world...
Instagram

23 May 2024

luxurious handmade rugs into Indian homes
Instagram

17 May 2024

Experience the timelessness of rug weaving during the Renaissance...
Instagram

15 May 2024

At understoreyrugs we believe in empowering visions to turn into reality
Media

11 May 2024

Rahul Kapoor transforms art into artisanal decor with Rex Ray-Inspired rugs

Understorey reimagines contemporary artist Rex Ray’s psychedelic artworks through a new range of rugs

Instagram

09 May 2024

Our culture is built around “bespoke” which fosters creativity
Instagram

08 May 2024

Radiance

Explore our collections

LinkedIn

06 May 2024

Coloured rugs, when chosen with care, have the power...
Instagram

01 May 2024

Experience the magic of ethereal craftsmanship
LinkedIn

01 May 2024

Celebrating the imperfections in every intricate weave
Instagram

24 Apr 2024

Unfiltered bespoke luxury
LinkedIn

24 Apr 2024

Luxurious Living: Transforming Spaces with Bespoke Hand-Knotted Rugs

Explore our collections

Media

23 Apr 2024

Understorey crafting ethical luxury one knot at a time
Instagram

23 Apr 2024

Mythos

Explore our collections

LinkedIn

19 Apr 2024

Secret to Supreme Comfort and Well-being: The Difference a Rug Can Make
Media

16 Apr 2024

Celebrating tradition: Interview with Rahul Kapoor, co-founder of Understorey

Exploring the art and vision behind handcrafted rug-making in a modern world.

21 Mar 2024

Our Rex Ray Collection is a canvas of its own, inviting you to explore this artistic alchemy

20 Mar 2024

A cherished chapter of Heirloom Stories with Devika Khosla

15 Mar 2024

Join Manu Mansheet in a captivating Heirloom Story behind his treasured 85-year-old Bukhara carpet

14 Mar 2024

A captivating chapter of HeirloomStories with Danny Mehra, a devoted Rug Collector for 40 years
Media

12 Feb 2024

Embrace the Japanese philosophy of making broken beautiful in this rug collection

Explore our collections

LinkedIn

23 Jan 2024

Rex Ray’s artistry: from canvas to rug

Explore our collections

Media

21 Oct 2023

Luxe Underfoot: Jaipur-based atelier of bespoke rugs

Rug brand Understorey launches bespoke collections of carpets rooted in traditional craftsmanship and sustainable practices

12 Jan 2026

Commissioning 250 rugs without orders isn’t just unusual

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 that by 250 looms, and you’re looking at livelihoods that depend on continuity.

What made this harder was that each rug was treated individually.

This wasn’t a bulk production decision.

For nearly two months, we reviewed:

•⁠ ⁠size
•⁠ ⁠knot quality
•⁠ ⁠colour direction
•⁠ ⁠design structure
•⁠ ⁠dyeing and washing approach

Every rug was approved one by one before being issued to the loom.

Some days we approved five.

Some days ten.

But we never treated this like a factory run.

The intention was simple:

Keep expert weavers working at the level they belong.

Because once that skill is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

📌 P.S. Part 2 of the One of A Kind series, about choosing continuity over caution.

05 Jan 2026

I've spent my life around looms

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 hands, but their children aren’t taking up the craft.

China holds 30% of global handicraft exports. India? Just 2%.

In 10 years, many of our finest artisans will retire. If we haven’t built bridges to the next generation by then, we’re not losing a workforce, we’re losing living libraries of technique and cultural knowledge that cannot be recreated.

📍 What needs to happen:

→ Make traditional crafts financially viable—young people aren’t leaving because they don’t value the craft; they can’t afford to stay

→ Bridge heritage with innovation – the craft doesn’t need to be frozen in time to be authentic

→ Leverage digital platforms wisely – they’re helping artisans double their income and making crafts “cool” again

→ Tell better stories – in a world of mass production, our narratives are our competitive advantage

→ Create systems that work on the ground, not just on paper

📍 The inflection point:

The Indian handicraft market is projected to grow from $4.5 billion to $8.2 billion by 2033. Consumer appetite is there. Technology is democratizing access.

But if we lose the artisans, none of it matters.

This isn’t about nostalgia.
It’s about securing India’s position in global luxury.
It’s about dignified rural livelihoods.

It’s about proving that in the age of AI, there’s unmatched value in work done by human hands with generations of knowledge behind them.

The next decade will determine whether Indian craftsmanship becomes a museum exhibit or a thriving 21st-century industry.

At Understorey, we’re betting everything on the latter.

What are you doing to preserve traditional crafts in your industry?

29 Dec 2025

We’ve been working with a client in Chicago for over 30 years

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 this into a rug?”

We knew immediately this wasn’t a decorative project.
It was personal.

So we made one clear decision:

We wouldn’t modernise it.

We would respect it.

The rug was woven exactly in black and white.

At 9 × 6 feet, woven in 11/11 knotting, it required 30–35 shades of greys to create depth, shadows, and light.

Only 2–3 master weavers could execute it.
It took 6–7 months on the loom.

When it was finished, it didn’t feel like a product.
It felt like a moment frozen in time.

None of us knew then that this rug would start a timeline.

P.S. Years later, this story continued with the same stadium, in colour.

I’ll share that next.

25 Dec 2025

As this year comes to a close, I’m reminded that beyond designs, deadlines...

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 peaceful holiday season with family, warmth, and time to slow down.

Here’s to ending the year with gratitude and starting the next with purpose.🎄

19 Dec 2025

Running a legacy business has been a blessing for me

Running a legacy business has been a blessing for me.

It comes with opportunity as well as with immense responsibility.

At Understorey and S.N. Kapoor Exports, the people are the business.

The craftsmen, artists, and weavers we work with – many of whom have been with us for decades are the backbone of everything we do.

Every decision we take has to be made with their well-being and the long-term health of the company in mind.

Recently, when tariffs hit the industry and demand slowed, we made a conscious choice.

We commissioned 250 rugs without any confirmed orders.

It was a financial risk – but it ensured steady work and income for our weavers for the next 6–8 months.

For me, that’s what this responsibility looks like.

You don’t pause when things get uncertain.

You find a way to keep going together.

The time I spend at the gym or on the golf course isn’t an escape.

It’s how I reset, so I can come back the next day with more energy and clarity to do it all over again.

I consider it a privilege to carry this responsibility.

And I intend to honour it, by standing by the people who make this craft, and this company, what it is.

12 Dec 2025

Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving

Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving.

For this project, the toughest phase came after the weaving was done.

1.⁠ ⁠The Rug Became a 2-Ton Challenge

Once the rug was off the loom and washed, the weight crossed two tons.

No one can manually lift something like that.

We had to get city permissions, bring in industrial cranes, and coordinate movement across Jaipur, just to shift it between washing and finishing units.

2.⁠ ⁠Our Facility Wasn’t Big Enough

A 27.5 × 56 ft silk rug needs full open space for proper washing and drying.

Our existing unit simply couldn’t accommodate it.

So we rented an entirely new plot of land, set up temporary washing systems, and later ended up buying that land permanently. That’s how big this project was.

3.⁠ ⁠Finishing Took 60 Days

Pure silk in such a massive format behaves differently:

It shows every micro-tension

It needs controlled drying

It must be clipped and finished without distorting the design

What normally takes a few days took two full months.

4.⁠ ⁠A Rug That Pushed Every Limit

By the time it was complete, this single rug had required:

20 months of weaving
14 master weavers
40 colours
A 2-ton wash + finish process

Multiple cranes, new land, and dozens of hands
This wasn’t just a big rug – it was the most technically demanding project we’ve ever executed.

And it proved something important:

Craft at this scale requires problem-solving far beyond the loom.

This concludes Part 3 of the series.

Thank you for following the journey behind our most challenging project to date.

03 Dec 2025

Hand-knotting isn’t a skill you pick up casually

The most inspiring thing I’ve learned from our weavers…

Discipline.

Hand-knotting isn’t a skill you pick up casually.
It takes years of practice before you get good at it and even longer before you become great.

Some of our master weavers tie hundreds of thousands of knots without even looking down.
Their hands just know what to do.
It becomes muscle memory.

And that doesn’t come from talent.
It comes from showing up every day and doing the same thing until you get it right.

I’ve realised you can’t cheat that process.
Whether it’s weaving, building a business, or anything worth doing – discipline is the only way.

This craft is mostly generational.
Very few new weavers enter the field, and honestly, 20–30 years from now, I don’t know how many highly skilled weavers India will have.

But the ones we work with today…
Their patience, their consistency, their commitment – it stays with you.

Watching them work has taught me more about focus and discipline than any book ever could.

It’s a reminder I carry into everything I try to build.

Be consistent.
Do the work.
Let the skill catch up.

26 Nov 2025

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy or machinery, it’s human skill

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.
Not because it follows a trend.
But because the craft itself was built on principles that respect material, people, and the environment.

Here’s what sustainability actually looks like in hand-knotting, the way we practice it at S.N. Kapoor Exports:

1.⁠ ⁠Minimal Energy, Maximum Skill
A hand-knotted rug is made on a wooden or metal loom.
There’s no machine doing the work.
No automated system.
No industrial production line.
The loom doesn’t produce, the weaver does.

Electricity use is almost negligible because the process is manual from the first knot to the last.

2.⁠ ⁠Zero Discharge Dyeing (Our Only Industrial Step)
Hand-knotting itself has no industrial footprint.
The only process that involves chemicals is dyeing because we use chrome dyes.

Why chrome dyes?
Because natural dyes (vegetable, fruit, flower-based) cannot be reproduced consistently in the same colour.
If a client asks for 10 rugs in the same shade, natural dyes simply cannot deliver.

Chrome dyes ensure:
high colour fastness
long-term durability
unlimited colour possibilities
But they do have a chemical footprint, and this is where our responsibility begins.

At our dyeing units, we run:
✔️ ETP (Effluent Treatment Plants)
✔️ Full filtration systems
✔️ Zero-discharge water processes

85–90% of the water used in dyeing is fully treated and reused in-house.
The remaining 10% — the part that cannot be treated further is collected and submitted every month to the Pollution Control Board, as per regulation.
They repurpose it.

This is why we hold a Zero Discharge Pollution Certificate.
So, while dyeing uses chemicals, none of it is released into the environment.

3.⁠ ⁠Natural Fibres Make the Difference

Wool. Silk. Mohair.

These fibres:
biodegrade
age gracefully
never shed microplastics
return to the earth naturally

When the raw material comes from nature, the process remains grounded in responsibility.

4.⁠ ⁠Craft Naturally Controls Overproduction
You cannot mass-produce a hand-knotted rug.
There is no world in which a million-knot rug can be rushed.

The artisan’s pace becomes the sustainability check.
No excess.
No overstock.
No fast fashion cycle.

Each rug is made with intention, not volume.

5.⁠ ⁠Longevity Is the Real Sustainability
If a rug lasts 20–30 years, its environmental impact is far lower than one replaced every season.

Durability is sustainability.
Slowing down consumption is sustainability.
Making something that stays in a family for generations is sustainability.

📌 The truth is: we never created rugs to be ‘eco-friendly’.
We created them the right way.
And sustainability happened as a byproduct.

Natural materials.
No mass production.
Low energy.
Disciplined processes.
Zero discharge dyeing.

Handmade has always been low-carbon
we just never labelled it that way.

19 Nov 2025

From loom to living space

From loom to living space, Understorey brings the poetry of handmade rugs to HōmAnAn. With a legacy of over 100 years in fine craftsmanship, each piece carries forward generations of artistry and expertise— a narrative of patience and precision, woven with threads that hold memory, texture, and time.

In our interiors, these rugs don’t just decorate; they define. They turn the ordinary act of walking into an experience of art underfoot.

17 Nov 2025

Woven by Jaipur’s master weavers and designed with intention

In the quiet corners of HōmAnAn, Understorey’s bespoke rugs take their place—not as floor coverings but as foundational layers. Woven by Jaipur’s master weavers and designed with intention, they anchor the space in story, texture, and time. This collaboration invites you to walk into a home where the ground itself speaks.

13 Nov 2025

The hardest part of leading a heritage craft business?

The hardest part of leading a heritage craft business?
Saying no to the wrong shortcuts.

When you grow up in a family that’s been handcrafting rugs for over a century, you inherit not just a business – you inherit a standard.

And upholding that standard isn’t easy in a world that rewards speed.

Every few months, I come across ways to “improve” production, mechanical looms that promise higher output, cheaper dyes, or synthetic blends that seem practical on paper.

And while some of these innovations make sense for mass production, they don’t belong in our kind of work.

Because when your name carries four generations of trust, you don’t just represent a company, you represent values.

My grandfather built that trust with people.

My father built it through design.

And for me, it’s about protecting it through discipline, by balancing innovation with integrity.

At Understorey and S.N. Kapoor Exports, we’re constantly evolving, exploring better tools, cleaner processes, faster ways to help our weavers — but never at the cost of authenticity.

Craftsmanship, to me, isn’t defined by how quickly something is made, but by how long it lasts.

Shortcuts may save time.

But they cost legacy.

05 Nov 2025

What makes a rug an heirloom

What makes a rug an heirloom?

It’s a question I get asked often.

And over time, I’ve realized — the answer has less to do with design, and more to do with discipline.

An heirloom rug isn’t defined by how it looks.

It’s defined by how it’s made, how it lasts, and who made it.

Because heirlooms aren’t about price — they’re about permanence.

Here’s what that really means:

1️⃣ The Foundation — Warp & Weft

Every heirloom rug begins with its backbone — the warp and weft.

The foundation is always cotton, stretched tightly across the loom to hold the knots in place.

If that structure is weak, the rug won’t survive time.

That’s why we’ve never compromised on it — it’s the quiet strength beneath every masterpiece.

2️⃣ The Craft — Tens of

Thousands of Knots of Intention

Unlike a machine-woven rug, a hand-knotted piece is built knot by knot.

Each knot is tied by hand around two warp threads.

A single 9×12 rug can take 4 to 6 months, sometimes more — with tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of knots, depending on fineness.

We use wool, silk, and mohair for these knots — natural fibres that don’t just last long, but age beautifully, gathering softness and character over decades.

That’s what gives these rugs their strength, clarity, and soul.

3️⃣ The Process — Many Hands, One Vision

From dyeing to washing to finishing, every heirloom rug passes through dozens of skilled hands.

It’s not about speed; it’s about understanding material, color, and patience.

At Understorey, we’ve refined these processes over four generations — because mastery takes time, and trust takes even longer.

4️⃣ The Aging — Grace, Not Decay

Machine-made rugs wear out.

Handmade rugs evolve.

Their colors mellow, their sheen deepens, and every imperfection becomes a part of their story.

That’s the beauty of slow craft — it doesn’t chase time; it grows with it.

5️⃣ The Story — Connection Over Commodity

The real value of an heirloom rug isn’t on a price tag.
It’s in the bond it carries — between artisan and owner, between generations of hands and homes.

It’s meant to be lived on, not locked away.

Because the more life you give it, the richer its story becomes.

At Understorey, we don’t make décor.

We build continuity — between people, process, and purpose.

A rug becomes an heirloom when it outlives its maker — and still carries their touch.

Because heirlooms aren’t bought.

They’re built.

23 Oct 2025

If someone asked me where my design journey began, I wouldn’t say the boardroom

If someone asked me where my design journey began, I wouldn’t say the boardroom.

I’d say — the dyeing factory.

That’s where I first learned the importance and power of colour.

How it shapes emotion, defines mood, and transforms something ordinary into something timeless.

Years ago, my father took me to a trade fair in Germany — Domotex, one of the largest textile shows in the world.

I met an old mentor there who told me something that has stayed with me ever since:

“There are only three things that matter in this line of work — colour, colour, and colour.”

He was right.

That day, I decided that if I truly wanted to understand design, I had to begin where colour is born.

So I started in our dyeing factory — where every batch of yarn has its own rhythm of temperature, timing, and chemistry.

Over time, I realised that colour isn’t just a design decision — it’s emotional, instinctive, and deeply human.

That understanding continues to shape everything we do at Understorey.

When we say a rug is bespoke, we don’t just mean it’s customised — we mean it’s crafted from the ground up.

From recipes we’ve refined over decades, from yarns dyed by hand, and from techniques developed by us working alongside artisans who’ve been with our family for generations.

Every rug is a collaboration between chemistry and creativity — a balance of science, patience, and art.

So when people ask why a handcrafted rug takes months, I smile.

Because in our world, colour isn’t chosen.

It’s alchemised.

15 Oct 2025

Weaving is not just a profession — it’s a lifetime craft

Weaving is not just a profession — it’s a lifetime craft.

It takes years to learn. Sometimes a decade to truly master.

And yet, today, that craft is slowly fading.

I’ve grown up around looms.

My grandfather built relationships with weavers that went beyond business.

My father shaped designs that gave them new stories to tell.

And today, as the fourth generation in this legacy, I still see the same families weaving — but with fewer hands beside them.

Because the truth is hard to ignore.

Younger generations are leaving.

Not because they’ve lost love for the craft — but because the craft no longer loves them back.

In India, the number of hand-knotting weavers has fallen by nearly half over the past few decades.

And more than 70% of these weavers are women whose quiet strength keeps centuries of art alive.

In a world chasing speed and scale, the slow rhythm of a loom no longer feels like progress.

But to me, it’s the heartbeat of our heritage.

That’s why, at Understorey, our mission goes beyond making rugs.

We’re trying to make weaving viable again — economically, culturally, and emotionally.

By creating designs that pay fairly.

By investing in dyeing and washing techniques that add real value to the artisan’s work.

By developing in-house R&D that makes our craft harder to copy, so the worth travels back to the weaver.

Every time I walk through our weaving centres, I’m reminded that these are not just artisans — they are storytellers.

And many of them are women whose stories deserve to be heard as loudly as the rugs they create.

If we don’t protect them, we risk losing one of the most beautiful languages our country has ever spoken.

Preserving craft isn’t charity.

It’s continuity.

It’s respect for the hands that built our past and are still quietly holding our future together — one knot at a time.

06 Oct 2025

I’ve never been someone who enjoys reading much

I’ve never been someone who enjoys reading much.

Books feel heavy — like a chore.

But I’ve always loved learning.

And I found my way to it through podcasts.

They’ve become my classroom, my reflection space, and often my creative spark.

🎙️ The Joe Rogan Experience

I love this podcast because it never sticks to one subject. One day it’s astrophysics, another it’s archaeology, another it’s MMA. I love all three — science, history, and fighting.

Joe’s conversations are long, raw, and unfiltered — sometimes four hours of pure honesty. I learn about people, their struggles, their resilience, and their philosophies. It reminds me that understanding others is as important as mastering your craft.

🎙️ Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex is thoughtful, calm, and deeply curious. He talks to AI pioneers, scientists, historians — from the minds behind innovation to those who’ve studied world wars. Through him, I’ve learned about leadership, systems, and how people think under pressure.

Listening to Lex helps me understand mindsets — whether in technology, military strategy, or life — and how purpose drives every decision.

🎙️ StarTalk by Neil deGrasse

Tyson, Brian Cox, and Mindscape by Sean Carroll
These podcasts remind me how vast the universe really is — and how small we are within it.

They give me perspective: that our egos, our stress, our achievements are just specks in the grand cosmos.

🎙️ Rick Shiels & Dan on Golfshow

Golf has always been my balance. It teaches me focus, patience, rhythm — qualities that mirror the weaving process itself.

When I listen to these, I’m reminded that mastery is never loud. It’s quiet repetition, just like the rhythm of artisans tying knots, day after day.

🎙️ Veritasium & Andrei Jikh

They spark my curiosity — science, systems, psychology, and finance. They teach me how to look at the world differently, how small observations create big impact.

These voices, from science to golf, from AI to astrophysics, all shape the way I think, work, and lead.

When I sit with my father — our Creative Director — reviewing designs at Understorey, I often find myself applying lessons from these conversations.

When I walk through the dyeing factory, I think of the precision and patience scientists talk about. When I speak to artisans who’ve been weaving with us for generations, I think about resilience — the same grit I hear in fighters on Rogan’s show.

For me, podcasts are not background noise — they are threads of thought that quietly weave into everything I do.

Because learning doesn’t only come from books — it comes from curiosity.

And that curiosity is what keeps our 100-year-old family craft alive, relevant, and evolving.

That’s why I listen.

What’s one podcast that’s changed the way you see the world?

05 Jul 2024

understoreyrugs is born at the intersection of art and craftsmanship.
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understoreyrugs is born at the intersection of art and craftsmanship. Our bespoke hand-knotted rugs are painstakingly created through unification of commitment to age-old traditions and innovation. Each piece is an expression of perfect imperfections, love and intricacies.

25 Jun 2024

The art of rug-making traverses mere weaving

The art of rug-making traverses mere weaving and knotting in the delicate dance of thread and fibre. Within each motif and pattern lies profound emotion. It is a symphony of love, determination and reverence for the craft brought forth by the talented artisans at understoreyrugs.

Our craftsmen are master storytellers, infusing each knot with narratives of endurance and passion. Each knot is an unwavering commitment to their artistry. Our rugs are a saga, unfurling tales of determination and dedication authored by our talented artisans.

12 Jun 2024

'Echoes’ from Understorey’s Moirai Collection vividly captures its essence
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‘Echoes’ from Understorey’s  Moirai Collection vividly captures its essence. The intricate knotting technique artfully expresses the fastidious skills of experienced craftsmen.

The myriad hues, such as grey, blue, and ivory, offer depth and intrigue to the viewer. This magnificent rug is bound to bring a mythical charm to your home.

31 May 2024

Five reasons to own an Understorey rug

Elevate your space with the exquisite craftsmanship and timeless elegance of Understorey rugs. Here are five reasons why owning an Understorey rug is a must-have for any discerning homeowner:

An array of customisation:

Understorey rugs can be tailored to specific preferences, design visions and various customisation options. From colour customisations that allow you to choose from a rich spectrum of hues to pattern customisations that offer diverse patterns and material customisations that include luxurious options like silk and metallic threads, there’s something for every taste and style.

Organic materials:

Our rugs are meticulously handcrafted using the finest materials such as Indian wool, silk and even metallic threads, and traditional techniques, ensuring exceptional quality and durability. Each rug is built to last a lifetime, making it a worthwhile investment for discerning homeowners who value longevity and timeless elegance.

Ethical and Sustainable Practices:

We are committed to supporting local artisan communities and using eco-friendly materials to craft our rugs. By prioritising ethical and sustainable practices, every rug purchase becomes a choice of style and a conscious decision for the planet, ensuring that your home reflects beauty and integrity.

Health benefits:

Our rugs provide a cushioning effect, offering a softer surface underfoot than hard flooring materials. This enhances comfort and reduces fatigue and strain on joints, aligning with our commitment to prioritise functionality and aesthetics. Our rugs offer a supportive and comfortable surface that encourages relaxation and comfort, making them an ideal choice for any home environment.

Timeless Heirloom:

Whether it’s the soft touch of hand-spun wool or the subtle shimmer of metallic threads, each carpet is designed to represent timeless elegance and exceptional quality. They reflect your discerning taste and appreciation for craftsmanship, elevating any space they adorn and becoming treasured heirlooms to be cherished for generations to come.

24 May 2024

As the vibrant hues of spring breathe new life into the world...
As the vibrant hues of spring breathe new life into the world, it’s the perfect time to refresh your living space and welcome the season’s rejuvenating energy.
 
Understorey’s diverse range of rug collections offers the ideal opportunity to infuse your home with vitality and style.

15 May 2024

At understoreyrugs, we believe in empowering visions to turn into reality...

At understoreyrugs, we believe in empowering visions to turn into reality. From customizing colour schemes to generating intricate motifs, our creative team utilizes every tool available to explore endless possibilities in rug design.
We leverage cutting-edge software like galaincha_ , an innovative tool that allows us to bring our designs to life with unparalleled accuracy and efficiency. By seamlessly integrating Galaincha into our workflow, we ensure that the focus remains on Understorey’s commitment to delivering exceptional rugs that elevate your space.

08 May 2024

Radiance
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Presenting ‘Radiance’ from the Kintsugi collection, hand-carded with Indian wool and delicate metal threads, each rug is a masterpiece from skilled artisans’ hands.

Carefully hand-knotted at 121 knots per inch, it embodies a wool and metallic thread blend. With shades of grey and charcoal, it adds understated luxury to any space.

Each inch woven represents hours of dedication and due to the intricate weaving technique and materials used, only two feet are completed per month.

01 May 2024

Experience the magic of ethereal craftsmanship...

Experience the magic of ethereal craftsmanship.

Every thread weaves a tale of artistry and dedication, crafting rugs that transcend mere decor to become exquisite works of art.

Indulge in the allure of understoreyrugs precision and timeless elegance.

23 Apr 2024

Mythos
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Introducing Mythos, embodying understorey rugs dedication to artistic storytelling and impeccable craftsmanship. With warm greyish-blue and beige wool hues, Mythos exudes a soothing aura. Darker blues interwoven add depth and mystery, evoking contemplation. More than just a rug, Mythos fosters an emotional connection with nature, inviting introspection with every step and bringing a fresh perspective to the world of rugs. In collaboration with Samad Brothers Inc.

10 Jan 2026

Running a handmade rug business at scale comes with one big responsibility

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 weaving family.

Every rug comes from someone’s hands.

And every decision we make affects 3,500+ artisans who depend on us.

That’s why scale, for us, has always come with responsibility.

During the recent U.S. tariff hit, orders slowed across the industry.

We had a choice:

Cut production

Or protect our weavers

We chose the second.

We started weaving 250 complex rugs, not because we needed inventory, but because we wanted to keep looms running and incomes stable for the next few months.

That’s what ethical production looks like in practice.

Not a marketing line, just doing the right thing when it actually matters.

Hand-knotting itself is clean.

But dyeing has a chemical footprint.

Instead of hiding it, we invested heavily in:

A certified Zero-Discharge system ETP plants that treat 85–90% of dyeing water

Reusing treated water inside the factory
Sending the remaining 10% to the Pollution Board as mandated

This is the unglamorous side of craft, but it’s the part that keeps the process honest.

Even with 1,200 looms, nothing is mass-produced.

No shortcuts

No synthetic blends

No compromising raw materials

No pushing weavers for speed

Scaling for us simply means more artisans earn well while quality stays consistent.

The craft decides the pace.

We just create the ecosystem around it.

Big numbers don’t make us a big company.
They make us more accountable.

To our weavers. To our legacy. And to the craft we’ve inherited.

02 Jan 2026

A hand-knotted rug is one of the few luxury products where the biggest input isn’t energy...

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 means:

1. Minimal Energy, Maximum Skill

A hand-knotted rug is made on a wooden or metal loom.

There’s no machine doing the work — the loom doesn’t “produce.”

The weaver does.

Electricity usage stays close to zero because the process is human-driven from start to finish.

2. No Industrial Waste

There’s no chemical binding, latex backing, or synthetic glue.

No high-heat processing.

No industrial discharge.

A rug is built knot by knot on cotton warps.
The carbon footprint is the human effort, not machinery.

3. Natural Fibres Make the Difference

Wool, silk, mohair – they biodegrade, age beautifully, and don’t shed micro-plastics.
When the raw material comes from nature, the process remains responsible.

4. Craft Controls Overproduction

You physically cannot mass-produce a hand-knotted rug.

The pace is set by the artisan’s hands, not a conveyor belt.

That natural limitation is what keeps waste low and intention high.

5. Longevity = Sustainability

If a rug stays in a home for 20 or 30 years, its environmental impact is far lower than one replaced every season.

Durability isn’t just good craftsmanship, it’s good sustainability.

Sustainability doesn’t always need new technology.

Sometimes it already exists in the craft we’ve been practicing for generations.

Handmade has always been low-carbon.
We just never called it that.

24 Dec 2025

There are people who shape a business quietly, without ever asking for credit

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 entire weaving centres.

He has worked with three generations of my family now.

My grandfather.

My father.

And today, me.

What’s special about Iqbal ji is not just his experience but his relationship with the craft. Even when age suggested retirement, he didn’t want to step away. We didn’t want him to either.

Today, he works out of our factory office, managing our sample looms and overseeing all R&D work. Every new weave, every technical experiment, every complex sample passes through him.

He teaches. He corrects. He shares knowledge freely.
And most importantly, he asks the right questions.

Even now, whenever we take on something new or difficult, my first instinct is to ask:

“What does Iqbal ji think?”

Because decades of hands-on work build a kind of intelligence no book or software can replace.

At S.N. Kapoor Exports and Understorey, people like Iqbal ji are not employees.

They are part of the family.

Our legacy isn’t built only on rugs it’s built on people who’ve devoted their lives to the craft and carried it forward with integrity.

Having him around isn’t just an asset.

It’s a privilege.

17 Dec 2025

“Once a rug is in place, how do you actually take care of it?”

Someone recently asked me:

“Once a rug is in place, how do you actually take care of it?”

It’s a practical question, but it also reveals something deeper.

We’ve been trained to think of rugs as fragile luxury objects — something that needs constant attention or special treatment.

The truth is quite the opposite.

A well-made hand-knotted rug is designed to be lived on.

Care, in this context, isn’t about preservation.

It’s about respect for the material and the process.

📌 Here’s how I think about it:

A hand-knotted rug doesn’t need aggressive care — it needs consistency.

Regular, gentle vacuuming keeps dust from settling deep into the pile. Nothing harsh. Nothing mechanical.

Wear is natural. Uneven wear is avoidable.

Occasional rotation allows the rug to age evenly, the way natural materials are meant to.

Time matters more than products.

Spills handled immediately with a simple blot are far more effective than any chemical solution later. Most damage happens when we over-treat, not when we under-treat.

Sunlight should be managed, not feared.

Natural fibres mature beautifully, but like anything organic, they respond to prolonged exposure.

Awareness goes a long way.

And washing? Less is more.

A handmade rug doesn’t need frequent cleaning. When it does, it should be done by someone who understands hand-knotted construction,not an industrial process built for synthetics.

📌 The larger point is this:

A hand-knotted rug isn’t a delicate object.

It’s a durable one.

If cared for thoughtfully, it won’t just last — it will evolve.

The texture softens. The colours mellow. The rug becomes part of the home, not just an accessory in it.

Good design isn’t about keeping things untouched.
It’s about allowing them to age well.

And that’s exactly what a good rug is meant to do.

10 Dec 2025

Once the planning was done, the real test began

Once the planning was done, the real test began.

To execute a 14/14 pure silk rug of this size, we needed only the most skilled weavers in our entire network – the people who can maintain precision for months without a single lapse.

1.⁠ ⁠Selecting the Team
We asked one of our most trusted loom managers to identify the best of the best
14 master weavers out of the thousands we work with.

These are people who can weave curves, gradients, and fine detailing without distortion.
Not everyone can do that.
It takes years of discipline and practice.

2.⁠ ⁠Setting Up the Loom
The rug was 27.5 ft wide and 56 ft long.
We have wider looms, but the challenge here was the length.

Every few feet of weaving gets rolled under the loom and in this case, the roll became so large that we had to dig nearly 5 feet into the ground to make space for it.

These are the small, unseen adjustments behind every massive project.

3.⁠ ⁠20 Months of Weaving
This single rug kept 14 weavers employed for nearly 20 months.
That’s the part most people don’t realise —
a long-term project like this becomes the primary source of income and stability for the entire group of weavers and their families.

Each day, hundreds of thousands of knots were tied.
With 40 colours in the design, every knot had to follow the CAD map precisely.

4.⁠ ⁠Zero Margin for Error
With weaving this fine, even a small variation creates a ripple effect:
If one weaver weaves even slightly faster, the design can distort.

A 1-inch deviation at the loom can result up to multiple feet in size distortion.
If colours are mistakenly placed, the entire gradient shifts.

There were hundreds of points where this could have gone wrong.
It didn’t, because of the discipline and consistency of these 14 weavers.

This was the most technically challenging weaving project we’ve ever executed.

And it demanded a level of focus that very few crafts in the world still require today.

Next Post: Part 3 – The part of the process we thought would be easy… and turned out to be the hardest.

The washing and finishing challenge no one predicted.

01 Dec 2025

What guided craftsmanship before technology existed?

In an age where design tools are getting smarter by the day, I keep going back to one question:

What guided craftsmanship before technology existed?

In the world of hand-knotted rugs, the answer is simple —
the Map (Naksha).

A Map is the blueprint of a rug.
It tells the weaver exactly how the piece will evolve:
▶️ which colour goes where
▶️ how many knots to tie in each line
▶️ how the design transitions from one section to the next

Every hand-knotted rug begins with a map.
It’s the blueprint that guides the entire weaving process.

Here’s what it actually is:

1.⁠ ⁠A Detailed Design Chart
The map shows the full layout of the rug — motifs, borders, colours, proportions.
Everything is plotted before a single knot is tied.

2.⁠ ⁠Colour Coding
Each shade is assigned a number or symbol.
This helps the weaver know exactly which colour to use, knot by knot.

3.⁠ ⁠Knot Instructions
The map tells the weaver how many knots of each colour to tie in every row.
That’s how you maintain precision in designs that have tens of thousands of knots.

4.⁠ ⁠The Bridge Between Design & Craft
A weaver doesn’t “guess” the pattern, they interpret the map with skill and speed.

The artistry is in the hand.
The accuracy comes from the map.

What I find fascinating is how far this system goes back.
Centuries ago, maps were drawn by hand on graph sheets and passed down like manuscripts.

Today we may create them digitally, but the craft is still the same, the map is read line by line, and every knot is tied by hand.

Tools evolve.
The process evolves.
But the integrity of the craft remains.

In rug making, the map is where design ends and handwork begins.

It’s the quiet backbone behind every rug we create.

24 Nov 2025

What Does the Back of a Rug Tell You?

What Does the Back of a Rug Tell You?

A lot more than the front.

If you want to understand how a rug is made, don’t look at the top.
Turn it over.
The back is where the truth is.

Here’s what it reveals:

1️⃣ Whether It’s Truly Hand-Knotted

📌 On a hand-knotted rug, you’ll see:
Clear, visible knots
The exact pattern mirrored on the back
No glue
No latex
No cloth backing

Every knot is tied by hand — so the back looks clean, structured, and consistent.

📌 On machine-made or tufted rugs, you’ll see:
A mesh or canvas backing
Glue/latex
A pattern that looks printed, not built

If the back is sealed, glued, or hidden — it’s not hand-knotted.

2️⃣ The Fineness of the Weave

The back shows you the knot density, how many knots per square inch.
More knots = finer details, sharper design, higher craftsmanship.

This is like checking the resolution of an image.

3️⃣ The Quality of the Material

Natural fibres behave differently from synthetics.

📌 On the back you can see:
The natural irregularity of hand-spun wool
Silk highlights
Color transitions
Texture variation

Natural yarn always has a certain depth, synthetic fibres look uniform and flat.

4️⃣ The Make — Handmade vs Machine Precision

Handmade rugs show slight variations, which is good.
Machines make everything too perfect.

A perfect grid = machine
A human rhythm = hand-knotted

5️⃣ How Long It Will Last

The back tells you:

How tightly the knots are packed
How evenly the weaving is done
Whether the structure is strong enough to last decades

A clean, tight back usually means the rug will age well.

📌 In short:
The front is beauty.
The back is honesty.

If you ever want to test a rug, flip it.
The back never lies.

19 Nov 2025

What is a Hand-Knotted Rug, and How Is It Different from Everything Else?

What is a Hand-Knotted Rug, and How Is It Different from Everything Else?

This is one of the most common questions I get.

A hand-knotted rug is exactly what it sounds like – a rug built knot by knot, entirely by hand, on a loom.

Every single knot is tied around the warp threads, locked in with wefts, and trimmed to create the pile.
It’s slow, detailed, and extremely skill-driven.

📍 Here’s how it actually stands apart from other types:

1️⃣ Hand-Knotted vs Machine-Made

Hand-Knotted:

Made entirely by hand
Natural fibres (wool, silk, mohair, cashmere)
Takes months
No two rugs are ever identical
Ages beautifully and lasts decades

Machine-Made:

Produced in hours
Mostly synthetic fibres (polypropylene, acrylic)
Perfect-looking but temporary
Designed for short-term or budget use
Not an heirloom piece

You can see the difference instantly when you turn the rug over — hand-knotted backs show real knots, pattern clarity, and no glue.

2️⃣ Hand-Knotted vs Hand-Tufted

People confuse these the most.

Hand-Knotted: Knots tied manually. No latex. No canvas backing. Built to last.

Hand-Tufted: Yarn punched into a canvas using a tufting gun and then glued.
Good for lower budgets, but they are not heirloom pieces.

📌 So what makes hand-knotted special?
Time + skill + natural materials + longevity.

A 9×12 can take 4–6 months and tens of thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of knots.
Each knot is placed by a weaver who’s spent years mastering the technique.

It’s not décor.
It’s craftsmanship.

And that’s what makes a hand-knotted rug the most premium category in the world of rugs.

If you’re buying one for the first time, understanding this difference matters, it helps you choose value over appearance.

17 Nov 2025

Sometimes sustainability isn’t a strategy

Sometimes sustainability isn’t a strategy.
It’s a responsibility.

When the 50% tariffs hit, the first thing I thought about wasn’t orders or margins.
It was our weavers.

For generations, they’ve stood by our family.
They’ve kept our designs alive, our looms running, and our legacy intact.
So when times get difficult, the least we can do is stand by them.

That’s why we decided to produce 250 intricate hand-knotted rugs
not because a client asked for them,
not because there’s a market demand right now.

But because our weavers deserve steady work and dignity, regardless of policy decisions happening thousands of miles away.

We’re using all the raw material already in our warehouses – wool, silk, mohair
so nothing goes to waste.

Every cone, every bundle, every colour will find its place in these rugs.

For the next 2–3 months, every loom stays active.
No one loses work.
No one goes home uncertain.

Every piece being woven is a reminder that sustainability isn’t just about eco-friendly fibres, it’s about economic stability and craft preservation.

These will be some of the most special rugs we’ve ever produced –
designed with intention, made without rush, and created purely to support the hands that have supported us for generations.

Craft survives when people do.

And sometimes, the most sustainable thing you can do…
is keep the loom running.

10 Nov 2025

The recent 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian carpets have hit the entire industry hard

The recent 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian carpets have hit the entire industry hard.

And while on paper it sounds like a trade or policy issue, in reality, it’s much more personal.

It affects people.

It affects livelihoods.

Most manufacturers don’t work with margins anywhere close to 50%.

When buyers can’t absorb that cost, it trickles down — to exporters, to workshops, and eventually, to the weavers who depend on this work to support their families.

Across the country, orders are slowing, shipments are being staggered, and capacities are being cut.

That means fewer working looms. Fewer hours. Fewer incomes.

At S.N. Kapoor Exports, we’ve had to make difficult decisions too slowing expansion plans, tightening operations, trying our best to protect as many jobs as we can.

Because behind every rug we export is a weaver and behind every weaver is a family.

I hope both governments find a way forward soon.

Because this isn’t just about business — it’s about preserving an art form, a community, and a legacy that’s already fighting to survive.

03 Nov 2025

Nearly 70% of India’s hand-knotted rug weavers are women
Nearly 70% of India’s hand-knotted rug weavers are women. (Source: GoodWeave International) And for most of them, weaving isn’t just work — it’s dignity, independence, and art intertwined. I’ve seen it first-hand across our weaving clusters. Women leading the loom floors with quiet focus and extraordinary skill. Their patience, precision, and discipline define the art form itself.

At Understorey, we believe every rug carries two stories the one it tells in your home, and the one that began at the loom.

Fair pay, safe working conditions, and consistent support are not charity they are respect for the people who make our heritage possible.

Because when we empower women in craft, we don’t just sustain livelihoods, we preserve legacies.

And when a woman weaver thrives, an entire community rises with her.

Every rug we create is a piece of that story — one knot of empowerment at a time.

30 Oct 2025

I’ve had dogs around me for as long as I can remember

I’ve had dogs around me for as long as I can remember.

They’ve been part of every phase of my life — through school, college, work, everything in between.

My first was Twister, a stubborn but gentle basset hound.

Then came Troy, my beagle – the one I truly grew up with.

He was with me for 14 years. Losing him last year left a kind of silence I didn’t quite know how to fill.

Today, our home and even our office is full again.

Mufasa, Pablo, Stark, Pari, Bella, and Leila.

Some adopted, some rescued. All family.

Each of them has their own personality.

Mufasa, our gentle giant, strong but calm.

Stark and Pablo, full of energy and mischief.

Pari, Bella, and Leila — the rescues, who remind me every day what trust looks like when it’s earned, not given.

They’re never tied, never kept away.

They roam freely through the house, the office, the farm — as they should.

When I’m working, they’re sitting beside me.

When I’m home, they’re on the couch.

When I’m quiet, they just know.

They’ve taught me more about patience, empathy, and loyalty than most things in life ever could.

All my dogs mean the world to me.

They’re not just pets, they’re part of everything I am.

 

They make the good days better, and the hard ones, a little lighter.

Because at the end of the day, no matter how complicated life gets — they remind me that love doesn’t need words.

20 Oct 2025

Wishing everyone a Diwali filled with light, love, and peace

Wishing everyone a Diwali filled with light, love, and peace.

As we celebrate with family and friends, let’s also remember the ones who can’t express their fear — our furry companions who share our homes, streets, and cities. 🐾

Let’s go noise-free this year — light diyas, not crackers.

Celebrate warmth without worry, joy without fear.

13 Oct 2025

Great rugs don’t begin at the loom; they begin long before that, where raw yarn is born

Great rugs don’t begin at the loom; they begin long before that, where raw yarn is born.

For over a century, my family has believed in one simple truth: never compromise on quality.

It’s a lesson my grandfather lived by and one my father continues to uphold every single day.

He often said, “Let the material dictate the price, not the other way around.”

That philosophy has guided us through four generations.

For decades, we’ve sourced our wool and silk from select regions known for their purity, resilience, and beauty.

These are relationships built not just on trade, but on trust, partnerships that have lasted for over 30 years.

That continuity matters.

It ensures that every fibre entering our ateliers carries a legacy of land, of care, of craft. It gives our rugs their unmistakable hand-feel, longevity, and life.

Because when you begin with the finest raw material, you’re not just creating a rug — you’re creating something that will outlive trends, homes, and even generations.

At Understorey, provenance isn’t a marketing word; it’s our family’s value system woven into every thread.

Our rugs don’t chase perfection — they earn it, one fibre at a time.

If you ever wonder why some rugs feel alive decades later, look beyond the pattern.

Ask where the yarn came from.

Because that’s where the story truly begins.

03 Oct 2025

The oldest surviving rug in the world is over 2,500 years old

The oldest surviving rug in the world is over 2,500 years old.

It’s called the Pazyryk Carpet, discovered frozen in Siberia, perfectly preserved.

Woven with incredible precision, it shows that even thousands of years ago, humans weren’t just making rugs for utility — they were making art, culture, and memory.

When I first read about the Pazyryk Carpet, it struck me deeply.

Because in my own journey, I’ve walked loom floors since childhood, watching artisans tie hundreds of knots a day.

And in every knot, I saw what the Pazyryk carpet still carries: resilience, patience, and a belief that beauty can outlast time.

My family’s story with rugs began in 1916 with S.N. Kapoor Exports, and today I carry it forward with Understorey.

But stories like the Pazyryk remind me — this craft is bigger than me, bigger than my family, bigger even than the last century.

It is an unbroken chain. From the nomads of Siberia, to the Persian weavers of the Mughal courts, to the artisans of Jaipur tying knots today.

A rug is never just something we step on. It’s something we step into — a history, a livelihood, a legacy.

And if the Pazyryk could survive 2,500 years, I believe the rugs we weave today can carry our stories forward for generations to come.

21 Jun 2024

Reviving craft in Contemporary times
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Unfurl our latest blog to see how we at understoreyrugs are going beyond the preservation of heritage.

By establishing a legacy of fine craftsmanship, enduring beauty, and authenticity, we are reiterating our ethos with a commitment to the revival of age-old crafts, the creation of holistic ecosystems and providing relevance to traditions through innovation.

12 Jun 2024

Decoding colour psychology in rug selection

In interior decor, colour becomes the the silent narrator of ambience. With hues ranging from serene blues to vibrant reds, rugs wield the power to transform spaces, evoking emotions and setting the tone for every room.

Explore the nuances of colour psychology as we unveil the art of crafting atmospheres through the magic of rugs.

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06 Jun 2024

From the mystique of Orientalism in the 19th century…

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From the mystique of Orientalism in the 19th century to the intricate motifs and vibrant hues that adorned these prized possessions, each rug tells a tale of craftsmanship and exotic allure.

Join us as we unravel the threads of history through time and culture and explore the evolution of handwoven rugs.

30 May 2024

Amidst the interplay of hues and textures, comfort unfolds
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Amidst the interplay of hues and textures, comfort unfolds. A rug becomes a chapter in the story of home – a narrative where colours and patterns weave a sense of nostalgia and belonging.

Let your living space be the canvas for this warm emotion.

23 May 2024

luxurious handmade rugs into Indian homes
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Born from a legacy dating back to 1916, understorey rugs originated under the roof of SN Kapoor Exports, aiming to bring luxurious handmade rugs into Indian homes. Today, Understorey, an atelier of bespoke rugs, embodies the artistry of master weavers in Jaipur, India.

With a commitment to ethical luxury, our community-driven approach sustains livelihoods and honours centuries-old weaving traditions.

06 May 2024

Coloured rugs, when chosen with care, have the power to completely...
Coloured rugs, when chosen with care, have the power to completely transform the ambience and elevate the overall aesthetic of your living spaces. 🌟 Create Cosiness: Pair a neutral-coloured sofa with a warm-toned rug, such as beige or camel for an inviting feel. This combination creates a welcoming atmosphere in any space. 💼 Sophisticated Elegance: Opt for a navy blue or charcoal grey rug. Pair it with contemporary furniture for a sleek, refined look that exudes modern elegance. 🎨 Vibrant Energy: Experiment with bold and colourful rugs paired with neutral-coloured furniture to inject vibrancy into your space. This adds energy and liveliness, instantly transforming the ambience.

24 Apr 2024

Unfiltered bespoke luxury

Welcome to understoreyrugs – a sanctuary where imperfections are revered and beauty goes beyond bounds.

Embracing the imperfections, quirks and unfiltered beauty that define each of us, understoreyrugs celebrates the essence of individuality.

From bespoke concepts tailored to your vision to our curated masterpieces, every rug we craft embodies a story waiting to unfold.

23 Jan 2024

Rex Ray’s artistry: from canvas to rug

One of the collections that I’ve been very excited about is the Rex Ray x Understorey Collection. Our skilled artisans worked closely with us to reimagine Rex’s artistic expression, seamlessly blending traditional craftsmanship with his avant-garde designs. The collection re-imagines every parabolic form and abstract pattern depicting a tale of our rugs’ artistic spirit. Meticulously translating his vibrant and imaginative world onto each rug, the designs ensure that every piece in this collection becomes a canvas of its own.

We’ve carefully built each product’s story to give you a sense of what each design embodies.

Marvel at the mesmerizing drop-shaped weaves cascading from top to bottom, reminiscent of hanging beads on a thread translated into the fabric of ‘Labyrinth’. Dominated by elegant black, blue and red hues, the Labyrinth bursts with lively pops of white, oranges, purples and blues, creating a visual vibrancy that transforms any space.

‘Celestial’, is a mesmerising rug, coming to life with unabridged bright colours. Our knotting process intricately weaves simple, sharply defined shapes and digitally designed floral patterns into the fabric, forming the base for near-psychedelic compositions. Picture radiant abstracts of leaves elegantly hanging from popping ropes and others sparkling with flowers, all diligently brought to existence through our knotting expertise.

08 Jan 2026

We recently commissioned 250 hand-knotted rugs...

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 a serious question:

What happens to the weavers who specialise in this level of craft if the work stops?

So we made a decision.

Instead of letting our 11/11 looms sit idle, we commissioned rugs ourselves.

This ensured continued work for nearly 1,000 highly skilled weavers – people who’ve spent years mastering this craft.

These weren’t rushed pieces.

They weren’t downgraded in quality.

In fact, 95% of this production was done in 11/11, specifically to protect that level of weaving and the people behind it.

This wasn’t the easy choice.

It was a financial risk.

But legacy businesses don’t only protect margins.

They protect people.

P.S. This is Part 1 of a series on One of A Kind – a collection born from responsibility before demand.

31 Dec 2025

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 shadow, every cloud, every highlight was created through colour placement – not effects, not washes.

Placed together, the two rugs tell a quiet story:

▶️ One captures memory

▶️ The other captures continuity

Some of these rugs now sit in private spaces.

One was gifted back to the stadium.

Another to a private club in Chicago.

For me, this project defines what hand-knotted rugs can truly be.

They don’t have to be patterns or florals.

They can be personal.

They can be historical.

They can hold time.

When craft is pushed to its limits, a rug stops being décor.

It becomes a time capsule.

P.S. This is Part 2 in a series on how hand-knotted rugs are used not just to decorate spaces, but to record stories.

22 Dec 2025

For over a century, my family has been exporting hand-knotted rugs from India

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 Indian homes have never experienced them.

The shift for us happened three years ago.

I was visiting a luxury home in Mumbai. Beautifully designed. Everything imported.

So I asked a simple question:

“Why not Indian rugs?”

The answer was honest:

“I didn’t know we made anything like this.”

That was the gap not in capability, not in craft but in awareness.

The Indian home decor market is growing fast. People are investing in quality, design, and longevity.

What was missing was access to true handmade luxury — pieces made slowly, ethically, and meant to last decades.

We already had:

1200 looms

3500 artisans

A legacy built since 1916

What we didn’t have was a brand designed for India.

That’s why we created Understorey.

The Real Challenge Wasn’t Production – it Was Perception

📌 Bringing hand-knotted luxury to India meant addressing a few things:

▶️ ⁠ ⁠Pricing psychology:

Most people compared a ₹5 lakh hand-knotted rug to a ₹50,000 machine-made import.

▶️⁠ ⁠Education:

Explaining knots, materials, timelines — the “why” behind the price.

▶️⁠ ⁠Storytelling:

Helping people see a rug not as décor, but as a piece of craft backed by months of work and generations of skill.

▶️ ⁠Direct-to-consumer:

Taking the maker out of the shadows and putting the process front and centre.

Indian buyers aren’t hesitant about luxury.

They’re hesitant about uncertainty.

📌 When we show:

How long a rug takes to weave

Who wove it

Where the yarn comes from

Why the finish matters

Trust builds, and the conversation changes.

People aren’t just buying a rug anymore.

They’re investing in something that will outlive them.

For decades, our best work travelled abroad.

Today, the opportunity and the responsibility is right here.

India no longer wants cheaper décor.

It wants craftsmanship, transparency, and purpose.

That’s why we brought luxury back home.

Because Indians should grow up walking on the very rugs their country is known for creating – not just exporting.

15 Dec 2025

Every rug we make at Understorey has a story

Every rug we make at Understorey has a story.
But this one felt personal.

When my brother-in-law got married, Sanjana Kapoor and I wanted to make something extraordinary for them, something that would stay with them long after the wedding was over.

There was a photograph of the two of them – beautifully captured, full of warmth, and full of who they are as a couple.

We loved the picture so much that we thought:
Why not weave this moment into a rug?
Something they can carry with them for life.

So that’s what we did.

📌 How we created it

Even though the rug was just 3 x 4 feet, it took 4–6 months to complete.
Small doesn’t mean simple — in fact, the smaller the rug, the more precise every knot needs to be.

Here’s what went into it:

1.⁠ ⁠The CAD Rendering
We recreated their photo pixel by pixel on our design software — adjusting shades, tones, and shadows using over dozens of colours.

Translating expressions into knots is far more complex than sketching them.

2.⁠ ⁠The Shade Card
To match skin tones, fabric textures, and light gradients, we built a detailed shade card… sometimes using 6–10 hues of the same colour.

3.⁠ ⁠The Weave
Only our most skilled weavers can execute something like this.
Because it demands absolute precision in every line, curve, and transition.

Hand-knotted rugs aren’t products.
They’re time – months of someone’s life, woven into a piece that will outlive all of us.

Gifting that time felt far more meaningful than gifting something bought off a shelf.

And that’s the beauty of this craft
you can take a memory, a moment, a photograph…
and turn it into something that will last generations.

This is one of the reasons I love what we do at Understorey.

It’s not just about making rugs.
It’s about preserving moments.

08 Dec 2025

Every company has that one project that forces you to test everything you know

Every company has that one project that forces you to test everything you know.

For us, it was a pair of rugs measuring 27.5 ft × 56 ft, in pure silk, woven in 14/14 quality — something very few weavers in the world can execute today.

People assume the toughest part of a project like this is the weaving.
In reality, the real challenge began months before the first knot was tied.

1.⁠ ⁠Choosing the Quality: 14/14
At this size, even a slight curve becomes noticeable. If the knot count isn’t extremely fine, the design looks pixelated.

That’s why we chose 14/14 — one of the highest and most demanding weaving qualities in the industry.
It immediately told us this would require only the most skilled weavers we work with.

2.⁠ ⁠Designing the CAD Map
The client wanted high detail and precision, so the design team spent weeks creating the CAD file.

It used around 40 colours — far more than the typical 5–10 colours used in most rugs.
Every shade had to be placed with accuracy because once the map is printed, the loom follows it exactly.

3.⁠ ⁠Colour Sampling and Approvals
We then spent weeks sampling each colour.
For a rug of this scale, even a 2–3% variation becomes visible later.
Until every colour matched, nothing moved forward.

4.⁠ ⁠Planning for Risk
With a rug this large, a small design error or measurement mismatch can show up months later — when hundreds of thousands of knots are already complete.
So this phase required the most patience and discipline.

All this planning took nearly two months, before a single warp was mounted on the loom.

This project wasn’t just big.
It required a level of precision and coordination most people never get to see in handmade craft.

Next Post: Part 2 — 20 Months. 14 Weavers. One Rug.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on the most complex project we’ve ever delivered.

28 Nov 2025

Most people don’t realise a photograph can become a hand-knotted rug

A few months ago, a long-time client from Texas visited our workshop.
In the middle of a work conversation, he told me about his dog, his companion for over a decade, who had passed away recently.

He showed me a photograph he loved.
And he asked, quietly:
“Can you make something lasting out of this?”
We said yes.

📌 Most people don’t realise a photograph can become a hand-knotted rug.

Here’s how we did it, and how this craft makes it possible:

1.⁠ ⁠The photograph
He sent us the image, his dog sitting by the porch.
That became the reference for everything that followed.

2.⁠ ⁠The rendering
Our design team uploaded the photograph into our rug-design software and rebuilt it knot-by-knot as a CAD map.

Every detail had to be redrawn: eyes, fur texture, shadow, depth.
This becomes the “map” that the weavers follow.

3.⁠ ⁠Colouring
A dog’s fur isn’t one colour – it’s many tones of brown, cream, and shadow.
For this rug, the CAD file used 30–40 shades, just to make the picture feel alive.

4.⁠ ⁠Assigning the weavers
Only a few master weavers we work with can execute portrait rugs.
The margins for error are almost zero — one wrong knot can change expression.
They took over the project.

5.⁠ ⁠Weaving
The rug was 6×9 ft and took around 4.5 months to weave.

Knot by knot.
Row by row.
A photograph slowly turning into texture.

6.⁠ ⁠Finishing
Wash → stretch → clip → bind → inspect.

Then we shipped it to him.
He wrote back saying it was the closest thing to having his dog home again.

📌 For me, that’s the real beauty of hand-knotting:
It can hold memories.
Not just designs.

We at Understorey are a custom design house. If you can imagine it, we can weave it.

21 Nov 2025

Every collaboration begins from the ground up, quite literally

At HōmAnAn, every collaboration begins from the ground up, quite literally.

Understorey’s handwoven rugs set the foundation for spaces that feel lived, layered, and deeply human.

Each weave carries the rhythm of craftsmanship and the warmth of touch—grounding design in emotion, not just material.

Here, artistry anchors the entire story.

21 Nov 2025

We don’t label our rugs “sustainable.”

We don’t label our rugs “sustainable.”

We don’t market them as eco-friendly.

Because for us, sustainability isn’t a trend, it’s the natural result of doing things properly.

Use natural materials.
Avoid shortcuts.
Make things that last.
Respect the craft.
Respect the people.

When you follow these principles, sustainability happens automatically.

Craft didn’t become sustainable for the market.

The market is just now realising the value of what craft has always been.

Sustainability Is Not Our Selling Point. It’s a By-Product of Integrity.

15 Nov 2025

I know this might surprise some, but I’ve never really believed in the idea of “work–life balance”

I know this might surprise some, but I’ve never really believed in the idea of “work–life balance.”

It makes it sound like work and life sit on opposite sides of a scale.

For me, they’ve always been part of the same world.

When you grow up in a fourth-generation family business – literally living above the factory, work, family, people, and purpose naturally blend. There was no dividing line then, and there isn’t one now.

My life has two core pillars: my family and my work.

And they don’t compete with each other, they coexist.

Some days I’m buried in design, sampling, or production.

Some days I’m on the golf course early morning, clearing my head.

Most days I’m surrounded by my dogs, at home or even in the office and that’s honestly the best part of my routine.

And somewhere in between all of this, a cup of good coffee keeps me grounded.

I don’t try to “balance” these things.

I let them fit together in a way that feels natural and fulfilling.

What I’ve learned is this, when you enjoy what you do, work doesn’t drain you.

It adds purpose.

And when you make time for what matters, you don’t feel the need to escape from anything.

Life doesn’t need strict boundaries.

It needs presence, in your work, with your family, with your passions, and with yourself.

And that’s enough.

01 Nov 2025

I made my first loom when I was in school

I made my first loom when I was in school.

It was a project but it turned out to be a memory that stayed.

Growing up, our home was right above the office at S.N. Kapoor Exports.

Evenings meant running around the factory floor, playing cricket with staff, watching yarn being dyed and looms being set.

So when it came time to make a school project, I didn’t think twice — I wanted to make a miniature handloom.

One of our oldest employees, Iqbal ji, who has been with our family since my father was a child, helped me build it.

He’s still with us – the loom master, the same calm presence.

That little loom won me the school competition.

Even today, that miniature loom sits in my office.

A small reminder that big legacies often begin with small, handmade things.

27 Oct 2025

People often ask me, “What makes a rug truly luxurious?”

People often ask me, “What makes a rug truly luxurious?”

It’s not just design or price.

It’s in the details most people never see.

A hand-knotted rug is built on three quiet fundamentals — warp, weft, and knots.

Together, they form the architecture of craftsmanship.

📍 Warp & Weft

The warp (vertical threads) and weft (horizontal threads) are the foundation of the rug.

They create the structure on which everything else is built — the framework that gives the rug its strength, balance, and rhythm.

📍Knots

Each knot is tied by hand around pairs of warp threads.
Every loop adds definition, texture, and durability.

A single 9×12 rug can have over a million knots,
each tied one by one — an invisible measure of patience and skill.

At Understorey, we’ve built on over a century of expertise at S.N. Kapoor Exports, refining every stage — from raw yarn to dyeing, weaving, and washing — because we believe true luxury lives in the smallest details.

To me, luxury isn’t about a label or a logo.

It’s about patience, precision, and respect for the process.

Because when you understand how something is made, you begin to understand why it’s worth what it’s worth.

18 Oct 2025

It started as a bet with friends

It started as a bet with friends.

Show up for golf or lose the bet.

I didn’t show up that morning.

But I went the next day and I never stopped.

Three years later, it’s more than a sport.

It’s my reset button.

Golf humbles you.

Just when you think you’ve mastered it,
it quietly reminds you — you haven’t.

It teaches patience.

Focus.

Stillness.

Those few hours on the greens no calls, no meetings, no noise just me and the game.

Because of golf,

I started yoga.

I eat better.

Sleep earlier.

Wake up before sunrise.

It’s changed more than my routine it’s changed how I think, how I lead, and how I live.

I lost that first bet.

But I found balance, discipline, and peace one swing at a time.

10 Oct 2025

Today is my grandfather’s birthday. And as I sit in his old office, now mine...

Today is my grandfather’s birthday.

And as I sit in his old office, now mine — I look up at the rug that hangs behind my desk.

It’s not just any rug.

It’s his portrait, handwoven in silk and wool, gifted to him by my father on his 90th birthday.

The piece was made from a photograph taken by one of our buyers, an avid photographer who once captured him sitting outside on a winter morning — calm, thoughtful, surrounded by his work.

My father turned that moment into a hand knotted rug — his silhouette in silk, the background in fine wool,
crafted in nearly fifteen shades of black, white, and grey.

After my grandfather passed, the rug stayed in his office.

When I took over this space, I left it right where it was.

For me, that rug is more than a portrait it’s a symbol that I’m still being looked after by him.

Every day, it reminds me of the values he built this company on to never compromise on quality, to put people first, and to lead with integrity and care.

Some rugs cover floors.

This one carries a blessing.

01 Oct 2025

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that legacy is not something you inherit, it’s something you build...

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that legacy is not something you inherit, it’s something you build on, reshape, and pass forward.

My family’s journey with rugs began in 1916, when my great-grandfather laid the foundation of S.N. Kapoor Exports in Jaipur.

Over the next century, three generations carried this craft to the world, and I grew up surrounded by artisans, looms, and stories woven in yarn.

After joining the family business, I realized that while heritage gave me strength, real growth meant stepping outside the familiar.

In 2019, instead of simply continuing in exports, I took a leap of faith and co-founded Understorey — a design atelier with a new vision: bringing bespoke, handmade rugs into discerning homes across India and the world.

Those early years were a whirlwind: building trust with clients, collaborating with 3,500 artisans across 1,200 looms, experimenting with knotting techniques, and learning that failure is just research in disguise.

Each challenge taught me resilience, patience, and the importance of putting artisans first.

But business, to me, has always been about more than growth. It’s about impact. That’s why Understorey is aligned with GoodWeave Certification Pvt. Ltd., why we built a zero-waste, zero-emissions dyeing process, and why every rug we create is designed to be an heirloom, not décor that fades.

Alongside work, I find balance in golf, music, Muay Thai, travel, and my favorite ritual — coffee. And at home, my rescued dogs remind me daily that leadership is about loyalty and compassion.

Today, as CEO of Understorey and Partner at SN Kapoor Exports, my focus is on carrying forward a 109-year legacy while building a brand that puts people, planet, and purpose at the centre of luxury.

18 Jun 2024

Summer hues with Understorey

The summer months are upon us, and it’s time to infuse our homes with the radiance and vibrance of the season. Summer can often leave us feeling parched and sweaty, so avoiding anything too heavy or gaudy is crucial. Understanding the relationship between the season’s nature and the hues that complement it is key. Certain shades can be used to give our homes the perfect summer makeover, creating a haven of comfort and relaxation. Here’s three ways to style our homes and transform them into the perfect summer retreats:

Neutral and earthy tones offer timelessness:They are favoured by all seasons and are evergreen and classic in their approach. If you’re confused about colours, then a neutral palette will be your friend. The tones are elegant and have a grounding effect on the overall decor of your living space. ‘Revival, a beautiful rug from our Kintsugi collection, comes in gorgeous shades of ivory, beige, and sage. These tones have a cooling yet cosy effect on the room and exude a harmonious aesthetic.

Florals aren’t just for springs: florals are another favourite that can be utilised in summer. Florals add a touch of freshness and vitality to our homes. At Understorey, we have numerous rugs with floral motifs waiting to adorn your homes. ‘Gilded’ from our Kintsugi collection is an excellent choice. Crafted with hand-carded Indian wool infused with metallic thread, this rug is simply resplendent. The floral motifs blend beige, blue and red to present a soothing yet exuberant summer rug.

Employ a mix of colours: A mix of neutral and bold colours can create the perfect impact and is, hence, ideal for the summer months. ‘Metamorphosis’ by Kintsugi, a collection inspired by the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, is a splendid rug that can enhance your living space this summer season. With ivory, red, and blue hues dominating the rug and gorgeous floral motifs, it is the quintessential summer rug for your home.

At Understorey, we are committed to creating rugs for every season and reason. We combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary designs and innovations to create rugs worthy of heirlooms. Our rugs are pieces of art that will adorn your homes with harmonious grace and beauty.

14 Jun 2024

Neutral or muted tones offer our living spaces an unspoken and understated sophistication.

Explore three ways a neutral palette adds timeless appeal:

1. The versatility of neutral tones such as beige, taupe, and grey is a canvas for creativity. It allows endless experimentation with furniture and key decor pieces. A rug in a muted tone can seamlessly blend into various settings, enhancing the overall decor.

2. A neutral colour palette is the anchor that provides coherence and balance to an area. Heavily patterned pieces or bold decor items rely on a neutral palette to stand out, creating a harmonious and balanced environment.

3. The depth and cosiness of a neutral palette can give the living space a sophistication that appears understated yet classy. Through a neutral palette, you can experience a sense of soothing, enveloped in a warm hug.

Understorey provides a variety of handwoven pieces in neutral palettes, promising to elevate your living spaces.

05 Jun 2024

What are transitional rugs?

Rugs offer us a way to easily uplift our surroundings and add a layer of sophistication to our homes. Moreover, they also add a layer of comfort between our feet and the hard ground. Today, rugs are readily available in a variety of tones and styles.

There are three major styles: traditional, contemporary, and transitional rugs. Choosing the right rug can be a task even for the discerning eye. This article aims to simplify transitional rugs for you, which are all the rage right now!

Let’s delve into this intriguing topic.

Traditional rugs are heavily influenced by oriental and Persian patterns, such as motifs, floral arrangements, and various indigenous designs woven through traditional weaving styles. Contemporary rugs, on the other hand, use abstract patterns and influences from modern times. Our collaboration with Rex Ray Studios is an example of the same.

So, what exactly are transitional rugs?

Transitional rugs, with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary elements, act as a bridge between the two styles. They offer an intriguing combination of patterns and hues, creatively woven through a variety of methods.

At Understorey, our rugs are hand-knotted and woven through age-old techniques that keep the authenticity of the craft intact. However, we also bring in more contemporary patterns. Transitional rugs are known for unifying contemporary and traditional design elements and can draw the attention of various customers. It brings the best of both worlds and can be a delight to decorate. Transitional rugs have the uncanny ability to blend into multiple settings, whether traditional or contemporary. This ability allows them to resist trends and become an essential part of our home decor for many years.

Transitional rugs are timeless in their visual appeal and can be paired with a variety of aesthetics. At Understorey , we offer many transitional rugs for your perusal.

27 May 2024

At Understorey, we recognise our artisans as the heart of our craft...

At Understorey, we recognise our artisans as the heart of our craft, bringing our rugs to life. We ensure sustainable growth across our supply chain by prioritising their well-being, particularly women.

Each member, from herders to weavers, contributes significantly to the creation of our rugs. Empowering them through safe working conditions, training investments and market access is fundamental and essential. These initiatives enhance their livelihoods and enable them to prosper in their communities.

Our commitment to empowerment goes beyond economic support. We foster a culture of skill development, ensuring our artisans have the tools to thrive.

Explore the world of ethical luxury at understorey

17 May 2024

Experience the timelessness of rug weaving during the Renaissance...
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Experience the timelessness of rug weaving during the Renaissance and Baroque Periods through understoreyrug ‘s lens. These eras marked a pivotal moment in history, revolutionising the essence of rug craftsmanship. Delve into the intricate designs, rich colours and ornate detailing that define this era of opulence.

At understoreyrugs , we celebrate the artistry and grandeur of these transformative periods, weaving their essence into every thread of our exquisite rugs.

09 May 2024

Our culture is built around bespoke, which fosters creativity...

Our Co-Founder, vivaankapoor_4302 , believes that “bespoke” is more than just a word – it’s a philosophy that reflects understoreyrugs commitment to exceptional craftsmanship.

At Understorey, putting the customer first is fundamental to everything we do. We strive to tailor our offerings to meet each unique need and preference. Our culture is built around bespoke, which fosters creativity, collaboration and a passion for craftsmanship among the team.

01 May 2024

Celebrating the imperfections in every intricate weave…
Celebrating the imperfections in every intricate weave, we at Understorey take pride in the fact that each of rugs is one-of-a-kind. Imperfections in hand-knotted rugs reveal the human touch, infusing each piece with unparalleled authenticity and character. These subtle variations narrate stories of artisanal craftsmanship, elevating each rug to a cherished masterpiece. Join us in embracing the beauty of imperfections and explore our hand-knotted bespoke rugs, where luxury meets artistry

24 Apr 2024

Luxurious Living: Transforming Spaces with Bespoke Hand-Knotted Rugs

Luxurious living reaches new heights with the transformative power of bespoke hand-knotted rugs, elevating spaces into realms of sophistication and elegance. These meticulously crafted rugs are the cornerstone of exquisite interior design, infusing rooms with a sense of opulence and refinement.

From grandiose living rooms to intimate bedrooms, bespoke rugs add a touch of indulgence and personality, creating focal points that captivate the eye and elevate the ambience. With their unparalleled craftsmanship and customisable designs, these rugs offer discerning homeowners the opportunity to curate spaces that exude timeless luxury and reflect their unique style and sensibilities.

Experience the epitome of refined living with bespoke hand-knotted rugs, where every step is a luxurious journey through artistry and comfort.

24 May 2024

Secret to Supreme Comfort and Well-being: The Difference a Rug Can Make
Adding a rug to your space isn’t just about adding a touch of aesthetic decor to your space; it’s about introducing a world of comfort and well-being. At Understorey, we understand the importance of creating rugs that enhance the aesthetics of your home and contribute to your overall health and wellness.
 

Crafted with a dedication to time-honoured traditional techniques, our rugs are handmade with pure wool, wool blended with metallic threads, and wool combined with silk. These organic materials not only exude luxurious softness but also offer unparalleled durability and comfort. Our commitment to quality craftsmanship ensures that each rug is crafted to provide a soothing and supportive surface for your feet.

 
But the benefits of having rugs under your feet go beyond mere comfort. Scientific research has shown that tactile sensations, such as the softness of a rug beneath your feet, can profoundly impact your well-being. Our rugs’ gentle pressure and support help alleviate stress, reduce fatigue and promote relaxation. Over time, this tactile comfort can improve mood, sleep quality and overall health.
 
Additionally, our rugs provide a cushioning effect, offering a softer surface underfoot than hard flooring materials. This feature enhances comfort and reduces fatigue and strain on joints, aligning with our commitment to prioritise functionality and aesthetics. Whether placed in a living room, bedroom, or high-footprint area, our rugs offer a supportive and comfortable surface that encourages relaxation and comfort, making them an ideal choice for any home environment.
So, whether you’re curling up with a book in your living room or stepping out of bed in the morning, let the tactile comfort of our rugs envelop you in a cocoon of well-being. With Understorey rugs, you’re not just adding a decor accessory to your home but investing in your comfort and health for years to come.

07 Nov 2025

AI and automation are changing every industry

AI and automation are changing every industry.

Even in ours, there are machines today that can produce a “rug” in a few hours.

They look almost perfect, cost a fraction, and ship fast.

So why do we still spend months on a hand-knotted rug?

Because perfection isn’t the same as value.

A machine can replicate a pattern.

But it can’t replicate depth — the way natural yarn feels, the way colours shift under light, or the small irregularities that make a rug alive.

In our world, the process defines the product.

Every decision — from the raw material to the number of knots per inch — directly affects how long the rug will last, how it ages, and how it feels.

That’s something no machine can optimise.

Handmade takes time, but that time builds longevity.
And longevity is the real definition of luxury.

That said, I’m not against innovation — far from it.

We’ve started using AI-driven design tools at Understorey to explore patterns, compositions, and colours more efficiently.

They’re powerful and can spark new ideas, but only when guided by a designer’s eye.

The prompts, the instinct, the creative direction – that still comes from a human mind.

AI can help us design smarter, not replace craftsmanship.

As long as we preserve the integrity of our process — the hand-knotted rug will always remain human at heart.

AI will keep getting better at imitation.

But craft has never been about imitation — it’s about intention.

That’s why, even in the most advanced age of technology, I believe handmade will not just survive.
It will stand out.

Because the future of value will belong to what feels real.

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